The Department of Education's (ED) Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has posted a message on its http://fafsa.gov website that indicates it is experiencing intermittent issues with the FAFSA website. While the frustration for those experiencing issues is compounded by the time of year, NASFAA has been in touch with FSA officials who believe the problems are not widespread and should be resolved quickly. Students or parents who are experiencing repeated difficulties should contact ED at 1-800-4-FED-AID. 
 

You might see two types of federal student loans in your letter: Direct Unsubsidized Loan and Direct Subsidized Loan.  It’s important you know the basics about these two types of loans before you sign to accept either of them.

To learn more about Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, visit the article.

FEDERAL STUDENT AID

The Department of Education will take another step this week toward making the federal student aid process fully accessible from mobile devices like your cellphone.

The department will launch a mobile-friendly version this week of fafsa.gov, the website that hosts the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Then it plans next month to roll out the beta version of a student aid mobile app that would let financial aid recipients complete the FAFSA application as well as make loan payments and complete other financial aid tasks.

To view the full press release, visit FAFSA for Your Phone.

A quote from the 41st U.S. commander-in-chief, a 58-mission World War II combat aviator, states his top priority after discharge from the Navy in 1945: “We had a lot of catching up to do. I needed to get my degree and go into business as soon as possible. I had a family to support.”

Seventy-three years later, his words resonated in the George H.W. Presidential Library and Museum, which contains his records and the story of his life and presidency, at College Station, Texas. There, a moderated panel discussion Thursday welcomed “The Greatest Generation: An American Legion Centennial Salute to the GI Bill” traveling display and recognized the 10th anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The American Legion Department of Texas coordinated the event.

To view the article about the event visit, Opportunities of the GI Bill celebrated at Bush Library & Museum

Identity theft scams are on the rise! Scholarships & Financial Aid will never contact you and ask you to provide your full social security number or passwords to accounts. Always use caution when conducting business over the phone or email. Utilize the secure Financial Aid Portal through howdy.tamu.edu to get information on your financial aid account, whenever possible.

If you are contacted about your personal information regarding financial aid and you are in doubt, don't answer any questions! Hang up and call our office directly at 979.845.3236 or email us at financialaid@tamu.edu.
 

In our last post, we talked about the phenomenon of summer melt, where up to 1/3 of the students who graduate high school with plans to go to college never make it to a college campus.  We discussed what the student’s support team could do to help keep the student on track—but there’s also plenty the student can do to make sure their college plans don’t get derailed.

To view the full article visit, How Students Can Avoid Summer Melt.

"Are you wondering how to get financial aid if your parents make too much? If this question plagues you, you're not alone," according to Student Loan Hero. "'It's definitely something we hear a lot,' said Jill Desjean, a policy analyst for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. 

To view the full article, visit How To Get Financial Aid If Your Parents Make Too Much.
 

Do you have student loans? View this list of common student loan mistakes.

To view the full article, visit 8 Common Student Loan Mistakes.

When it comes to financial aid for higher education, even "free" sources of money could leave you owing the IRS.

Scholarships, fellowship grants and teaching assistantships are instrumental in helping families pay for college.

But those free sources of financial aid may come with an unexpected price tag in the form of income tax.

To read the full article visit, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/23/heres-why-that-scholarship-might-not-be-free-after-all.html.

If you just graduated, congrats! You’ve officially made it to the “real world” everyone’s always talking about. And that means you suddenly have a lot more responsibility. You may be looking for your first job, moving back in with your parents or starting off in a new place on your own. It’s a lot to take on, but don’t let your finances fall to the bottom of your priority list.

Here are five money mistakes to avoid when you’re first starting out.

To read the full article visit, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-biggest-money-mistakes-new-grads-make-194757801.html.