A student age 24 or older by Dec. 31 of the award year is considered independent for federal financial aid purposes.

MCDANIEL COLLEGE. IT’S CREATING A LITTLE BIT OF ANXIETY THAT WE DON’T QUITE KNOW WHEN WE’RE GOING TO HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION. CHRISTINA GOODMAN IS, LIKE MANY MARYLAND PARENTS, WAITING TO FIND OUT ...

Deciding not to apply for financial aid can be a mistake. Some financial aid is awarded first come, first served. Missing a ...

Students and their families, along with college financial aid administrators, hoped the 2025-26 school year would be a return to normalcy. It doesn't look like that will be the case. The Department of ...

The U.S. Department of Education plans to cut down on paperwork requirements for certain students and schools this year amid a challenging rollout of the new FAFSA. The agency announced Tuesday that ...

Higher education leaders have worked tirelessly over the past five months to recover from the Department of Education’s delayed and error-ridden rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student ...

The U.S. Department of Education on Monday announced several steps it would take to help colleges process the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, more efficiently amid continuing ...

WSJ Buy Side is The Wall Street Journal’s research and commerce team. Our commerce content is distinct from our newsroom coverage. We earn a commission from some links in our articles. Learn more. Per ...

OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced a state of emergency and waived the state aid Free Application for Federal Aid – OR FAFSA -- requirements earlier this week. "With all of ...

Filling out the FAFSA is key for students to qualify for federal financial aid, and often also state aid, to attend college.

Knowing when to apply for financial aid is critical no matter which school you’re planning to attend. There are FAFSA deadlines to meet and some funding is on a first-come, first-served basis. In ...

Guest columnist Scott A. Schulz, Ph.D., has served as vice president for enrollment management at Baldwin Wallace University since 2015. He has been a higher education professional since 2007, with ...