The College Pod

JUNE 21, 2025

Can We Reduce Costs by Starting at Community College? One of the smartest ways to lower costs is starting at a community college , especially if your student is still exploring career options. It lets students explore interests without the pressure of massive debt, and gives them time to clarify their goals.

Scholarship

COE

MAY 2, 2025

Further, the Administrations proposal ignores the harsh reality that many institutions of higher education particularly community colleges, regional colleges, and smaller private institutions do not have the infrastructure or funding to take on TRIOs responsibilities alone.

Education

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

DECEMBER 9, 2024

Student debt issues loom, and problems due to the rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA linger. Institutions continue to see presidential resignations, and the leaders of the future try to figure out how best to oversee colleges and universities. Lets take a look at the year that was as plans develop for the road ahead. Larry Hlavenka Jr.,

Mental health

CFAA College Financial Aid Advisors

JUNE 2, 2025

Alternative options, like gap years, transfers, and community colleges are very real possibilities for those what-if situations. Work & Internship Opportunities: Start conversations about post-college plans early on, including career goals and aspirations. Congratulations on this exciting transition!!

Financial aid

The College Pod

JANUARY 13, 2025

The gateway to financial aid--including grant, scholarships, and loans--is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ) students must complete before they enter college and every year they are in college. Only Borrow What You Need Colleges may offer you more loan money than you actually need.

Student loans

The College Pod

MAY 4, 2024

To be sure, most families do not pay the full COA listed on a college’s website. Instead, they pay what is called a net price which is different for every family based on the information they provide in the FAFSA and/or CSS PROFILE. >> Your child can transfer credits to a four-year institution to complete their degree.

Financial aid

COE

JULY 8, 2025

Collins says she helped secure Upward Bound funding for Maine Massachusetts: Trump cuts would devastate community colleges, undermining lower-income students striving to better their lives Massachusetts: Programs to support N.H.s Blog Revised FAFSA Release Date Pushed Back – What You Need to Know!

First generation

COE

JULY 15, 2025

Hamm COE is inviting community colleges—with or without a current SSS program—to apply for the inaugural COE Award for Institutional Effectiveness, which will bestow $10,000 each on three campuses that have successfully embedded TRIO Student Support Services practices into their wider student success strategies. .

First generation

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

APRIL 11, 2023

Boston residents can get tuition-free education at six community colleges, due to the expansion of the city government’s Tuition-Free Community College Plan. Submission of a separate application is not needed, just the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Community college

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

JULY 29, 2024

Maura Healey signed the state budget worth nearly $58 billion that includes free community college. The state’s FY2025 budget sets aside more than $117 million through MassEducate for a statewide, free community college program that covers tuition and fees for students. Massachusetts Gov.

Community college

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Greg Nayor In what has been another delay, ED announced last week that schools and agencies involved in financial aid will receive Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information – which they use to determine student total financial aid offerings – until the first half of March. It really does shorten things up quite a bit."

FAFSA

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

MARCH 2, 2023

When the FAFSA Simplification Act begins to take effect this July, it’s expected to significantly affect the process of applying for financial aid, making the paperwork less complex and altering the formula for eligibility. You may be able to go to community college, pay your tuition, have your books, etc.

FAFSA

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

MAY 2, 2024

Casualties of the ongoing FAFSA debacle continue to stack up, even as Federal Student Aid Director Richard Cordray leaves the situation behind. Department of Education works to fix the broken system, it’s time for community college leaders to remind Americans that these important institutions exist. While the U.S.

FAFSA

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

MAY 22, 2024

This continues the upward trend that began last fall after years of declining enrollments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit community colleges particularly hard. This spring, growth was primarily driven by community colleges, where enrollment rose 4.7% Community colleges are still down about 12.5%

Advising

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

OCTOBER 23, 2024

This is the second consecutive year of undergraduate growth and third straight year of growth for community colleges. Mitra, vice president of student affairs & enrollment management at Queensborough Community College When asked if the FAFSA impacted freshman enrollment, Shapiro said the data doesn’t address that issue.

Student affairs

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

MARCH 28, 2024

And while I am always trying to find ways to support community college students, I believe this work can be applied to all higher education institutions. Community college is free, and student aid covers the total cost of attendance. Every vendor on a community college campus would be required to accept SNAP.

Leadership

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

Salcedo is the director of the Center for Community College Partnerships at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Alexander observes that many high school and community college students see no connection to the university, therefore building pathways to higher education is part of AAP’s outreach.

Success

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

APRIL 20, 2023

Community colleges have historically served as an entry point into higher education for underserved populations. However, we have heard from students that there are sometimes significant hurdles to transferring from a community college to a state university while staying on track to graduate. Roueche and Margaretta B.

Guided pathways

College Aid Consulting Services

OCTOBER 12, 2022

The 2023-2024 FAFSA® deadlines parents need to know. FAFSA applications started on October 1, 2022. The sooner you file your FAFSA the better your chances of maximizing your financial aid. Students should be prepared to file their 2023-2024 FAFSA on October 1st, 2022. State FAFSA Deadlines FAFSA deadlines vary by state.

FAFSA

College Aid Consulting Services

JANUARY 5, 2024

As a financial aid consultant, I’ve noticed a trend in the most searched colleges and universities—an indication of where students hope to invest their futures. Houston Community College (HCC) HCC offers affordable entry into higher education with financial aid options geared toward transfer students and those in a certificate programs.

Financial aid

Community College Review

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Need help with your FAFSA application?Many Many community colleges are offering workshops and other types of assistance to help students get the financial aid necessary to head to college next year.

Application

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

MAY 11, 2023

Students from underrepresented backgrounds face considerable barriers when it comes to completing a community college program. But Dougherty Family College (DFC), a two-year associate degree program at the University of St. Unlike many community colleges, DFC has a selective admissions process.

Student success

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

JANUARY 17, 2024

health psychology, East Carolina University Career mentors: Dr. Jeannie Golden, East Carolina University; Dr. Diane Finley, Prince George’s Community College; and Dr. Christine McDermott, Delaware State University Words of wisdom/advice for new faculty members: “Don’t stretch yourself out too thin.

Mental health

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

JUNE 5, 2024

Those who returned to education overwhelmingly chose to return to public, two-year community colleges or primarily online institutions. About two-thirds of returning students chose a different institution than their original attendance, and many switched educational sectors entirely.

Students

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

JANUARY 4, 2023

Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream, a membership network of community colleges working to achieve equity in higher education, said this increase will very likely keep current Pell Grant recipients on the path toward completion. “I think it’s fantastic that students will get $500 more. Dr. Karen A.

Low income student

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Long Beach College Promise is another Latino-serving program in which students are tracked from the K-12 system (the Long Beach Unified School District), through community college, and into CSULB to make sure students are fully supported through all the educational pathways. Morishita, interim president at CSULA. Dr. Janine E.

Retention

College Planners of America

APRIL 28, 2024

Due to the disastrous rollout of the new FAFSA, most new and continuing students still don’t know how much college will cost them next year. FAFSA submissions have declined as a result, but not equally across all demographics. This glitch caused their FAFSA’s to be rejected by the ED. Department of Education.”

FAFSA

College Planners of America

APRIL 28, 2024

Due to the disastrous rollout of the new FAFSA, most new and continuing students still don’t know how much college will cost them next year. FAFSA submissions have declined as a result, but not equally across all demographics. This glitch caused their FAFSA’s to be rejected by the ED. Department of Education.”

FAFSA

EAB

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Blogs Your student loan payments are due: 3 strategies to support community college students’ financial wellness When I think back to my time in college, student loans were something that nearly everyone had, but not something any of us fully understood. Specifically, we weren’t educated on how to repay them.

Student loans

EAB

APRIL 14, 2023

Blogs The 4 stages of an integrated lifecycle approach for community college student success How EAB’s Navigate helps community colleges at every stage There is encouraging data showing that six-year completion rates have been rising across all community colleges, with a.9%

Student success

Scholarship America

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

It’s a massive paradox: paying for college is a struggle, but millions of students are missing out on billions of dollars in free money (and potentially derailing their college dreams as a result). Of course, getting to FAFSA completion isn’t always easy. Here’s how to make sure you’re not losing out. Just by submitting a form.

Financial aid

Counselors' Corner

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Self-Reported Academic Record What started out as a great time-saving idea is now the bane of most college-bound students and their counselors. New Year’s FAFSA Besides debuting when high schools are closed, the late rollout hampers financial aid packages for early applicants, and maybe later ones too. Pie in the sky?

FAFSA

COE

AUGUST 26, 2024

Patrick Lehman-Martin, a Student Support Services participant from Chememeta Community College, expressed how the experience deepened his understanding of Dutch politics and the importance of effective governance. Blog Revised FAFSA Release Date Pushed Back – What You Need to Know!

First generation

EAB

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

In the early ‘90s, there were more than 770 college and university programs in nearly 1,300 prisons nationwide , all thanks to funding from the Pell Grant. This came to a halt following the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act and FAFSA Simplification Act, which put to an end to Pell Grant funding for incarcerated individuals.

Grant

EAB

JUNE 1, 2023

Mission alignment When asked what the driving motivation was behind Mott’s Second Chance Pell work, Mary Cusack explained, “We have a responsibility to rebuild communities that have been impacted by the justice system, and one way to do that is to help increase educational attainment so that a person can access employment when they go home.”

Education

College Planners of America

JUNE 3, 2023

We recommend that every student’s College List include at least one Financial Safety School (FSS). In any discussion of financial aid, families should note that it’s critically important that all students submit a FAFSA to the U.S. The FAFSA is usually available online from the ED on October 1 for the following academic year.

Financial aid

Scholarship America

APRIL 21, 2023

Scholarship America’s community-based Dollars for Scholars are offering much-needed support to their local students who opt to attend community colleges, vocational-technical schools and similar institutions to pursue certifications. To this day 48% of their scholarships are specifically for students pursuing certifications.

Scholarship