The College Investor Audio Show

The U.S. Department of Education announced that more than 10 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms for the 2026-27 academic year have been completed and processed this application cycle.That represents a 17% increase over the number of applications completed at this point during the previous year and a 487% jump compared to two years ago, when the Biden Administration’s botched rollout of a redesigned FAFSA form left millions of families waiting months for processing.The Department credited the improvement to what it called "the earliest FAFSA launch in history".

Across the country, colleges are discovering that their enrollment rolls are full of students who don’t actually exist. They’re called “ghost students”—fabricated or stolen identities used by scammers to enroll in college courses, trigger federal financial aid disbursements, and then vanish with the money.The fraud has grown so large that the U.S. Department of Education says it prevented more than $1 billion in attempted student aid theft in 2025 alone. And the problem is getting worse.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will move out of its longtime headquarters in Washington, D.C., downsizing to a smaller building. The agency will relocate to a smaller federal office one block away, a move that underscores how much the department has shrunk under the Trump administration’s push to dismantle it.The LBJ building, which sits at 400 Maryland Avenue SW, is now approximately 70% vacant following a reduction in force that cut nearly half of the department’s workforce.The move is targeted for August 2026.

The Department of Education is going to begin contacting the more than 7 million borrowers enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE student loan repayment plan, directing them to choose a new repayment plan. The first emails are reminders, followed by formal notices.Starting July 1, loan servicers will issue formal 90-day notices requiring borrowers to switch or be automatically placed on the standard repayment plan. That means the effective end date of the SAVE forbearance will likely be September 30, 2026.The Washington Post first reported that the Education Department would begin emailing SAVE borrowers on Friday to encourage them to apply for a different repayment plan. Those emails will be followed by formal notices from loan servicers giving borrowers 90 days to choose a new plan or be automatically moved into the standard repayment plan — the most expensive option available, according to three people familiar with the matter.The Associated Press confirmed the timeline, reporting that the formal 90-day notices from loan servicers will begin on July 1. Borrowers will be contacted in waves, with a new group receiving notice every two weeks. Those enrolled in SAVE the longest will be the first to hear from their servicers.This aligns with The College Investor's previous SAVE Timeline Predictions of fall 2026.

College applications present students with a challenging and time-consuming project — perhaps the largest they have faced in their lives. As a parent, you can help your child manage the process, but you can also hurt their chances if you make the wrong moves.Here’s a collection of college admissions secrets that can help you craft the ideal college list, get your child into schools they love, and choose one that you’ll be able to afford.

The main difference between a prepaid tuition plan and 529 plan is that prepaid tuition plans allow you to lock in tuition credits at today's prices.Prepaid tuition plans and 529 college savings plans are specialized savings accounts used for future college costs. Prepaid tuition plans act like defined benefit plans, while 529 plans act like defined contribution plans.There are other significant similarities and differences between them. Get the details for each to figure out which plan makes more sense for your college needs.