LAS VEGAS, October 3, 2017 – To guide students and families through the 2018-2019 FAFSA, Edvisors released its student-friendly Guide to Filing the FAFSA®. This year’s guide replaces the former book Edvisors published and provides a more youth-centric approach to understanding and completing the FAFSA. It includes answers to common questions, top tips to avoid errors, and insights on year-over-year changes to the FAFSA.
The new guide is a downloadable PDF, filled with straightforward and actionable advice. “We think this is a great resource for students, parents, guidance counselors and others who may assist families with this important phase of the financial aid process. Because of its style and simplicity, it is easy to locate the key information people need, including phone numbers and websites, in a central document,” says Anita Thomas, Senior Vice President of Edvisors. A free copy can be obtained at https://www.edvisors.com/fafsa/book/download-fafsa-guide-now/.
Each year, students and families can file the FAFSA starting October 1st. Notable changes for 2018-2019 include:
• Security updates. In the wake of a security breach that brought the IRS Data Retrieval Tool down in March of this year, the 2018-19 FAFSA has undergone an important upgrade. It is now more secure but there’s a catch. FAFSA filers who import tax information from the IRS (using the Data Retrieval Tool) will not see their actual tax data populated in front of them. Instead, the data will be encrypted and blocked from plain sight. The field value will not display any numbers. Instead, it will display a message indicating the figures were transferred from the IRS. This means students and parents will not be able to check the data in order to determine accuracy or to make changes. Corrections will need to be made through the Financial Aid Office.
• Good news for those who filed amended tax returns. One of the changes for the 2018-19 FAFSA is that it allows the use of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for individuals or families who filed an amended tax return in 2016.
About Edvisors
Edvisors publishes free web sites to help students and families plan and pay for college. Every year, millions of students and their families turn to the company’s flagship site, Edvisors.com, for timely, accurate information, advice and tools that help them confidently make the best decisions about paying for college. Additionally, Edvisors owns ScholarshipPoints.com, where students earn points and enter scholarship drawings (the site has awarded more than $750,000 to date); and both PrivateStudentLoans.com and StudentLoanConsolidator.com, which helps students find private loans that are right for them. Founded in 1998, Edvisors is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. More information can be found at www.edvisors.com.
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