We’re here to support you in the important work you do with students. Below you’ll find resources specifically for you — live and virtual events, recorded trainings, our monthly newsletter, and a variety of FAFSA assets to promote FAFSA completion and help you learn more about the new “Better” FAFSA.
We’ve also compiled resources you can share with your students and families on the financial aid process, filing the FAFSA, and building financial wellness.
Professional Development
Wednesday Webinars
Our monthly virtual training series
FAME’s Wednesday Webinars provide web-based training and information to school counselors, college access advisors, financial aid counselors, and anyone who works with families, helping them prepare to pay for higher education and navigate the financial aid process.
Our monthly virtual trainings, also known as Wednesday Webinars, are held on the second Wednesday of each month during the academic year from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday Webinar Schedule
Nov 2024
13
Dec 2024
11
Jan 2025
8
All webinars are also recorded. Archived webinars not listed below are available on YouTube.
Wednesday Webinar Recordings and Presentations
| Title | Date | Recording | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarship Connections | October 2024 | Recorded | |
| Get Ready for the 2025-2026 FAFSA | September 2024 | Recorded | |
| Reworking the Plan – Alternative Pathways Available to Students | May 2024 | Recorded | |
| Comparing Financial Aid Offers and Paying the Balance | May 2024 | Recorded | |
| Claim Your Future Overview and Updates | April 2024 | Recorded | |
| Next Steps in the FAFSA Process | March 2024 | Recorded | |
| After the FAFSA – What We’ve Learned | February 2024 | Recorded | |
| Filing the 2024-2025 FAFSA | January 2024 | Recorded | |
| The 2024-2025 FAFSA is Coming Soon | December 2023 | Recorded | |
| Becoming A Scholarship Insider | November 2023 | Recorded | |
| Get Ready, Get Set, Repay | October 2023 | Recorded | |
| Help Your Students Get Ready to File the 2024-2025 FAFSA | September 2023 | Recorded |
In-Person and Virtual Training Events
Summer Financial Aid Training
Each August FAME hosts its free Summer Financial Aid Training to help education professionals prepare for the upcoming financial aid season. This year’s training was a virtual event that took place on August 14, 2024. Session topics included FSA IDs and the FAFSA filing process with a special focus on problem avoidance and resolution.
Session Recordings and Slide Decks
View or download the agenda.
Federal Student Aid Accounts (FSA IDs)
2024 Summer Financial Aid Training
Creating FSA ID ahead of time and ensuring that the information is correct is critical to simplifying the FAFSA completion process. But what happens when there are issues with creating an account, the parent doesn’t have a Social Security Number, or the FSA ID isn’t created ahead of time? In this session we’ll walk through the FSA ID process and show you how to update information when needed. We’ll then focus on troubleshooting FSA ID issues and share tips for those with no SSN. We’ll close by discussing the impact of not creating an FSA ID ahead of time.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
Understanding the Better FAFSA
2024 Summer Financial Aid Training
Despite challenges with the rollout of the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the new FAFSA is much easier to complete—especially if you know what to expect. During this session we walk through the FAFSA and focus on the questions where we’ve seen the most challenges. We explain how the student and parent sections of the FAFSA get linked together and how to troubleshoot challenges in this area and others. We then review how FAFSA status can be tracked and the process for making corrections.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
Important Updates
2024 Summer Financial Aid Training
In this closing session, we provide a quick update on the Maine State Grant and summarize current FAFSA completion efforts and data for the Class of 2024. We’ll discuss what we know about the release of the 25-26 FAFSA and share tools to ensure you have what you need to help knock FAFSA filing rates out of the park for the coming year!
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
Financial Aid 101
Financial Aid 101 (FA 101) is FAME’s annual financial aid training for school counselors, college access advisors, educators and anyone assisting students with the financial aid process. This free event offers the latest financial aid updates, training sessions on our most requested topics, and information on events and activities for the upcoming year.
This year’s Financial Aid 101 in-person event took place on Friday, March 15, 2024 at Maple Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast Inn and Conference Center in Hallowell.
In addition to the in-person training on March 15th, a virtual Financial Aid 101 training was held on Friday, March 22, 2024, featuring the same content.
View the agenda, watch presentation recordings, and download resources from our 2024 Financial Aid 101 event on our Financial Aid 101 webpage.
Tuesday Tips
FAME’s monthly newsletter on affording education after high school
Receive news, info, and resources on affording, planning, and paying for higher education on the fourth Tuesday of each month. To explore back issues and subscribe, visit our Tuesday Tips page.
FAFSA Resources
| Promote FAFSA Completion in Your School |
Hang a FAFSA poster in your school or post it to your website.
Mail, hand out, or electronically send postcards to students.
Download our Word doc of sample scripts to use when calling, emailing, or texting families, or to make a PA announcement during school.
| Track Your Students FAFSA Filing with FAME’s FAFSA Portal |
FAME’s FAFSA Portal allows eligible high school counselors to access the FAFSA completion status for each of their high school seniors and identify which filers have been selected for verification. For more information, please contact Mila Tappan.
Download our Word doc of sample scripts to use when doing FAFSA follow-up with your students. (Also available in PDF format.)
View FAFSA completion rates by high school and the statewide average. Updated monthly from January through August.
Eligibility for a maximum or minimum Pell Grant can now be determined before the FAFSA is filed. Use Pell Grant look-up tables provided by Federal Student Aid to learn more.
This tool provides an estimate of the 2025-2026 Student Aid Index (SAI) and federal Pell Grant eligibility.
Federal Student Aid’s FAFSA prototype provides the opportunity to explore the 2025-2026 FAFSA ahead of its release. Enter access code prototype2526 when prompted.
Wondering what changes came with the “Better” FAFSA? We’ve outlined our top ten.
Learn the lingo of Better FAFSA! Check out our FAFSA glossary to find the new names for old, familiar terms as well as definitions for new terms introduced with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
Get a sense of the new “Better” FAFSA process through these nine sample scenarios.
Students and families who have had a change in circumstance or a situation that impacts their ability to pay for college should contact their financial aid office. To help guide your conversations with students and families, this document provides an overview of financial aid appeals, the steps to appeal a financial aid offer, and tips for describing the circumstances that led to the appeal. Share this resource with students and families to help them appeal a financial aid offer.
FAFSA Fridays
A FAFSA Simplification Training Series for Education Professionals
Recap, Formula Changes, and FAQ
FAFSA Fridays | December 2023
Fourth in our series of monthly FAFSA Simplification trainings, December’s session covers the latest updates on the 2024-2025 FAFSA, what students and families can do now to prepare (including identifying all contributors and creating FSA IDs), and FAFSA formula changes. The session concludes with FAQs on the new FAFSA.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
FSA ID, Process, and Process Changes
FAFSA Fridays | November 2023
November’s session is the third in a series of monthly FAFSA Simplification trainings. This session begins with an overview of what students and families need to do now to get ready to file in December. We then discuss the new process for parents without a Social Security number to create a Federal Student Aid account (FSA ID). The session concludes with a discussion of the change to a roles-based form and the resulting process changes.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
Pell and Pathways
FAFSA Fridays | October 2023
October’s session is the second in a series of monthly FAFSA Simplification trainings. This session begins with an overview of what we need students and families to do now to get ready to file in December. We then discuss the welcome changes related to Pell Grant eligibility and transparency and the expanded pathways for students with challenging circumstances.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
FAFSA Simplification Training for Education Professionals
FAFSA Fridays | September 2023
September’s training is the first in a series of monthly FAFSA Simplification trainings. This session provides an overview of the changes that are coming as a result of the new Better FAFSA. We focus on what students and families need to do now to get prepared to file the FAFSA once it’s released in December. Future monthly trainings will include a deeper dive into the FAFSA process, including formula changes and their impacts.
Get the slide deck (.pdf format)
