College is not one decision. It is six systems, and a family has to line them all up at once: benefits, financial aid, vocational rehabilitation, school records, state disability services, and, for military families, veterans benefits.
The Family Navigator is our free Benefits Check. Answer six questions, as a short form or by talking it through in our guided chat, and get a personal checklist built for your state, with the official links for every step.
This tool is in beta. California and Tennessee are covered in depth today. Every other state starts with the federal steps and official directories, and we are building state by state. Your feedback decides what we build next.
Free to families, always. Your answers stay on your own device: the Navigator does not send them to us.
How it works: 1. Answer six questions about your student, your state, and what you have already started. 2. Get your checklist, organized by system, with official resources for each step. 3. Save it on your device, download it, print it for your binder, or email it to yourself.
Help the Navigator grow
Families: tell us what state you are in, what we missed, and what confused you. You can also ask us to contact you with more information.
Give feedback on the Family Navigator
Organizations: opt in to share your resource and link. Every submission is reviewed and verified by a person, listing is always free, and logos are used only with your permission on the form.
Why families pay nothing
Money should never be a barrier to getting help. Families pay nothing for the Family Navigator, our guides and checklists, or navigation help. That work is made possible by people and organizations who believe access should not depend on a family’s ability to pay. Transcenders Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. One-time and monthly recurring gifts from individuals and companies are appreciated and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you have a donor-advised fund, you can recommend a grant to Transcenders Inc, EIN 99-3771541. Giving is always optional. It never changes a family’s access to the Navigator or any Transcenders resource.
Binder packet
Print the tab covers and one page handouts for each system and build the binder the Navigator keeps telling you to build. Every page carries a QR code back to this page, so a printed copy from this year still finds the current version.
Limits
The Family Navigator offers navigation help, not legal advice. Program rules change, and your local agency makes the final call on eligibility. If anything here differs from what an agency tells you, the agency’s current written guidance controls, and please tell us so we can fix our page.