Helpful links and sources about making your final college decision

    Do the math with these loan calculators and compare financial aid comparison tools.

    Please note: Although the College Money Matters Team has found the information on the sites listed here to be useful, we do not endorse these or any sites from any organization. Also, we have not verified the content. Please be aware that there are always assumptions and flaws in any statistics and information that are gathered by any researcher.

    Understanding your financial aid award letter

    Mark Salisbury of Tuitionfit.org has put together a great video entitled “Four Fundamentals to Figuring out a Financial Aid Award Letter.” We highly recommend watching it.

    Watch the video.

    Financial Aid Comparison Tool (US Govt.)

    Designed by the Consumer Financial Protection Board, this calculator lets you enter specific information from your financial aid packages so you can estimate what each of your college choices may cost. A quick guideline: keep your borrowing to an absolute minimum by using only government loans.

    Try the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Comparison Tool

    Compare Financial Aid Packages (uAspire)

    Uaspire is a nonprofit organization that created this tool to help college-bound students and their families compare financial aid packages and estimate what a college may really cost.

    Simple Student Loan Calculator

    This calculator will help you estimate what a loan of any amount will cost you over time. But remember, each year that you're in college can mean another loan – and a different interest rate, too. So do the math for one year and four years.

    Detailed Student Loan Calculator

    This link takes you to a calculator on FinAid.org, a site run by recognized FAFSA expert, Mark Kantrowitz. Please note: the information you provide on the FinAid site may be used for marketing purposes.

    Try the FinAid.org Calculator