Best of the Web: Financial aid
Summary: How to tell whether you're being offered free money for college, or money you'll have to pay back, plus interest.
Time to Read: under a minute
Who this is for: Juniors, Seniors and Parents
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.
College Navigator
Good site to search for all kinds of college information, including: college prices, financial aid, programs offered by colleges, and much more.
Comparing financial aid packages
A valuable aid for evaluating financial aid offers, this interactive tool lets you put in your data to help you decide the best school for you as well as how to pay for it.
FAFSA Application for Federal Student Aid
In terms of paying for college, your FAFSA application may be the most important form you fill out. It’s your key to getting low-cost government loans for your college education, no matter what your or your family’s income may be.
Estimate what you might receive in financial aid here:
You can fill this out before you do the FAFSA to get an idea of what your student aid might be.
How families in higher income brackets may qualify for financial aid
An informative article on what a $300,000 4-year college career might cost a $200,000-a-year earning family.
How to avoid financial aid fraud
The Federal Government’s advice on how not to get scammed.
Understanding FAFSA
This detailed guide to filling out FAFSA includes answers to a lot of questions you may have. It even includes information for immigrants, homeless and undocumented students. You can sign up for regular updates too. A useful site for mentors and students.
Straight talk about reading Financial Aid Packages
This 20 minute video is worth watching before you embark on comparing financial aid packages
Helpful links and sources for more information about financial aid.