College Finance Resources

Below you will find numerous resources related to financing a college education.

http://www.finaid.org- This web site is really the first place any student or parent should consult if college is on the horizon. You will find an enormous amount of information about attending college, financial aid and loans, scholarships, lenders and much more. There is a lot to learn about financing a college education, and all the information is here in very readable form. This site is highly recommended.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov- This is the site for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Almost every student will need some sort of financial aid to get through college, and everyone seeking aid should fill out a FAFSA form. This is the place to start doing that.

http://www.StudentLoanJustice.org Gives all kinds of info about the pitfalls of student loans as well as horror stories about the lives of people who get caught in the trap of too much student debt.

http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=efcformulaguide- Includes worksheets and tables that can be used to calculate an expected family contribution (EFC)

http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/- Tons of information about federal student aid

http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html- Provides information about the Federal Pell Grant Program.

http://www.FastWeb.com- A Monster company web site that matches test scores and student aptitudes with thousands of available scholarships.

http://www.ScholarshipExperts.com- A scholarship search site that is kept updated.

http://www.careeronestop.org/EducationTraining/Pay/FinancialAid.aspx- Has lots of information about financing a college education including info about loans, grants, scholarships, etc. The home page has lots of resources for finding jobs as well. It is well worthwhile to check this out.

http://www.salliemae.com- A student lender with whom you can apply for a student loan.

http://www.estudentloan.com- eStudentLoan provides resources to help you understand everything you need to know about student loans for college. After having done your research you can search for a student loan.

http://www.greennote.com/- Allows you to arrange a private student loan from individual lenders.

https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/CounselingSessions.do?cmd=initializeContext- Dept. of Education guidance sessions about managing a student loan and a required session about loan repayment after graduation.

http://www.dl.ed.gov- Federal student aid web site

http://www.upromise.com- Site that offers savings for online purchases of many commonly purchased items. These savings are applied to student loans. Friends and family can participate for an individual. Payments are made periodically into the student’s loan account.

http://studentaid.ed.gov- Dept. of Education site about student aid

http://www.youneedabudget.com- Low cost personal finance software program that outlines a 4 step method to help you live on last month’s income and get out of debt.

http://www.fsahelp.ed.gov- The FSA Ombudsman site which will offer help if you are having difficulties with your loan and lender.

The Student Loan Directory