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A college education… Getting a degree is one of the most important investments you will make in your life. However, with the increasing costs of tuition, figuring out how to finance your education can be discouraging and even a little scary.
The management team of Financial Aid Finder has been producing top rated financial
aid resources since 1993. A few years ago, we decided to bring these resources to the public for free. Financial Aid Finder believes that in today’s economic market students need all the help they can get in finding and evaluating college financial aid options to help them pay for their college and university education.
Let’s face it financial aid is as confusing as it is necessary to a college education! That is why we have designed this website to act as a guide and solution to your financial aid concerns. Please use our free resource to find answers to your questions about:
College Scholarships
Scholarship Listings
College Savings Plans
Student Loans
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
529 College Saving Plans
UGMA Uniform Gifts to Minors Act
Common Questions and Answers
Financial Aid Basics
Financial Aid Terminology
Financial Aid Applications
Financial Planning for High School Students & Parents
Types of Financial Aid Programs
Our Financial Aid writers post new information about student financial aid all the time. A list of their most recent postings can be found below. Our financial aid postings are also categorized above in the top navigation by category.
Don’t miss out on important posts on topics ranging from college scholarships to college loan applications. To the right you can also view the student financial aid articles archive by month and get caught up.
Most Recent
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Happy Friday, scholarship seekers. Another whole week has come and gone. With the days of November now ticking by, we’re heading into the busiest times of the scholarship calendar. If you haven’t been as diligent as you should be about applying to scholarships, no more excuses! Set aside a few hours this weekend to do your research, write your essays, and complete your applications. Let me make that “research” part of your weekend plan a little easier by giving you a lead on three great scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines. 1. Regional Undergraduate Scholarships, Engineering: $3,000 The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers is offering a number of regional scholarships to undergraduate applicants with a minimum ...
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Did you know that the average family in America earns $50,000 per year? And did you know that spending one year at many of America’s elite private colleges and universities will cost more than that? According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, there are 58 private colleges charging at least $50K for tuition, fees, room and board — up from “just” five colleges charging that much last year. Top of the list is the all-female Sarah Lawrence College, at $55,788/year. To put that price tag in perspective, I liked this quote from the article: Before the 1980s … people at private colleges had a rule of thumb: A year of private education should cost about the same as a new Chevrolet. “You don’t have to pay $50,000 for a new Chevy these days,” Mr. B...
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A college education… Getting a degree is one of the most important investments you will make in your life. However, with the increasing costs of tuition, figuring out how to finance your education can be discouraging and even a little scary. The management team of Financial Aid Finder has been producing top rated financial aid resources since 1993. A few years ago, we decided to bring these resources to the public for free. Financial Aid Finder believes that in today’s economic market students need all the help they can get in finding and evaluating college financial aid options to help them pay for their college and university education. Let’s face it financial aid is as confusing as it is necessary to a college education! That is why we have designed this website to a...
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A recent article from the Dallas News alerted me to a problem with the Prepaid Tuition 529 Plan in Texas. Originally, the plan let investors withdraw their funds, plus earnings, even if the designated beneficiary wasn’t going to college in Texas. Now, however, the state of Texas is amending that benefit: If investors don’t use their plan to pay for school in Texas, they get only the value of their original investment, without any of the interest. What gives? Apparently, the longhorn plan is running in the red, to the tune of almost $2 billion by 2030. The Texas Legislature deregulated tuition rates in 2003, and that’s when tuition started to skyrocket — much faster than the fund could keep up with. Anticipating this problem, the pre-paid tuition fund was closed...
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TGIF, scholarship seekers. The temperatures may be getting colder, but the scholarship world is heating up. In fact, the greatest number of scholarship deadlines fall between mid November and mid February, so now is definitely the time to get to work on your scholarship applications. As you know by now, every Friday I make your scholarship search a little bit easier by posting about three great opportunities with upcoming deadlines. This week, I have three essay competitions, all of which are open exclusively to high school students. Even if you are just a freshmen or sophomore in high school, winning an essay competition is a great way to get a head start on paying for college. To learn more about college scholarships, please visit the Financial Aid Finder’s scholarship section, wit...
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I have never hid my opinion from our readers that, if given a choice, federal student loans are far superior to private student loans. Federal student loans have lower interest rates, more favorable terms (such as income-based loan repayment), don’t require a co-signer, and freeze your repayments and interest while you’re in school. All these factors, coupled with the instability of the private loan market starting last fall, make federal student loans a much better option than private student loans for students. Congress concurs, which is why a House committee recently took up a bill to more closely regulate private student loans within its overhaul of banking regulations. If approved, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 would create a new centralized fed...
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Happy Friday, scholarship seekers! It’s been a long week here, and I’m doing a little snoopy dance that the weekend if finally upon us! How has your week been? Have you made any progress on your college scholarship applications? As the weather turns colder we are heading into prime scholarship deadline season, so be sure to clear a few hours every week to work on your applications. After all, the best way to pay for college is with some free money, right?! This week, I have three great scholarship opportunities for you, including two essay competitions plus a $15,000 MVS (Most Valuable Student) competition from the Elks National Foundation. I hope you find something here than will help you to pay for college! To learn more about college scholarships, please visit the Financ...
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Did you know that soldiers who are serving in active duty are charged interest on their student loans? Going to graduate school will free your student loan interest accrual, but serving in Iraq? No. A group of 15 senators is introducing a new bill to change this, providing immediate student loan debt relief to active-duty soldiers and members of the National Guard. According to a blog post from Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the bill would prohibit interest from accruing on direct student loans, regardless of the date of origination, for all service members on active duty for up to 60 months. This would save the average service member between $1,183 and $1,479 over the course of a 12- to 15-month activation period. Between this and the delays with tuition benefits from the new GI Bill, I am...
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Happy Friday, dear readers! Are you here for your weekly dose of great scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines? Then you’re in the right place! There is no more productive way to spend your weekend than applying for a handful of scholarships. I recently read that earning money for college through scholarships is a numbers game — the more you apply to, the better chance you have to win. Will you will all? No way! Half? Nope! But you may win 5 or even 10% of the scholarships you apply to, if you pick your applications strategically. Look for opportunities where you meet *all* of the qualifications — and be sure you have your A-game on every time you sit down to write an essay! Back to business. This week, I have three great scholarship opportunities for you, ...
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This is not exactly financial aid related, but I saw this cool website and just had to share. GreenReportCard.org provides in-depth sustainability profiles of three hundred colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The extensive data for this project is based primarily on information gathered through voluntary surveys of school administrators. There are nine main categories, such as green building, food & recycling, student involvement, and transportation, by which schools are rated. A compilation of these nine ratings is calculated and then each school is assigned a final grade. My quick perusal of the website shows grades ranging from D- to A-. I have yet to find an A or an A+ yet…I guess when it comes to green, there’s always a little room for...
