College Financial Aid, Scholarships & Events

• FAFSA – Almost every college will require the submission of this free form to consider you for financial aid. You are encouraged to complete and submit this online.
• Css Profile – Some colleges will require the Profile in addition to the FAFSA. There is a fee to complete this form, and it is used to gather more detailed information about your finances.
• College Board – This is a very comprehensive site with lots of answers to your questions. It contains several financial aid calculators, loan information, and much, much, more.
• Finaid – This site provides good general information on financial aid. It has a financial need estimator which will predict your estimated family contribution based on the information you provide. There is also an “Ask the Expert” section where you can send questions online and get a response.
• Salliemae – This site lists both private and public educational loans and has a tutorial on Financial Aid 101 which includes eligibility, the application process, and how to go about securing a loan. It also has calculators to compare different loan products.

Regardless of your financial situation, there may be one or more scholarships available to you. Scholarships are given by individual colleges, organizations, companies, and community groups, and they have many different criteria, ranging from an outstanding academic record, to demonstrating a special talent (art, music, athletics, etc.), to an unusual degree of community involvement. You may be eligible because you have a parent working for a specific company or the award may be for ethnic background or religious belief. If you are serious about finding monies for college, you should be willing to spend some time on your search.

Here are some resources to help you along the way:

• Collegeboard – This site includes a scholarship search database known as the Fund Finder from 3,300 national, state, public, and private sources. How to spot a scam is also mentioned.
• College Express Scholarship Search – This tool has connected a ton of students with thousands of opportunities to apply for and win free money for college—and now it’s even better! Searching for scholarships that you are eligible for is now easier than ever with this tool’s brand-new look and great new features, including fast access to all our featured scholarships.
• Fast Aid – The world’s largest and oldest private sector scholarship database. You will find scholarships here that you won’t find anyplace else.
• College Answer – The most comprehensive “Going-to-College” resource on the Internet. Use it for all of your planning and paying for college needs.
• Finaid – This site will run a scholarship search for the specific interests of art, biology, computer science, engineering, journalism, and nursing.
• Scholarships – This site offers a database of 3,000 sources and detailed search results.