Federal Student Aid Website
Federal Student Aid is an office of the U.S. Department of Education, and its website is the logical first place to start. The site provides detailed guidance on preparing for college, choosing a school, types of financial aid, who gets aid, applying for aid with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and how to repay student loans. The site offers advice and information for both students and parents, including checklists for academic and financial preparation. Types of aid, including grants, scholarships, work-study jobs, and requirements for becoming and remaining eligible, are detailed. As well as information on filling out the FAFSA, the site provides an estimator tool, which helps you estimate your future eligibility for aid. A section on loan repayment covers such topics as consolidation, deferment, forgiveness, delinquency, and default. The FAFSA form is available starting on Oct. 1 for the following school year. In order to complete the FAFSA, you will need the following:
Social Security numbers of the student and the parents/guardiansDriver’s license number if you have oneAlien Registration Number if you are not a U.S. citizenFederal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information for parents/guardians and Form 1040 (or applicable tax return) if you are a dependent studentRecords of untaxed income—including child support, interest income, and veterans benefits—for the student and parents/guardiansInformation on cash holdings; bank account balances; investments, including stocks, bonds, and real estate (but not the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for the student and the parents/guardians
The FAFSA asks several questions that help determine whether the student is a dependent student, including ones regarding age and marital status.
CareerOneStop
The U.S. Department of Labor sponsors the CareerOneStop website, which lists more than 8,000 searchable scholarships, fellowships, grants, and other financial aid opportunities. (It also offers a lot of career-related guidance, including skill and interest assessments, information on job training programs, and a database of job postings.)
College Scholarship Websites
It makes sense to find and apply for as many scholarships as you can. Unlike some other forms of financial aid, scholarships don’t have to be repaid. Merit-based scholarships are earned by meeting or exceeding standards set by the scholarship sponsor. Some scholarships may be based on financial need. Other scholarships are geared toward a particular group of people, and some are available because of where you or your parents work or went to school.
CollegeScholarships.org
CollegeScholarships.org allows you to search for scholarships, grants, and loans without requiring you to register or log in. It also provides information on higher education-related topics such as application essay writing and the cost of books.
Scholarship America
Scholarship America describes itself as the “largest nonprofit, private scholarship organization” in the U.S. The Scholarship America Hub matches you up with applicable scholarships.
Other Free Online Resources
Finaid
Finaid—which is affiliated with Fastweb, another scholarship search site—has a wealth of information about financial aid. The easiest way to get started looking for helpful pages is to check out the Quick Links at the bottom of the page, where the very large number of topics is divided into such categories as loans, military aid, calculators, and educators.
529 Savings Plan Websites
While SavingforCollege.com and the College Savings Plan Network are two websites that focus primarily on 529 savings plans, they also offer information on saving for college and how that impacts financial aid for students.
