Best Financial Aid Sites

The Student Financial Services Department at Mercyhurst College has identified seven websites that provide prospective students and their parents with especially useful information about financial aid opportunities. The information available on these sites is objective, free of advertisements (unless otherwise noted), and offered at no charge to the user.

U.S. Department of Education

This site, sponsored by the Department of Education, offers in-depth information about federal student loans and grants, as well as the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) process. The “FAFSA4caster “ is an excellent tool that helps high school juniors and prospective adult students get an early estimate of their federal financial aid eligibility. The site also provides federal loan repayment calculators.

The “financial aid and scholarship wizard” includes a “search for scholarships” engine that allows the user to search the database by keyword, such as “community service” or “biology.” The “scholarship matching wizard” app offers personalized searches based on the user’s responses to a questionnaire.

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

NASFAA is a national association of college and university financial aid professionals. The “parents and students” section offers in-depth information on such topics as college savings plans, the federal student loan application process (FAFSA), aid for students with disabilities, and aid for veterans. Their “Guide to Higher Education Tax Benefits” is one of the best available.

AES/PHEAA
AES is a student loan servicing agency operated by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Its website offers helpful sections on career and college planning, learning styles, test-taking and the college choice process. It also includes a college search engine and a scholarship search engine.

U.S Government
Students.gov is operated by several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education. The sections on federal government employment, internship and fellowship opportunities for students are especially helpful. The “scholarships and grants” section provides links to several scholarship opportunities presented by agencies across the federal government.

The College Board
This site is sponsored by the College Board, which administers such tests as the PSAT, SAT and AP. The “pay for college” section of the site offers six different calculators, including a “student loan comparison” calculator that helps the user compare the interest rates, fees and other terms associated with federal Stafford, PLUS and alternative (private market) loans.

Studentaid.com, Inc.
This site is operated by a commercial enterprise but does not present advertising, collect personal information or charge user fees. It offers one of the few comprehensive listings of grants, scholarships and loans that are offered through state higher education agencies. With few exceptions, this assistance is available only to a state’s own residents.