Federal Student Aid also known as FAFSA is a system provided by the U.S. Department of Education which assists students in determining what types of federally funded financial aid they are eligible for in order to fund their post-secondary education. The FAFSA website proctors an application process for students to determine financial aid eligibility by requiring them to provide information such as what schools they hope to attend, whether the student will receive tuition assistance from family or other sources, and the student's income. The results of a FAFSA application inform a student how much they may be eligible to receive via federal student loans, grant funding and work-study funding and how much they should be expected to contribute financially to their education.
FinAid is a free website that provides a public service to individuals looking into higher education or those currently enrolled in higher education who want to learn more about student loans, scholarships and financial aid. FinAid provides users with a scholarship search tool, explains the difference between private and government loans, helps students determine how much school will cost, and provides resources for future and former military personnel who want to pursue an education. Users can also use the "Ask the Aid Advisor" tool which provides answers from a certified financial aid professional via email or telephone.
Fastweb is a free online resource that helps locate scholarships for higher education. Fastweb claims to have helped 1.5 million students find $3.4 billion in scholarship funds since 1996. Users can create a profile that helps determine what types of scholarships they may eligible for. In the profile, users can provide information about their religion, heritage and other activities to increase the number of scholarships they may qualify for. Fastweb also provides users with tuition and student loan calculators and a database of internships and jobs available throughout the United States.
Scholarships was founded in 1999 to help students find money for college. Since its inception, the website has located over $19 billion in scholarships, grants and other money for students. Users fill out an extensive profile that is matched to qualifying characteristics of scholarships in the website's database. Scholarships helps students fund their education by providing its own scholarships through essay competitions. The website also provides a list of 7,000 colleges and universities with details of a school's cost, majors and other pertinent information to helps them compare schools.