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​Updated August 2023

College Financial Aid

RESOURCES
April 15, 2023: "The College Data You Probably Can’t Find, but Definitely Need" from The New York Times. "Fed up with the lack of clear college pricing and other data, these parents hacked the information they needed into usable tools and guides." Four websites to check out:
Websites
  • FinAid: Reliable information about financial aid, estimating family contribution, scholarship scams
  • StudentAid.gov is the federal website where you apply for FAFSA plus it has lots of other reliable financial aid information
  • California Student Aid Commission: Information on Cal Grants. Assists in the search for state, federal, and institutional financial aid information for funding post-high school education
  • Fastweb is a free scholarship search platform that connects students to scholarships and financial aid tools. Their goal is to help you find scholarships to make school more affordable.
  • Explore a WUE School. Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE, pronounced “woo-wee”) is a regional tuition savings agreement administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WUE enables students from one of 16 WICHE states and territories in the Western U.S. to enroll as nonresidents in 160+ participating public colleges and universities and pay 150 percent (or less) of the enrolling institution’s resident tuition—which annually saves students an average of $10,895 each on the cost of nonresident tuition.
  • List of schools offering Merit Based Aid, U.S. 2022
Articles, Videos and Books Estimation Calculators SFUSD RESOURCES
IT ALL STARTS WITH FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed to apply for federal and state financial aid. Many colleges and universities, especially public institutions, also require the FAFSA. The FAFSA must be submitted every year to obtain financial aid for college.

Pro tip:
  • Everyone should fill out FAFSA , even if you think you are not eligible. Some schools require the FAFSA before they will consider your student for other aid, including merit based aid.
  • FAFSA Application opens on October 1st and it is suggested you fill it out as soon as possible.
  • Watch this video to learn more and understand how to fill it out
  • When you submit the FAFSA® form, you’re also automatically applying for state funds and possibly financial aid from your school, including grants and scholarships. In fact, some schools won’t even consider you for their scholarships (including academic scholarships) until you’ve submitted a FAFSA® form. And you can’t know how much financial aid you’ll get until you fill it out. 

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES
1. CSS Profile is an online application that collects information used by hundreds of colleges, universities, professional schools, and scholarship programs to award financial aid from sources outside of the federal government.

Pro tip:
2. Cal Grant A Cal Grant is money for college you don’t have to pay back. To qualify, you must apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or CA Dream Act Application (CADAA) by the deadline and meet the eligibility and financial requirements as well as any minimum GPA requirements. Cal Grants can be used at any University of California, California State University or California Community College, as well as qualifying independent and career colleges or technical schools in California.

3. California Dream Act Who can apply for the California Dream Act? Students who live in California and meet the eligibility requirements for a non-resident exemption, as well as students who have a U Visa or TPS status, can use the California Dream Act application (CADAA). Similarly, students without Social Security Numbers or students who have lost DACA status (or never applied for DACA), may still be eligible. 

4. Undocumented students are eligible to qualify for a number of scholarship opportunities in the U.S. regardless of their immigration status. Look at options on My Undocumented Life and Immigrants Rising.

Pro Tip:
  • The  Higher Ed Immigration Portal is a new digital platform that integrates data, policies, and resources about DACA and undocumented, other immigrant, international, and refugee students to support immigration reform and federal policymaking, fuel change at the state and campus level, and build a diverse movement of partners and stakeholders advocating for these students. 
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5. Financial Aid Opportunities for Students of Color. Explore the list of scholarships for students of color. Find out who qualifies, how to apply, and where to find additional resources.

6. Scholarship databases:
  • FastWeb.com : A searchable database of millions of scholarships worth billions of dollars.
  • FinAid.org: This award-winning site includes a comprehensive database of scholarships, student financial aid information, advice and tools.
  • Secrets To Winning a Scholarship: From the publisher of FinAid.org and FastWeb.com, a presentation on how to find and win scholarships.
  • Scholarships.com: Browse through 2.7 million free scholarships and grants worth more than $19 billion.
  • Unigo.com: You can search by state, major, and other criteria to find all kinds of smaller scholarships available to you.
  • BrokeScholar: This site offers access to a database of more than 650,000 scholarships worth $2.5 billion.
  • CareerlnfoNet: Search for more than 5,000 scholarships, fellowships, loans, and other financial aid opportunities.
  • CareersandColleges: Search for more than 1.8 million scholarships worth $7 billion.
  • College Answer: An award database that contains more than 2.9 million scholarships worth more than $16 billion, and is expanded and updated daily.
  • College Connection Scholarships: A monthly listing of free scholarship information.
  • CollegeBoard Scholarship Search: A database of more than 2,300 sources of college funding, totaling nearly $3 billion in available aid.
  • CollegeData: Use the Scholarship Finder search engine to search 500,000 awards worth more than $2.3 billion.
  • CollegeNet/Mach 25: This site offers a database of $1.6 billion in scholarships.
  • CollegeToolKit: Search scholarships by geography, heritage, religion, family affiliation or extracurriculars.
  • eCampusTours: A scholarship search that contains a database of more than 10,000 scholarship programs that distribute awards worth more than $36 million.
  • Financial Aid Officer: A scholarship database listing scholarships worth $1.45 billion.
  • FindTuition: A listing of more than $7 billion in scholarships and grants.
  • FreeScholarshipGuide: A comprehensive guide to more than 4,000 scholarships worth more than $10 million.
  • ImmediateScholarships: In 30 seconds, this site matches students to scholarships ranging from $500 to $50,000.
  • Nelnet College Planning: This tool offers more than 1. 7 million awards totaling nearly $8 billion.
  • NextStudent: This tool allows you to search an online database of more than 69,000 college funding sources, comprised of more than 5.9 million individually awarded scholarships valued at more than $16 billion.
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