College Savings
To help with your research into various college savings options, here’s a recap of the lists of sites mentioned in the Savings & Investing and Financial Aid 101 sections. While we cannot verify their information and we do not endorse any of these resources, you may find them to offer helpful information.
COLLEGE SAVINGS OVERVIEW:
FinAid is a well-known resource for information on both financial aid and college savings options.
FinAid’s College Savings Checklist lists key questions for parents to consider before investing in any college savings plan.
Financial Aid Finder offers resources on both financial aid and college savings options.
Financial Aid Finder has a helpful section on 529 Prepaid Tuition Plans.
Motley Fool is one of the most celebrated sites on the Web for financial and investing information and insight. They have their own article about the 529 Prepaid Tuition Plan.
CNNMoney.com offers various articles about how to save money for college and the latest news about college savings plans.
Smart Money provides a good set of articles, news, and resources about college savings plans, as well as information about colleges and financial aid.
529 Plans
About.com is a wide-ranging resource for information and opinions on college savings and current developments in higher education.
About.com’s 529 Plan State Tax Deductions outlines each state’s 529 tax benefits.
College Savings Plans Network has been created by The National Association of State Treasurers. The site provides an overview of each state’s 529 College Savings Plan, as well comparison tools to compare 529 Plans (by feature and by state).
Independent 529 Plan offers its own 529 prepaid tuition plan, with a total of 274 private member colleges. A good resource for information about prepaid tuition plans.
Morningstar provides information about 529 college savings plans. The site also has a list of 529 Plans and their funds’ performance.
SavingforCollege.com is a long-standing and well-known website that offers comprehensive information about 529 Plans, Coverdell Education Savings Account, and financial aid.
Coverdell
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts FAQs offers answers to commonly asked questions about Coverdells.
SavingforCollege.com's Coverdell ESA Providers provides a list of providers that offer Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.
The Internal Revenue Service offers a good overview of the tax benefits and rules for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.
UGMA/UTMA
About.com's Beginner’s Guide to UTMA and UGMA Custodial Accounts is a good overview of UGMAs/UTMAs, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of this type of account.
Fairmark provides detailed information and tax guides for UGMAs/UTMAs.
Financial Aid
The following websites provide details on federal, state, and private financial aid (grants, scholarships, work-study, and student loans).
College Board: is a college planning resource for students, parents, high schools and colleges. It includes information about federal financial aid, scholarship search, and provides some financial aid calculators.
FinAid.org: covers all things financial aid (federal, state, and private sources). The site also includes information on military aid and college savings plans.
Funding Education Beyond High School: is a useful and comprehensive publication from the U.S. Department of Education, which contains an overview of federal financial aid eligibility rules, types of aid, and how the application process works.
Military.com: outlines the education benefits for current service members, and veterans (as well as their children and spouses).
Students.gov: is an official U.S. government site that outlines the types of federal and state financial aid, as well as information about military aid, scholarships, and student internships and jobs.
Student Aid on the Web: is an official site from the U.S. Department of Education. It contains detailed information about all the federal financial aid programs, and links to the FAFSA online application.
Trends in Student Aid Report: provides information about 2007-08 sources and amounts of federal financial aid.
Grants
These sites provide information about federal, state, and private college grants, as well as some tips on where to find college grants. Also, keep in mind that scholarship search databases often include the ability to search for grants.
CollegeScholarships.org: offers detailed overviews of federal, state, and some private sources for college grants. Also contains information on athletic, housing, and ethnic minority college grants.
Directory of College Grants OEDb: has information on a wide variety of federal, state, and private college grants, including a comprehensive list of state college grants. The site also offers a grants database.
ed.gov: contains information about all types of federal college grants.
GuideStar has a list of non-profit organizations that offer college grants.
The Foundation Center has a database of private organizations that offer grants to college students.
Scholarships
There are a number of free resources that you can use to research scholarships. To help you get started, here is a list of some online and offline resources.
Scholarship Search Databases
These sites provide you with the opportunity search for scholarships. For some of these databases, you first submit information about your background and then the database identifies scholarships that match your profile.
College Board: contains a personalized scholarship search database from more than 2,300 sources. The database is updated every year.
FastWeb: is the largest scholarship search database (updated daily). You can also receive email updates about scholarships that match your profile and submit an online application to some of the scholarships listed in the database.
Scholarships.com: Its personalized database contains over 2.7 million scholarships and grants. Also provides a college admissions search.
CollegeScholarships.org: offers various ways to “browse” scholarships, as well as contains a good resources page full of application tips. You do not have to register to search for scholarships on this site.
Scholarship Experts: In addition to a scholarship database of 2.4 million scholarships, this site is a good resource for students and parents to learn more about college scholarships in general.
SCHOLARSHIP BOOKS
In addition to online search engines, there are also books that provide information about college scholarships, as well as tips on the application process.
Kaplan Scholarships, 2009: Billions of Dollars in Free Money for College
By Kaplan Publishing
Scholarships, Grants and Prizes 2008 (Peterson's Scholarships, Grants & Prizes)
By Peterson's
Scholarship Handbook 2009
By The College Board
The Scholarship Advisor: Hundreds of Thousands of Scholarships Worth More Than $1 Billion
By Chris Vuturo
The Scholarship Book 11th Edition: The Complete Guide to Private-Sector Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Loans for the Undergraduate
By Daniel J. Cassidy, Founding Editor
The Scholarship Scouting Report: An Insider's Guide to America's Best Scholarships
By Ben Kaplan (TCG:can we link to Ben’s bio)
The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2009: Billions of Dollars in Scholarships, Grants and Prizes
By Gen Tanabe
Winning Scholarships For College, Third Edition: An Insider's Guide
By Marianne Ragins
Student Loans
For details about state, federal, and private student loans, these sites provide good overviews and descriptions of the various types of student loans.
Go College: lists state-by-state student loan programs, as well as an overview of federal student loans, major student loan lenders, and student loan tips.
Student Loan Borrower Assistance: offers answers to some of the most common questions parents and students ask about student loans, such as eligibility requirements, terms and conditions, and repayment.
Private Student Loan Comparison Chart: helps you compare the terms, conditions, and interest rates, etc. of some of the most popular types of private student loans. Provided by FinAid.org.