Financial Aid Links
The cost of college is rising and students and families are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for college. Yet the federal government limits how much funding it will loan a student and this limit hasn't increased in step with the rise in cost of post-secondary education. To make up the difference, increasingly, young adults are searching for alternatives in scholarships and private funding to finance their education.
The trend toward private funding is alarming because such loans often carry a variable interest rate that lack the protections offered by federal loans. Students, a vulnerable segment of the population, will often get into trouble because they don't fully understand the terms and agreements of the loans and scholarship they are looking into. Further, they will often sign anything put in front of them. Additionally, families are swindled by fraudulent scholarship searches that offer guaranteed money.
Protect yourself. The following useful tips will help you tell the difference between legitimate and fraudulent scholarships and financial aid.
- Document everything. If you are offered a discount on your loan or are "guaranteed" a scholarship, get it in writing. No one can guarantee a scholarship, and if you are promised a refund, get the refund policy in writing.
- Seek advice. Talk to a financial-aid adviser about loans before agreeing to borrow money.
- Ask questions. If your loan interest rate is variable, find out what the upper limit the interest rate can go. If you won a scholarship you never applied for, be sure the scholarship is legitimate.
- Do research. Before considering other forms of loans or scholarships, first exhaust all federal and state loan possibilities as well as state and institutional grants and student aid. Don't be fooled by companies that promise to do all the work processing a scholarship or grant for you. (You must apply for these yourself.) Don't believe anyone who says you can't get the information they are offering anywhere else. Schools and libraries, for example, maintain free lists of available scholarships.
- Keep private information private. Be very careful if, when conducting a scholarship search, you are asked for credit card or bank information to hold a scholarship. You should never have to pay for a scholarship, and it's possible you are being set up to make an unauthorized withdrawal from your account.
Source: SF Chronicle, October 25, 2006; Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard
Financial Aid Organizations and Web Sites
- The American Legion
- California Student Aid Commission: Cal Grants
- Community of Science
- Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's Student Resource Guide
- Ebony Magazine Scholarship List
- Educators for Fair Consideration
- eStudentLoan.com: Loan Finder
- Fast Web!
- FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid
- FinAid!
- Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) Scholarships
- Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund
- Sallie Mae
- UT Austin: U.S. Higher Education
- GrantsNet
Major Scholarships Links
Educational Sites
- Kaplan Educational Centers
- The College Board
- Educational Testing Organization (ETS)
- American College Testing(ACT)
- Critical Comparisons
- College Express
- College View
- U.S. News Online:College & Careers
- Virtual College Day
- CollegeApps
- CollegeLink
- CollegeNet
- FastWeb
Some Popular Search Engines to Use for Internet Searches...
University of California
- UC Berkeley
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UC Los Angeles
- UC Riverside
- UC San Diego
- UC San Francisco
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
Other Helpful University of California Links
University of California – Pathways: University of California's undergraduate admission information and application network.
Background: Introducing The University (
) is an informational starting point for high school students who are beginning to think about college and who are considering the University of California as an option. Introducing the University provides prospective students and their parents with an overview of University resources, as well as a look at each of the nine campuses. Introducing the University also includes important information about admission and selection policies.
University of California: Undergraduate Majors: List of undergraduate majors offered on the ten UC campuses.
UCNotes: News for Schools and Colleges from the University of California
California State University
- http://www.calstate.edu
- Humboldt State University
- California State University, Chico
- Sonoma State University
- California State University, Sacramento
- California Maritime Academy
- California State University, Hayward
- San Francisco State University
- San Jose State University
- California State University, Stanislaus
- California State University, Monterey Bay
- California State University, Fresno
- California Polytechnic State, San Luis Obispo
- California State University, Northridge
- California State University, Bakersfield
- California State University, Channel Islands
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- California State University, San Bernadino
- California State University, Los Angeles
- California State University, Fullerton
- California State University, Dominguez Hills
- California State University, Long Beach
- California State University, San Marcos
- San Diego State University
Private Universities
- Stanford University
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- Princeton University
- Johns Hopkins University
Community Colleges in California
http://cset.sp.utoledo.edu/ca2yr.html
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
http:// www.edonline.com/cq/hbcu
Religious Schools
Loyola Marymount University: http://www.lmu.edu
Background: Loyola Marymount University is a Catholic, independent institution emphasizing the liberal arts, in the educational traditions of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Fathers) and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (the Marymount Sisters).
National Universities and Colleges
http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ
Local Universities and Colleges
Local Universities and Colleges
Miscellaneous Related Sites
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Pell Grant
- FAFSA
- National Institutes of Health
- Indian Health Services
- NASA
- ROTC
- Internet Search
- National Merit Scholarships
- Internet Search
- FinAid
- CSS Profile
- Kaplan Educational Centers
- http://www.collegeboard.org
- Educational Testing Organization (ETS)
- American College Testing(ACT)
- Critical Comparisons
- College Express
- College View
- U.S. News Online: College & Careers
- Virtual College Day
- CollegeApps
- CollegeLink
- CollegeNet
- FastWeb
- Minority Online Information Service (MOLIS)
- U.S. Department of Education
- Center of Excellence Stanford University School of Medicine
