College | Scholarships & Financial Aid

  • Overview

    FinAid - The Go-To Guide for College Financial Aid
    This site provides information on various types of financial aid including loans, scholarships, grants, and work-study.

    NACAC - Financial Aid 101 Presentation
    A presentation created by NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counselors) outlining the basics of what students and families need to know regarding financial aid for college.

    Sallie Mae - How to Get Scholarship Money for College
    Find free money for college that you don't need to pay back.

    Scholarships 101
    Scholarships are free money and can reduce how much you need to borrow to pay for college.

    Financial Aid Timeline
    Some financial aid is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.  This guide will help you stay ahead of the deadlines so you don't miss out on any potential financial aid.

    Scholarship Search Tools

    College Board - Search for Scholarships
    Enter your information to find matches from over 6,000 programs, totaling over $4 billion scholarship dollars yearly.

    FastWeb.com
    Sign up for a free, personalized scholarship search engine containing 1.3 million outside scholarships worth over $3 billion.

    My Scholarship Central
    My Scholarship Central connects students to financial resources for college.  The My Scholarship Central Search Tool helps students in Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and the Metro East counties of St. Louis in Illinois find the scholarship providers that serve their area.

    Sallie Mae Scholarship Search
    This tool from the Sallie Mae family allows you to easily find and sort through thousands of college scholarships.  This tool offers personalized filtering options to find scholarships that fit your background, major, state, and more.

    FAFSA

    The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is your application for federal student aid programs.

    Deadlines:
    December 1: FAFSA opens
    February 1: Early MO priority deadline
    March 1: Some college deadlines
    April 1: Regular MO deadline

    Cost of College

    Net Price Calculator Center
    Net price calculators are available on a college or university’s website and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account. 

    Myin Tuition
    Quick College Cost Estimator

    Understanding Award Letters

    Financial Aid - Breaking the Code
    Tips to help you understand the FAFSA Financial Aid Letter 

    Breaking Down Your Award Letter
    This sample award letter was created to help you make sense of the information you've been sent.

    Negotiating For More Financial Aid
    Five phrases that could help you receive more financial aid.

    Support

    The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis
    This is a federally qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization opening doors to higher education through direct assistance programs for students and through participation in many aspects of the St. Louis regional community:

    • The Foundation’s core financial aid programs provide interest-free, fee-free loans and outright grants to students for postsecondary education.
    • The Student Advising Program provides information and guidance to assist more than 6,000 area students annually in determining what educational opportunities they want to pursue after high school.
    • Founded upon the conviction that an educated society is essential to democracy, The Scholarship Foundation is committed to policy and systems change that will increase college access and affordability.
    • The Foundation conducts free public workshops at which students and their family members can learn more about financial aid, decipher confusing official notifications of aid eligibility and become familiar with basic principles of financial literacy.