Quintessential Careers Resources:
Off beat Ways to Pay for College. What do you do when you've exhausted all your options and still need to come up with some money? Think outside the box.

College Scholarships Do's and Don'ts. Read the most important do's and don'ts (rules) that college-bound and current college students should follow to find, obtain scholarships for college.

Other Financial Aid Resources:
BrokeScholar -- one of the web's largest scholarship search engines, featuring undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholarship awards, providing students with access to a database of more than 650,000 scholarships worth $2.5 billion. Students must complete a personal profile, which leads to a matching service of scholarship opportunities, as well as an email matching service. No cost to students.

College Connection Scholarships -- offering both fee-based and free searches. All the information you need to apply for each scholarship, as well as a detailed explanation of the requirements of each scholarship. No registration required.

CollegeFunds.net -- offering scholarship and financial aid information for students, from a company originally founded by college students (in 1998). Try a free scholarship and see what they can do for you. Paid memberships get a financial aid advisor who will hand pick 20-50 potential scholarships that you will be more than eligible to apply for; then they take these scholarships and create your very own scholarship book.

College Money -- helping students and your families with planning for college, including finding ways to solve college tuition payment problems.

College Savings Plans Network -- designed to link students and your families to your state's college savings programs, helping you plan and save for college educations. It also provides information about the National Association of State Treasurers. Free.

Collegiate Funding Group -- a guide for students and your families through the various aspects of the financial aid process, including help with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), looking into alternative funding options, pre-qualifying for a PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), and more. Free.

EasyAid.com -- designed to help students with information and resources about all aspects of the college financial aid process, from grants to loans to scholarships. Lots of great free information, but also provide some fee-based services. Administered by Financial Aid Center Educational Services.

Education Services Foundation (ESF) -- a great collection of resources and links related to programs that help students borrow wisely. Check out the ESF College Countdown that, starting with the seventh grade and continuing up to the twelfth grade, includes information about course planning, career planning, and financial aid.

eStudentLoan.com -- apples-to-apples comparisons of alternative student loans. Plenty of financial aid tips and advice. eStudentLoan's alternative LoanFinder matches the loans that fit you best.

FAFSA on the Web -- this site has the online version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which you can submit directly via the Net. Any student interested in determining your eligibility for federal student financial aid programs needs to complete a FAFSA.

fastWEB! (Financial Aid Search Through the Web) -- a great site for getting information about financial aid. The largest free scholarship search on the Internet, with more than 400,000 scholarships worth over $1 billion. Get accurate, updated information on scholarships, grants, and fellowships, all at absolutely no cost.

FinAid: The Financial Aid Information Page -- provides a free, comprehensive, independent, and objective guide to student financial aid. Sponsored by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Financial Aid for Students -- all sorts of information and resources from the U.S. Department of Education, including financial guides and application materials, such as the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Financial Aid Resource Center -- a great starting point for students seeking basic direction regarding financial aid for college. Inculdes information and links for Federal financial aid resources, free sources of financial information, free scholarship search services, a collection of lenders, and more.

FreSch! The Free Scholarship and Information Service -- combines capsule information and advice on more than 1,700 scholarship sources. Also includes advice and tips on applying for scholarships, discussion forums, and more. Seekers can browse or search the site. Free.

Free Scholarships and Financial Aid -- learn as much as possible about the college admissions process, identify and contact colleges best meeting your needs, and discover the scholarships and financial aid programs for which you may qualify.

Guaranteed Scholarships -- where you'll find a list of "guaranteed" scholarships -- scholarships offered by individual colleges and universities to all students meeting the stated criteria and applying by the stated deadline. A nice resource. Free.

International Education Financial Aid -- a great resource for finding financial aid information -- grants, scholarships, and loan programs -- for international students considering studying in a foreign country. Students search for financial resources by field of study, location of study, and host institution. Free.

loans4students.org -- provides students and families of college students with innovative and flexible solutions to college planning and financing needs. Includes tons of resources and information about financial aid. From Chela Financial, a not-for-profit company dedicated solely to education. Free.

MeritMoney.com -- for high school students with a 3.0 GPA or higher, a unique scholarship site in that academically-qualified students can get information about college-specific (merit-based money) scholarships. If you thought a few colleges on your list were too expensive, it might be worth the investment to see what level of scholarships are offered to top students. Fee-based.

Money4College123.com -- where college-bound students and your families can professional help with all aspects of financial aid. Maximize your financial aid and scholarships while protecting your savings with the help of a certified financial planner. Fee-based.

National Education Loan Network (nelnet) -- provides some great information, including types of financial aid available as well as how to receive it, planning for college, choosing a college and much more. Nelnet currently manages more than $3 billion in student loan assets.

Savingforcollege.com -- a very informative site for objective information about Section 529 college savings plans and other ways to save and pay for college. The mission of the site is to help individuals and professional advisers better understand how to meet the challenge of paying higher education costs -- and includes lots of great information. No cost.

Scholarship Experts -- offers the best quality of scholarship data and uses the most sophisticated of search technologies to deliver accurate, timely search results to college-bound teenagers (and your families) and grad school-bound students -- scholarship results that are matched to fit your unique needs, interests, and background. No cost.

The Scholarship Page! -- a great collection of information about scholarships. You can browse through the collection (by various topics) or search the database.

Scholarships -- a great collection of resources/links on scholarships and financial aid.

SRN Express -- the Scholarship Resource Network (SRN) contains a database of more than 8,000 programs with a distribution level of more than 150,000 awards for undergraduate and postgraduate students worth a total of more than $35 million. Free to users, but registration is required.

Studentawards.com -- a free scholarship search service devoted to helping high school seniors, university and college students find information on scholarships, bursaries, grants and other forms of financial assistance. The site also offers unique scholarships to student members that are only available on studentawards.com. Students use search engine to find appropriate financial assistance. Free.

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