FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

The following information was compiled by the guidance staff at Bethesda– Chevy Chase High School in September of 2005. For more information, go to your school’s guidance office or contact directly the financial aid office of the college or university you plan to attend.

A booklet by the US Department of Education on financing a college education:

Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid.
Funding Your Education, an introductory guide published in English and Spanish, provides general information about the U.S. Department of Education's federal student financial aid programs and how to apply for them. To download a copy of this publication, go to http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/FYE/index.html . The guide also can be accessed at http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/index.html.  

MCPS Financial Aid Workshops
MCPS offers free financial aid workshops at its high schools. Ask the staff at your school’s career center for the dates of upcoming workshops.

The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators sponsors and maintains this free, comprehensive, independent and objective guide to sources of financial aid. See http://www.finaid.org

Male Students Federal and certain State laws require Selective Service System (SSS) registration as a prerequisite for obtaining student financial aid, job training, government employment, and U.S. naturalization. Visit your career center or go to the Selective Service System (SSS) web page at http://www.sss.gov/hslink.htm for more information.

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Programs
The FSA programs are the largest source of student aid in America, providing over $60 billion a year in grants, loans, and work-study assistance. The FSA is designed to help students and parents at every stage of the financial aid process. See http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/fsa/index.html

AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. AmeriCorps members serve through more than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations. See http://www.americorps.gov/home/site_map/index.asp.

College Board's Scholarship Search
This is a free Web-based scholarship search sponsored by The College Board. This site lists over $3 Billion in available scholarships, grants, loans, and internships. http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

fastWEB! (Financial Aid Search Through the Web)
FastWeb is a free Financial Aid Search Engine. They have descriptions of over 600,000 scholarships. See http://www.fastweb.com/

American Universities
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/american-universities.html

CollegeNet
See http://www.collegenet.com/

Kaplan Educational Centers
See http://www.kaplan.com/

Sallie Mae's Wired Scholar
See http://www.salliemae.com/

Nellie Mae Loan Link Resource for Student Load Info
http://www.nelliemae.org/

Peterson's Education Center
The Peterson Education and Career Center covers everything from financial aid to admissions tests to graduate studies. See http://www.petersons.com/

Hope Scholarship and Lifelong Learning Credits
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=121452,00.html

Black Excel: Gateway to Scholarships is a comprehensive listing of scholarships for minorities
http://www.BlackExcel.org/link4.htm

Title IV School Code Search for the FAFSA
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/FSLookupServlet

Maryland Higher Education Commission has information on financial aid and scholarships in the State of Maryland
Maryland State Scholarships and Financial Aid.