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Free courses on paying for college

Learn the money side of college

Six short courses on the FAFSA, aid offers, scholarships, loans, everyday money and work. Each lesson takes a few minutes and ends with something to do this week.

6 courses · 36 lessons · free, with no sign-in

ApplyingAid offersScholarshipsLoansEveryday moneyWork
A smiling student in glasses rests her chin on her hand
Lesson 2.13 min

Which lines on my aid offer do I pay back?

The FAFSA, start to finish6 lessons · free
Reading: The form, one screen at a time1.4

What StudentReach is

Clear about what it does,
and what it leaves to others

FreeEvery course and every lessonNo account, no sign-in and nothing to buy, now or later.studentreach
PlainWritten in everyday EnglishEach term is explained the first time it appears, and each lesson stays on one step.
SeparateIndependent of schools and lendersNo school, lender or scholarship provider pays for a lesson or a place on a page.
  • Not a government agency
  • The FAFSA is free at studentaid.gov
  • Awards and lends nothing
  • Decides nothing about your aid

The answer is in a lesson

Pick one of the questions students ask most and see the lesson that answers it.

Do my parents have to be on the form?

It depends on the form's dependency questions, not on whether you live with them. If you are a dependent student, a parent provides information and gives consent, and the lesson explains who counts as that parent when families are complicated.

Read lesson 1.3
  • Read in order. Lessons build on one another inside each course.
  • Act this week. A short list of steps closes every lesson.
  • Ask the right desk. The office that decides is named at the end.
A laptop open on a wooden desk beside a notebook and a glass of waterLesson 1.33 min
Who the FAFSA counts as familyThe FAFSA, start to finish · lesson 3 of 6
3/6
Takeaway · Lesson 1.3The FAFSA's own questions decide whose information you report, and only a financial aid administrator can override that result.

How the courses are built

Short enough to finish

3 min

is how long a typical lesson takes to read, at an easy pace.

The FAFSA, start to finish18 min
Reading your aid offer18 min
Scholarships, found and finished18 min
Borrowing with care18 min
Money in your first year18 min
Working while you study18 min

Each block is one lesson. All 6 courses together take about 108 minutes.

The planner

Pick your situation. The courses line up.

Tell the planner where you are and the minutes you can spare. It orders the courses and works out when you would finish. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

Where you are

Planner

Where are you, and how much time does your week have?

Your situation
Starting college
Your week · tap a day to change its minutes
MTWTFSS

You would finish

Soon

  • 0 courses
  • 0 min
  • 0 lessons

The orderWeeks

    Start the first lesson

    Six courses,
    one filter row

    Browse courses
    A laptop open on a wooden desk beside a notebook and a glass of waterStart hereAsk: Financial aid office
    ApplyingStart here

    The FAFSA, start to finish

    Course 1 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read

    FreeStart lesson 1
    Two people reading through documents together at a tableAsk: Financial aid office
    Aid offersNext step

    Reading your aid offer

    Course 2 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read

    FreeStart lesson 1
    A black calculator and a pen on white paper beside a small plantAsk: Financial aid office
    LoansGoing deeper

    Borrowing with care

    Course 4 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read

    FreeStart lesson 1
    A brown leather wallet beside a few coins on a light wooden surfaceAsk: Bursar or student accounts
    Everyday moneyStart here

    Money in your first year

    Course 5 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read

    FreeStart lesson 1
    A young person pouring from a steel pitcher behind a cafe counterAsk: Career center
    WorkNext step

    Working while you study

    Course 6 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read

    FreeStart lesson 1

    Who decides what, on campus

    Every lesson ends by naming an office. Here is what each one handles, so a question reaches the right desk the first time.

    See all six offices
    Financial aid office

    Financial aid office

    Decides your aid package and reads your FAFSA.

    • Your aid offer and what is in it
    • Verification and missing documents
    • A review when your circumstances change
    Bursar

    Bursar or student accounts

    Bills tuition and fees and sends refunds.

    • Your bill and its due dates
    • Payment plans across a term
    • When a refund is sent and how
    Scholarship office

    Scholarship office

    Runs the school's own awards and logs outside ones.

    • Awards the school gives from its own funds
    • Reporting an outside scholarship
    • Renewal rules for an award you hold

    Before you visit an office

    Walk in with the right papers

    Most campus offices can settle a question in one visit when you arrive prepared. Three short steps make that likely.

    Before you go. Bring the papers the office will ask to see, so one visit is enough.

    • Your student ID number
    • The letter or offer you are asking about
    • Last year's tax return, if the question is about aid

    At the desk. Say what you need in one sentence, then ask what happens next and by when.

    • Name the form, award or charge by its exact title
    • Ask who decides and how long it takes
    • Ask whether anything else is missing

    After you leave. Write down what you were told while it is fresh, and keep it with your papers.

    • The date and the name of the person you spoke with
    • What you agreed to send, and the deadline
    • Any reference number for your request

    What you leave with

    36short lessons, each closing with a few steps you can take that week.

    6officesnamed across the lessons, so every question has somewhere to go.

    The checklist

    From lesson 2.4

    Try this · Working out your own share

    Reading your aid offer

    • Subtract grants and scholarships from the cost of attendance
    • List every source you could use for the rest
    • Work out what you owe on the first bill of the term
    • Ask student accounts about payment plans and refund timing
    Lesson 2.4 · 3 minOpen the lesson

    Your progress

    Saved in this browser
    • The FAFSA, start to finish0 of 6
    • Reading your aid offer0 of 6
    • Scholarships, found and finished0 of 6
    • Borrowing with care0 of 6
    • Money in your first year0 of 6
    • Working while you study0 of 6

    Mark a lesson as read and it is counted here. The list lives only in your browser; StudentReach never receives it.

    Common beliefs

    Things students often believe

    Four ideas that keep people from aid they could use, and the lesson that sets each one straight.

    A student in glasses thinking with her hand on her chin
    “My family earns too much, so the FAFSA is not worth filing.”

    Many schools use the FAFSA for their own grants and for federal loans that do not depend on income.

    Why the FAFSA comes first1 / 4

    Pick a belief

    Three ways to use it. All of them free.

    Read the courses whenever you like. Add updates by email, or by text too, if you want reminders when the aid calendar moves.

    Read the courses

    Every lesson is open to read, with no account and no sign-in.

    Email updates With the form

    New lessons and reminders about aid dates, now and then.

    Texts as well

    Tick the box in the form and add your mobile number. Up to 4 a month.

    Updates come only from StudentReach. A text or email never applies for aid or signs you up for anything, and you can stop either at any time.

    StudentReach updates

    Get the next lesson in your inbox

    Choose the course you care about most. Texts are optional.

    Read the SMS terms and the Privacy policy for how StudentReach handles texts and personal details. Questions go to (800) 741-9835 or hello@stureach.com.

    Your details stay with StudentReach. They are never sold or passed on.

    You are on the list

    Updates will arrive now and then by email. If you ticked the text box, a text will come to confirm your number; reply STOP to any text to end them.

    Start the first course

    Questions

    Six questions people ask first

    A person answers anything this list leaves out. Write to us.

    • No. Every course and lesson is free to read, with no account and no sign-in. There is nothing to buy anywhere on the site.

    • No. Only your school and the agencies that run each program can decide that. The lessons explain how those decisions are made so you can read the result and ask good questions.

    • No. The FAFSA is free and you file it yourself at studentaid.gov. The FAFSA course walks through each screen so you know what each question means before you answer it.

    • Each lesson takes a few minutes to read, and the course page shows the total. The planner on the home page works out a finishing date from the time you have each week.

    • Occasional emails, and texts if you ask for them, about new lessons and the dates in the aid calendar. They come directly from StudentReach, and you can stop them at any time.

    • No. It is an independent education website with no connection to the U.S. Department of Education, any school, lender or scholarship provider.

    Read one lesson tonight.

    Start with the first lesson of the course that fits where you are. The planner can line up the rest.

    Start lesson 1.1Open the planner

    Free to read. No account, no card.

    A bright home office with a wooden desk, a chair and plants by the window