About this site
A free information site. It explains the aid and everyday benefits a college student can look into, what each one asks for, and which office decides. Every guide and article is open to read without signing up.
No. Student Benefit Network is independent. It is not part of the U.S. Department of Education, any state agency or any school. For federal student aid, the official source is studentaid.gov.
No. Reading the site is free, and so are the optional text updates. Filing the FAFSA is free too, and so is applying for public benefits, so a service that charges you to do either is selling something you can do yourself.
No one here can. Award amounts and decisions come from the program or office that runs each benefit, after you apply. The articles explain how those decisions are made so you know what to ask.
Aid and the FAFSA
As soon as you can after it opens for the year you will be in school, usually by October 1. Some state and school money is handed out in the order applications arrive, and state deadlines can come early.
Every year you want aid. Each application covers one award year, and your circumstances are reviewed again each time.
Write to your school's financial aid office and ask for a review of special circumstances. The aid administrator can take changes such as a lost job into account. The article on asking for a second look explains how.
Legitimate scholarship searches are free, and so are the applications for most scholarships. The guide to spotting a student-benefit scam lists the warning signs.
Everyday benefits
Food assistance, health coverage, lower-cost phone and internet service, childcare help, transit passes and education tax credits are the common ones. The guide to benefits beyond tuition maps each to the office that runs it.
Most public benefits are not counted as income on the FAFSA, but rules differ by program. Ask the financial aid office before you assume either way.
The agency that runs it: your state SNAP or Medicaid office, the school for campus programs, the IRS for tax credits. The guide to who decides what lists them.
Text updates
Occasional reminders about aid and benefit dates and new guides, sent by Student Benefit Network to people who opt in on the sign-up page. At most 4 messages in any month.
No. Every page is open to read. Text updates are an extra for people who want reminders.
Reply STOP to any message. You will get one confirmation and no more texts. You can also call or email us and ask.