Access to FinAid is free for all users and there is no charge to link to the site.

FinAid has earned a stellar reputation in the educational community as the best web site of its kind. It's comprehensive, it's informative, it's objective -- and it's the first stop on the web for students looking for ways to finance their education.

Every major newspaper and personal finance magazine in the country has reviewed the site. The New York Daily News called FinAid "the hottest site on the Internet for financial aid tips." It is "the best place to begin a search" according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and "the grand-daddy of all Web sites" according to the Boston Globe. Yahoo Internet Life said to "make FinAid your first stop. This site offers some of the best 'how to' guidance on securing financial aid."

The site has won awards from the College Board, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students and the American Institute for Public Service.

Mark Kantrowitz, Founder

FinAid was created by Mark Kantrowitz, a noted financial aid and college planning author. Mark was also Publisher of FastWeb, the largest and most popular free scholarship matching service. Previously, he was a Research Scientist at Just Research, the US software laboratory for Justsystem Corporation of Japan. Mark has earned the praise of numerous college administrators, journalists and students and families for his dedicated work on the FinAid site; also, not surprisingly, he managed to fund his own schooling without spending a single cent of his parents' money.

As a nationally-recognized financial aid expert, Mark has been called to testify before Congress about student aid on several occasions. He is interviewed regularly by news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, MSN, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, Bloomberg, Money Magazine, SmartMoney, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, US News & World Report, Newsweek, Bankrate.com, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Chronicle of Higher Education, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Reuters and the Associated Press. Mark is on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid, the editorial board of the Council on Law in Higher Education, the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education, and the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA). Mark writes the weekly Ask Kantro column for Fastweb as well as occasional columns for the New York Times, Huffington Post and other newspapers. He previously was the curator of the Student Loans topics page for the New York Times.

Mark is the author of five books, including three about student aid. His most recent books, Secrets to Winning a Scholarship (2011) and FastWeb College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College (2006) were both bestsellers on Amazon.com. He also holds seven patents, with several more patent applications still pending.

Mark has two children (one biological and one adopted), two cats and three dogs. He shows and breeds Peterbald cats, a rare breed of hairless cat. In his spare time, Mark also folds origami models, repairs antique battery-operated toys and creates stained glass windows. He enjoys sampling gourmet chocolate. Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a few weeks after the birth of his son, and is currently disease-free after undergoing chemotherapy, an orchiectomy and a cholecystectomy. He shares practical cancer tips with cancer patients and survivors through CancerPoints.com. Mark is also a survivor of a direct lightning strike on his home.

You can follow Mark Kantrowitz on Twitter at @mkant.

For More Information

For further information about the site, visit the following sections:

• Contacting FinAid: To send feedback to FinAid or to submit a financial aid resource to FinAid.
• Reviews: Excerpts from many of the newspaper, magazine and web articles that have praised the site.
• Privacy Policy: The FinAid statement on user privacy.
• Copyright and Permissions: Information about copyright, linking to the site, the appearance of advertising on the site, and the disclaimer.