Understand your paying-for-college options Nellie Mae helps parents be brilliant about borrowing by offering federal and private student loans that help pay for college. Your family will find Nellie Mae's loan process is clear, fast, and easy.
Calculators: Number crunching made easier! Use Nellie Mae's calculators to help you make informed decisions about paying for school, planning and budgeting, estimating borrowing costs, and evaluating repayment options.
Scholarship Rule #1: Your student has to apply. The Internet is a marvelous resource when looking for scholarships, but the most productive leads may be in your community, social, and personal networks. There is less competition for local scholarships so ask around.
Hours of online scholarship research is wasted unless your child actually completes and submits scholarship applications. Stick to free and targeted search sites like www.CollegeAnswer.com.




If you are the parent of a current or future college student, you may have a gap between the cost of college and your family's available funds. Grants and scholarships are the ideal way to fill that gap. But when free money falls short and families decide to borrow, many parents turn to Nellie Mae for Federal PLUS Loans, then for private loans.