College Prep

Financial Aid Information

Please review the following slides if you need a refresher on all things financial aid. 

Financial Aid

Events

Knoch HS Financial Aid Night: September 30th, 6:30-8:30pm

FAFSA Completion Workshop: October 25th, 10am-12pm

Local Scholarships

Will be available in the counseling office. They are open starting January 15th each year and due back in the counseling office by March 15th or the specified due date on the scholarship.

PHEAA Webinars

There are free virtual webinars on financial aid offered by PHEAA.  Upcoming webinars (and how to register) are posted on the Counseling Office calendar.

Resources

Free Application for Student Aid - studentaid.gov

PA Higher Education Assistance Agency - www.pheaa.org

Niche True Cost - free tool that gives families a personalized price of college, along with projected debt outlook, post-graduation earnings, and more 

LendEDU - https://lendedu.com/blog/best-private-student-loans/ 

Helpful video from PHEAA on how to fill out the FAFSA - https://youtu.be/N01ncpu70RY

Duquesne Financial Aid TV - DUQ Financial Aid TV features nearly 300 short videos and tutorials explaining everything about financial aid, FAFSA, scholarships, grants, loans, work-study, money management & budgeting, and more. Video playlists are searchable and content is curated for prospective students and their families. It’s a great resource for anybody considering college, not just those interested in Duquesne. 

Federal PLUS Loan Guide from Sallie Mae - FAQs on federal PLUS loans, differences between a federal PLUS loan and a private education loan

College Search and Information Sites

Common Application - www.commonapp.org 

Coalition for College - https://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/ 

U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2026 guidebook - features profiles of more than 1,600 colleges, a variety of college rankings, and advice articles for every step of the process, from entrance exams to financial aid. 

The College Tour - The College Tour is a TV series brought to you by multi-award winning producers.  The series tells the story of colleges and universities around the world.​ Each episode of The College Tour focuses on a single college or university. From campus life, academics, housing, sports, activities, and much more… each student-driven segment gives the audience an inside look at what it’s truly like being a student at the featured college or university. 

Education Planner - http://www.educationplanner.org/ 

NCAA Eligibility Center - https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/ 

BigFuture - https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

Appily College Search - https://www.appily.com/colleges

Peterson's Education Center - www.petersons.com

College Stats - https://collegestats.org/ 

College Data - www.collegedata.com

Niche - colleges.niche.com

Princeton Review - www.princetonreview.com/schoolsearch.aspx 

ACT My Journey Webinar Series - designed to guide students and families as they navigate the college, career, and workforce journey. 

Testing

CEEB/School Code: 394368 

College Board (SAT/AP) - www.collegeboard.com

American College Testing - www.act.org

Kaplan - www.kaplan.com

Princeton Review - www.princetonreview.com 

Schoolhouse.world Free SAT Bootcamp - https://schoolhouse.world/sat-bootcamp

SAT Question of the Day - offers daily, gamified practice opportunities 

Below are each of the four most common college admissions test policies with their corresponding definitions. 

Test Blind: Students do not submit SAT or ACT scores, as they are not considered for admissions

Test Flexible: Students are required to submit a test score and can choose which test score to submit: SAT, ACT, or AP Exams

Test Optional: Students have the option to submit SAT or ACT scores to colleges for consideration when applying

Test Required: Students are required to submit SAT or ACT scores to colleges for consideration when applying