About Degree Sources

Degree Sources is a free resource site that helps students, parents, and working adults understand and access college financial aid. We build interactive tools grounded in government formulas and public data, and we publish research-backed articles that explain how financial aid actually works — not how it sounds in marketing copy.

What We Offer

The site provides two things: 10 interactive financial aid tools and educational articles covering grants, scholarships, loans, employer benefits, and program selection.

The tools are the core of the site. Each one answers a specific question students face:

• EFC/SAI Calculator — Estimates your Student Aid Index and federal aid range using the Federal Methodology formula
• Financial Aid Quiz — Walks through eligibility questions to produce a personalized aid estimate
• Scholarship Finder — Searches and filters scholarships by degree level, field of study, student type, and award amount
• ROI Calculator — Compares the cost of a degree against projected lifetime earnings by field of study
• Loan Repayment Calculator — Models monthly payments, total interest, and timelines across federal repayment plans
• Employer Tuition Checker — Looks up whether your employer offers tuition reimbursement or education benefits
• Career Salary Explorer — Shows salary ranges by career field before and after completing a degree
• Time-to-Degree Calculator — Estimates how long a degree takes based on your enrollment schedule and transfer credits
• GI Bill Calculator — Calculates education benefits for veterans and active-duty service members
• Aid Letter Decoder — Breaks down a financial aid award letter into plain-language explanations

How the Tools Work

Every calculator on this site is built on verifiable data sources. The EFC/SAI Calculator uses the Federal Methodology — the same formula the Department of Education uses to determine federal aid eligibility. The ROI Calculator pulls from Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational data and College Scorecard earnings figures. The Loan Repayment Calculator implements the actual formulas for Standard, Graduated, Extended, IBR, PAYE, REPAYE, and SAVE repayment plans as documented by Federal Student Aid.

We do not present tool results as financial advice. They are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the public data available. For an official determination, contact your school's financial aid office. For details on how each tool works, see our Calculator Methodology page.

Our Research Process

Articles and tool logic start with primary government sources: the Department of Education (ED.gov), Federal Student Aid (StudentAid.gov), the IRS, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We supplement with institutional data from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the College Scorecard. When government policy changes — such as the FAFSA Simplification Act — we update affected tools and articles to reflect the new rules.

For a full description of our editorial standards and fact-checking process, see our Editorial Policy.

Who We Are

Degree Sources is built by a team of education finance researchers and tool developers. We study financial aid policy, track regulatory changes, and translate complex government formulas into tools that give students clear, actionable numbers. Our background spans financial aid research, data analysis, and interactive tool design.

How We Fund This Site

Degree Sources is free to use. There are no paid subscriptions, no gated content, and no fees for any tool or article on the site.

We earn revenue through affiliate partnerships with accredited colleges and universities. When a user connects with a school partner through one of our tools or pages, we may receive a referral fee. This is standard practice in education publishing, and we disclose it clearly.

These partnerships do not influence tool results or editorial content. Calculator outputs are formula-driven — they produce the same numbers regardless of which schools are partners. Editorial decisions about what to cover and how to cover it are made independently of advertising relationships. No school pays to alter rankings, recommendations, or tool outputs.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or feedback? Reach us at our contact page. We respond within two business days.