Mark Kantrowitz

Mark Kantrowitz is the leading national expert on student financial aid, scholarships, saving for college, student loans and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Mark is Publisher of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, a free web site about borrowing for college. Mark’s goal is to help students and their families make smarter, more informed decisions about planning and paying for college. Over his career, Mark has helped more than 100 million students and their families learn how to pay for college. Mark has testified before Congress and federal/state agencies on several occasions and has written more than 100 student aid policy papers. Mark has been quoted in more than 10,000 newspaper and magazine articles about college admissions and financial aid. Mark has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek and Time Magazine. Mark is the author of twelve books, including four bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid. He also holds seven patents, with additional patents pending. Mark's work on student financial aid has been recognized with several awards, including the Meritorious Achievement Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the Creative Leadership Award from the California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA), the Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Award from the Institute for Financial Literacy, the Money Hero award from Money Magazine, a Special Award from the College Board, and the Jefferson Medal from the American Institute for Public Service. Mark serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid, the editorial advisory board of Bottom Line/Personal, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education. Mark has more than 1 million answer views on Quora. Mark has previously served as publisher of the FinAid, Fastweb, EduPASS, Edvisors, College Greenlight, Cappex and Savingforcollege.com web sites and as a member of the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association. Mark has two Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Science degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Mark is also an alumnus of the Research Science Institute (RSI) program established by Admiral H.G. Rickover.