Student Loans And College Costs Are Confusing. We Make Them Clear.
The College Investor is an independent news and education site for students, families, and borrowers. Since 2009, we’ve explained student loans, paying for college, and building wealth in plain English through articles, videos, and our podcast, all for free.
Why We Exist
Clear answers when the rules keep changing
The System Isn’t Built To Explain Itself
Federal student loan rules change constantly. Repayment plans get replaced, forgiveness programs are confusing, and financial aid formulas shift from year to year. The ways to save for college keep evolving, and most people were never taught how to invest, manage money, or build wealth. Schools, servicers, and financial companies each have their own interests, and families are left to piece it together.
Independent, Plain-English Guidance
Our only job is to help you understand your options and make the right call for your family. Everything we create is free, and companies can’t pay us for a positive review.
Our mission is to help people navigate the intersection of money and education, so student debt never stands in the way of building wealth.
We Don’t Just Explain The System. We Hold It Accountable.
Our reporting and research regularly shape the national conversation on student loans and higher education.
PSLF Payment Count Errors
Our reporting on public service borrowers losing qualifying payments prompted a statement from the Education Department and was picked up by outlets across the country.
Interviewing The Under Secretary Of Education
Our interview with Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent gave borrowers answers straight from the source, and U.S. News covered what he told us.
Tracking The Return Of Test Requirements
Our running list of colleges requiring the SAT and ACT again was cited by the American Enterprise Institute in its research on college completion.
Ranking The Cost Of College
Our ranking of the most expensive colleges helps families see the true price of a degree, and multiple outlets have cited it.
Who We Create For
Our audience is making real decisions about money and education. Most are parents paying for college or borrowers working through repayment, and many are students, recent graduates, and public service workers pursuing forgiveness. Whether you read our articles, watch our videos, listen to our podcast, or follow us on social media, you get the same independent guidance.
- Parents paying for college
- Student loan borrowers
- College students
- Recent graduates
- Public service workers
- New investors
What We Cover
Start with the resources readers use most
Student Loans
Repayment plans, forgiveness programs, and the latest federal changes, explained in plain English.
Paying For College
Financial aid, the FAFSA, scholarships, and saving for school without overborrowing.
Building Wealth
Banking, investing, and taxes, with honest reviews to help you choose the right accounts.
How We Create Our Content
Everything we create follows the same process
Research
We start with primary sources: federal rules, Education Department data, our own original research, and our unique contacts.
Create
Experts in the topic create the article, video, or post, explained in plain language with a name you can check.
Expert Review
Editors and specialists in student loans, financial aid, and taxes review the work before it goes live.
Fact-Check
We verify numbers, dates, and rules against the original source before publishing.
Update
When rules or products change, we update our content and show the date it was revised.
Share
We share our work across social media, video, our podcast, and our newsletter, so it reaches you where you are.
Everything we publish has a byline that links to the creator’s background and credentials, plus the editor who reviewed it.
We earn money from advertising and from some links to products we review. That never changes our ratings or what we recommend.
To help you make a better decision. If something we create doesn’t leave you better informed, we haven’t done our job.
Objective Advice
Companies can’t pay us for positive reviews. We don’t recommend buying or selling specific securities. We give you the context to decide for yourself.
Corrections Policy
Accuracy comes first. If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the update. News articles reflect the situation when they were published.
Who We Are
Founded by a borrower who paid off his own loans
America’s Millennial Money Expert®
Since I can remember, I’ve had a passion for investing and personal finance. As a teenager, I sold things on eBay and took on freelance writing, and I used what I earned to save, invest, and pay off my student loans in three years.
I started The College Investor in 2009, while finishing my MBA at UC San Diego, to share common-sense strategies for student loans and investing. Student loan debt is one of the biggest things holding Americans back from building wealth, and I wanted a place that explained it honestly.
Today, our team includes some of the best-known experts in personal finance and higher education. Our research is routinely cited by major news organizations, and our contributors have testified before Congress and been cited by the Supreme Court.
Robert Farrington
Members of the media can find bios, headshots, and interview topics in our Media Center.
I consider Robert Farrington to be one of the top experts when it comes to student loan debt in America.
The People Behind Our Work
Each person’s credentials are on their author page
Reporters rely on our team and research to explain student loans and college costs.
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