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The College Investor

Student Loans, Investing, Building Wealth

  • About
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  • Save For College
      • How To Start

      • How To Save For College
      • How To Pay For College
      • What Is the Average Cost of College?
      • What Is A 529 Plan and Where to Open One in Your State
      • How Much Should You Have In A 529 Plan By Age
      • How To Use A 529 Plan For Private Elementary And High School
      • What Are Qualified Expenses For A 529 Plan (And What Doesn’t Count)?
      • The Best Brokers To Open A 529 Plan
      • Tools + Accounts

      • 529 Plans: The Ultimate College Savings Plan
      • 529 Plan Contribution Limits
      • Prepaid Tuition Plans | What To Know
      • Understanding And Using 529A ABLE Accounts
      • Using A Roth IRA To Save And Pay For College
      • FAFSA Deadlines for Financial Aid
      • CollegeBacker Review
      • Upromise Review
      • UNest Review
      • Other Options

      • Student Loan And Financial Aid Programs By State
      • The Guide To Military And VA Education Benefits
      • How To Fill Out The FAFSA
      • How To Find College Scholarships
      • The Best College Scholarship Search Websites
      • How To Find Grants To Pay For College
      • Pell Grants: What They Are And How To Qualify
      • Understanding Federal Work-Study
      • How To Use A 529 Plan If Your Child Doesn’t Go To College
  • Student Loans
      • Borrowing

        • How Student Loans Work
        • How To Apply For A Student Loan
        • Best Student Loans And Rates In March 2023
        • 10 Best Private Student Loans Of March 2023
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Graduate School
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Medical School
        • Parent Loans To Pay For College
        • No-Cosigner Student Loan Options
        • Guide To Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs)
        • Best International Student Loans
      • Get Out Of Debt

        • Best Student Loan Refinance Companies In March 2023
        • Best Student Loan Repayment Plans
        • Best Student Loan Refinancing Bonuses And Promotional Offers Of March 2023
        • Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (The Complete List)
        • The Full List Of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs By State
        • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
        • Top Student Loan Scams
        • Average Student Loan Monthly Payment
        • Average Student Loan Debt By Year
      • Reviews

        • Credible Review
        • Splash Review
        • Ascent Review
        • Citizens Bank Review
        • Commonbond Review
        • Earnest Review
        • ELFI Review
        • Laurel Road Review
        • LendKey Review
        • SoFi Review
  • Investing
      • How To Start

        • How To Start Investing in High School
        • How To Start Investing In College
        • How To Start Investing In Your Twenties For 22 – 29 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing In Your 30s For 30 – 39 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing With $100 Or Less
        • How To Give Kids The Gift Of Stock
        • What Is Dividend Growth Investing
        • IRA Rollover Chart
      • Tools + Accounts

        • Best Online Stock Brokers
        • The Best Traditional And Roth IRA Accounts
        • The Best Robo-Advisors
        • The Best Investing Apps
        • The Best Places to Trade Options
        • The Best Places To Open A Health Savings Account
        • The Best Solo 401k Providers
        • The Best Self-Directed IRA Providers Of 2023
        • Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges
      • Reviews

        • Vanguard Review
        • Fidelity Review 2023
        • M1 Finance Review
        • TD Ameritrade Review 2023
        • Charles Schwab Review
        • Robinhood Review
        • Webull Review
        • Betterment Review 2023
        • Wealthfront Review
  • Earn More Money
      • Extra Income

        • 20 Best Side Hustles You Can Start Earning With In 2023
        • 54 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Money Fast In 2023
        • 100 Ways To Make Money In College In 2023
        • 80 Ways To Make Money From Home In 2023
        • 5 Quick Money Making Ideas (That Take Less Than 1 Hour)
        • 10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving
        • High-Paying Side Gigs That Earn $1,000 or More Per Month
        • The 10 Best Money-Making Apps
        • Paid Surveys: Earn Money For Giving Your Opinion Online
        • 10 Crazy Ways To Make $10,000 You’ve Never Heard Of
      • Build Wealth

        • 40 Best Passive Income Ideas To Build Wealth In 2023
        • 3 Ways To Make $50,000 Per Year Without Working With Passive Income
        • How To Become A Real Estate Investor With Just $500
        • 15 Best Online Business Ideas
        • Residual Income: 7 Super Smart Ways to Build It
        • The Most Common Multiple Income Streams
        • How To Become A Real Estate Mogul With Only $10,000
      • Reviews

        • Fundrise Review
        • RealtyMogul Review
        • FarmTogether Review
        • AcreTrader Review
        • Swagbucks Review
        • Survey Junkie Review
        • TopCashback Review
        • DoorDash Review
  • Personal Finance
      • Banking

        • 10 Best High Yield Savings Accounts Of March 2023
        • 10 Best Money Market Accounts Of March 2023
        • 10 Best Free Checking Accounts In March 2023
        • Best Bank CD Rates Of March 2023
        • 10 Best Business Checking Accounts In March 2023
        • Best Online Banks Of March 2023
        • Best Credit Unions Nationwide Of March 2023
        • Best College Student Checking Accounts Of March 2023
      • Insurance

        • Best Life Insurance Companies
        • Renters Insurance
        • Car Insurance
        • Pet Insurance
        • Umbrella Insurance
        • Disability Insurance
        • Tuition Insurance
        • Travel Insurance
      • Credit Tools

        • Best Budgeting Apps
        • Cash Advance Apps
        • How To Get A Free Credit Score Report
        • Best Credit Monitoring Services For 2023
        • Debt Settlement: Inside The Secret World
        • Credit Repair Explained: Should You Pay For Help?
        • Best Personal Loan Companies And Lenders
        • Online Loan Companies To Borrow From Home
      • Tax

        • Best Tax Software
        • Free Tax Software
        • IRS Tax Refund Calendar
        • Common IRS Questions and Errors
        • Federal Tax Brackets
        • Capital Gains Tax Brackets
        • 401k Contribution Limits
        • IRA Contribution Limits
        • HSA Contribution Limits
  • Awards
  • Search

Meet The College Investor Team

The College Investor team is made of up of experienced financial journalists and professionals with decades of experience. You will find these experts producing content across the website, podcast, and video channels.

Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington, Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Robert Farrington is the founder and editor-in-chief of The College Investor. He is also America's Student Loan Debt Expert, and regularly writes about student loan debt, investing, and millennial money.

Robert graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelors degree in Political Science, and a Masters of Business Administration.

You can learn more about Robert Farrington here.

Read Robert's Articles

Lisa Farrignton Profile

Lisa Farrington, Managing Editor

Lisa Farrington is our managing editor, where she brings almost a decade of deep analytical insight to The College Investor. She loves to dive into the details on product and services to help consumers understand any "gotchas" and what to be aware of. Plus, she's incredibly savvy when it comes to hacking budgeting, investing, and saving money.

Lisa graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelors degree in business administration.


Claire Tak Headshot

Claire Tak, Editor At Large

Claire Tak is an editor, content strategist, and writer with a specialty and passion for personal finance and tech. Her experience in finance spans from working at San Francisco-based startups like Credit Sesame and Upstart to large institutions such as Wells Fargo. Her work has been published in FOX Business, Bloomberg, and Forbes. You can learn more about Claire at clairetak.com.

Claire graduated from UC Riverside with a bachelors degree in sociology.


Hannah Rounds

Hannah Rounds, Writer

Hannah is our principle review and product writer at The College Investor. She has tried almost every piece of financial software in existence, and knows the ins and outs of almost every financial services company. 

She has an expertise in taxes, budgeting, and investing.

Read Hannah's Articles

Mark Kantrowitz

Mark Kantrowitz, Writer

Mark is an expert on student financial aid, scholarships, 529 plans and student loans. He 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, U.S. News & World Report, MarketWatch, Money Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek and Time. He is also the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid and holds seven patents.

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. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association. Mark has two Bachelor's degrees in mathematics and philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master's degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Read Mark's Articles

Sarah Sharkey

Sarah Sharkey, Writer

Sarah is a personal finance writer covering credit cards, mortgages and student loans. She has written for numerous finance publications, including MagnifyMoney, Business Insider and ChooseFI. Her blog, Adventurous Adulting, helps young adults get a handle on their finances.

Read Sarah's Articles

Eric Rosenberg

Eric Rosenberg, Writer

Eric Rosenberg is a financial writer, speaker, and consultant based in Ventura, California. He holds an undergraduate finance degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA in finance from the University of Denver. After working as a bank manager and then nearly a decade in corporate finance and accounting, Eric left the corporate world for full-time online self-employment. Learn more about Eric here.

Read Eric's Articles

Athena Lent Headshot

Athena Lent, Writer

Athena Valentine Lent is a nationally published financial columnist for Slate Magazine and other major publications. She’s also a passionate financial educator who received the Plutus Award for Best Personal Finance Resource for Underserved Communities for her work in the Latino community. When not working, she can be found reading a Stephen King novel with her main man, a polydactyl cat named Harrison George.

Read Athena's Articles

Justine Nelson

Justine Nelson, Video

Justine is a personal finance expert that focuses on budgeting, personal finance, and her journey of paying off her student loan debt. She also creates content and shares her story at Debt Free Millennials.

You can find Justine's work at The College Investor YouTube Channel.


Andy Hill

Andy Hill, Video

Andy is a personal finance personality that focuses on family finances. He is a full time content creator with a focus on both podcasting and video content. You can find his story at Marriage Kids and Money.

You can see Andy in action at The College Investor TikTok.


Tyler Boss

Tyler Boss, Audio

Tyler is the powerhouse behind The College Investor Audio Show. He is a professional voice actor and audio producer with years of experience.

You can learn more about Tyler here.


Richelle Hawley

Richelle Hawley, Compliance

Richelle is our compliance specialist, who focuses on ensuring the accuracy of our content. She handles the daily compliance updates and audit requests from our brand partners, ensuring that our rates and facts are accurate for our readers everyday.


Past Contributors

The College Investor has enjoyed the contributions of many different experts and specialists over the years. Here are some of our past contributors.

Ben Reynolds - Ben Reynolds founded Sure Dividend in 2014. Reynolds has long held a passion for business in general and investing in particular. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a minor in Chinese studies from The University of Houston. Learn more about Ben here.

Brandon Turner - Brandon Turner is a real estate investor, podcaster, author, entrepreneur, and speaker. As the host of the BiggerPockets podcast with over 100 million downloads, Brandon is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on real estate investing. Learn more about Brandon here.

Chris Huntley - Chris Hutnley is an expert in life insurance and has been a licensed insurance agent since 2004. He brings deep knowledge of the insurance industry to The College Investor, along with writing about life insurance on his own site. You can read Chris' articles here.

Daniel Kopp - Daniel Kopp, CFP®, an Air Force veteran and fee-only financial planner who created Military Life Planning as a resource to help inform, educate, and advise servicemembers and their families on the best ways to use their military benefits. He is a fiduciary financial planner focused on serving the needs of widowed spouses and servicemembers. Learn more about Daniel here.

Kathleen Celmins - Kathleen writes about her path to financial independence as well as ways to save money, live simply, and enjoy the fun things that life has to offer. Learn more about Kathleen here.

Harry Campbell - Harry Campbell is a writer for the College Investor and runs his own  website, The Rideshare Guy, where he talks about everything about ridesharing, side hustles, delivery, and more. Learn more about Harry here.

Jay Fleischman - Jay S. Fleischman is a student loan lawyer who consults with borrowers nationwide. He is a nationally recognized speaker on the subject of student loans as well as the host of The Student Loan Show, a weekly podcast providing news and information about managing your educational debt. Learn more about Jay here.

John Schmoll - John Schmoll is the founder of Frugal Rules, a Dad, husband and veteran of the financial services industry. He’s passionate about helping people learn how to make wise investing decisions so they can prepare for their futures and avoid the mistakes that he and so many others have made.

Melanie Lockert - Melanie Lockert is a freelance wordsmith, a passionate debt fighter, and frugal lovin’ minimalist who writes at DearDebt.com. She devotes 50% of her income to student loan debt and is often dreaming of her next adventure. Learn more about Melanie here.

Stefanie O'Connell - Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez is an author and journalist that focuses extensively on personal finance and career issues that impact women. She is also the host of Real Simple Magazine’s podcast, Money Confidential.

Tom Blake - Tom Blake is a personal finance writer with a passion for making money online, cryptocurrency and NFTs,  investing, and the gig economy.

Zina Kumock - Zina Kumok is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance. She has been featured in Lifehacker, DailyWorth and Time, and she paid off $28,000 worth of student loans in three years. She also works with people one-on-one as a money coach. Learn more about Zina here.

Interested in joining the team? Check out The College Investor open positions here.

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America's Millennial Money Expert

Welcome to The College Investor. We're here to help you escape student loan debt so you can start investing and building wealth for the future

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