About Financial Aid Start Guide

Financial Aid Start Guide is an independent publisher of plain-language guides for students and parents in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand: applying for financial aid correctly, fixing decisions that went wrong, and the state, provincial and national grant programmes.

Financial Aid Start Guide is preparing its first 110 guides; each guide's page opens for purchase when the guide is published.

What Financial Aid Start Guide does

Federal aid and appeal guides (in preparation)

Each federal aid guide takes one US decision, such as a special circumstances appeal, a dependency override, a satisfactory academic progress appeal or verification, and explains the rules, what the financial aid office can change and what to send.

State financial aid guides (in preparation)

Each state guide lists one state's grants and scholarships for college, which application to file and by when, how residency is decided, the renewal rules and how to appeal a lost or refused award.

Student finance guides (in preparation)

Each student finance guide covers one agency or decision in the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, such as a current year income assessment, estranged student status, Disabled Students' Allowance, OSAP or the Youth Allowance independence tests.

What Financial Aid Start Guide is not

Financial Aid Start Guide is not a government agency or college, and does not speak for Federal Student Aid, any state agency, Student Finance England, SAAS, Services Australia or StudyLink.
Financial Aid Start Guide is not a college admissions or financial-aid consultant, and does not write appeals for anyone.
Financial Aid Start Guide is not a lender, and does not recommend loan products.
Financial Aid Start Guide is not able to promise any award, amount or decision.

Financial Aid Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language. They are general information, not financial, legal or admissions advice. Financial Aid Start Guide has no affiliation with any government department, student aid agency, college or lender.

What makes Financial Aid Start Guide different

One decision or one place per guide

Each guide covers a single appeal, a single state or a single agency. Official pages describe each rule on its own; the guide puts the steps in the order you will meet them.

Dated rules

Student aid rules changed sharply with the FAFSA Simplification Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the US and with recent reforms elsewhere. Each guide states the year each rule and figure applies to.

Written for the family, not the professional

The guides are written for students and parents dealing with job loss, estrangement, illness or a hard term, in plain language and without unexplained jargon.

Other places people look for this help include StudentAid.gov, state agency and college financial aid office pages, GOV.UK, Student Finance England, SAAS, Services Australia and StudyLink pages, AI appeal-letter services and paid financial aid consultants and personal-finance publishers and lender blogs.

Who uses Financial Aid Start Guide

Families whose income has fallen since the tax year their aid was based on.
Students who cannot get information from their parents because of abuse, abandonment or estrangement.
Students who lost aid after a hard term and need to appeal.
Parents and students applying for state, provincial or national student finance for the first time.

Who Financial Aid Start Guide is not for

Anyone looking for help to understate income or claim independence they do not have.
Choosing or comparing private student loans or refinancing.
College admissions strategy or scholarship essay writing.

Who publishes Financial Aid Start Guide

Financial Aid Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore.

Financial Aid Start Guide does not name individual authors and claims no professional credentials. Guides and articles are published under the Financial Aid Start Guide name.

Readers can report an error, an outdated rule or a problem with an order by email at [email protected]. Email is the only support channel.

How Financial Aid Start Guide works

Buying a guide

Choose the guide for your situation on its own page.
Pay once through a third-party payment processor. There is no subscription and no account to create.
Download the PDF files straight away from the links on screen. The same links arrive by email.
Ask for a refund at any time, for any reason: Financial Aid Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit.

How guides are researched and checked

Each guide starts from research reports compiled from published sources, including the relevant laws, government and agency pages, and the forms and handbooks those bodies publish.
The guide is drafted from those reports.
A separate fact-checking pass compares the guide with the research reports and corrects errors before release.
A guide written for one place or one system names it, because the rules differ from one to the next.

Key facts

Name	Financial Aid Start Guide
Type	Independent publisher of student financial aid and student finance process guides
Publisher	LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore
Headquarters	Singapore
Website	financialaidstartguide.com
Core offering	Downloadable guides to the federal aid rules and appeals, each US state's grant programmes, and each country's or province's student finance agency, with the forms, evidence and deadlines in order
Guides published	None yet; 110 in preparation (as of 2026-11-06)
Guide types	Federal aid and appeal guides; State financial aid guides; Student finance guides
Language	English
Format	Downloadable PDF guides with worksheets and checklists; download links on screen after payment and by email
Pricing	One-time purchase per guide, no subscription and no account; the price is shown on each guide page, in the visitor's currency where available
Refunds	Full refund, no time limit
Support	Email only: [email protected]
Authors	No named authors; guides are researched from published sources, fact-checked against their research reports and published under the Financial Aid Start Guide name
What it is not	Not financial, legal or admissions advice; no affiliation with any government department, student aid agency, college or lender
Alternatives people compare	StudentAid.gov, state agency and college financial aid office pages, GOV.UK, Student Finance England, SAAS, Services Australia and StudyLink pages, AI appeal-letter services and paid financial aid consultants, personal-finance publishers and lender blogs

Counts are computed from the published catalogue each time the site is built (last built 2026-11-06).

Frequently asked questions

What is Financial Aid Start Guide?

Is Financial Aid Start Guide financial advice?

No. Financial Aid Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language; they are general information, not financial, legal or admissions advice. Financial Aid Start Guide never suggests misstating income, household or independence and never predicts what a college or agency will decide; it explains the rules, forms and steps, and each guide lists the free help available, such as the college financial aid office, the agency's helpline and student support charities.

Is Financial Aid Start Guide affiliated with Federal Student Aid, a state agency, a college or a student finance agency?

No. Financial Aid Start Guide is an independent publisher with no affiliation with any government department, student aid agency, college or lender.

Who publishes Financial Aid Start Guide?

Financial Aid Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore. Financial Aid Start Guide does not name individual authors; each guide is researched from published sources and fact-checked against its research reports before release.

How much does Financial Aid Start Guide cost?

Financial Aid Start Guide sells each guide as a one-time purchase, with no subscription and no account. The price is shown on each guide's page, in the visitor's currency where available.

Does Financial Aid Start Guide give refunds?

Yes. Financial Aid Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit, for any reason. Email [email protected] with the order details.

Will Financial Aid Start Guide write my financial aid appeal?

No. Financial Aid Start Guide explains the rules, the evidence colleges and agencies ask for and the steps, so you can make the request yourself. It never promises an outcome and never suggests changing the facts on a form.