Mark Kantrowitz is an expert on student financial aid, the FAFSA, scholarships, 529 plans, education tax benefits, student loans and college admissions. His mission is to deliver practical information, advice and tools to students and their families so they can make smarter, more informed decisions about planning and paying for college. 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, Barron's, Washington Post, Reuters, U.S. News & World Report, MarketWatch, Money Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek and Time. Mark is the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid and holds eight patents. His most recent book is How to Appeal for More College FInancial Aid. Mark serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid and is a member of the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education. Mark previously served as publisher of the FinAid, Fastweb, Edvisors, Cappex and Savingforcollege.com web sites. 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).