Some links on Education Spot earn us a commission. This page explains what that means and, more usefully, what it does not change.
The disclosure
Education Spot participates in affiliate programmes. If you follow certain links from this site and open an account, apply for a product or make a purchase, we may receive a payment. This does not cost you anything and it does not change the terms you are offered.
We also display advertising. Advertisers have no involvement in, and no advance sight of, anything we publish.
What a commission does not change
This is the part that matters, so it is stated specifically rather than as a general assurance.
- It does not change a figure. Every amount, rate and limit comes from a federal, state or official source, recorded with that source and the date it was checked. There is no commercial relationship that could alter one, because no commercial party is a source.
- It does not change a comparison. Where we set two things side by side, the comparison is drawn from the same checked records regardless of whether either one earns us anything.
- It does not change the order things appear in. Nothing on this site is ranked, sorted or placed by what it pays.
- It does not change what we cover. The subjects on this site were chosen before any commercial relationship existed, and a great deal of what we write about — federal aid programmes, school enrolment, homework, bullying — cannot earn a commission at all.
- It does not buy a recommendation. We do not tell readers which lender, plan, school or service to choose. We explain how each type works and what it costs you.
Where commissions are and are not possible
It is worth being concrete. Federal student aid cannot be monetised: there is no commission on a Pell Grant, a Direct Loan, a FAFSA or a repayment plan, and those make up most of what we write about on the money side.
Where commercial links can appear is a narrower set — private loans, refinancing, savings plans and tutoring services among them. That is also the content where a conflict would matter most, so it carries the clearest labelling on the site, and the accompanying explanation of why a federal option usually comes first is not something a commercial partner can influence.
Trademarks and non-affiliation
This site names schools, programmes, agencies and companies in order to explain them. Doing so does not imply any relationship.
Unless we say otherwise on the page, Education Spot is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or connected to any institution, agency, lender, servicer or company named on this site. We are not affiliated with the United States Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, the Internal Revenue Service, or any state agency. All trademarks and service marks belong to their respective owners and are used only to identify the thing being described.
Questions
If you want to know whether a specific link on this site earns us anything, ask and we will tell you: contact us.