UniversityParent is free to read. We pay for the reporting, the school research, and the tools with affiliate revenue. This page explains exactly how that works, what it does not change, and how to tell the difference.
Jump to: How we are compensated · Partners you will see most often · Travel links and automated booking tools · What we are not paid for · What affiliate relationships do not do · Financial editorial policy · FTC compliance · Data sources · Corrections · Contact
How We Are Compensated
UniversityParent.com participates in affiliate marketing programs. When you click certain links on our site and go on to make a purchase, book a stay, or sign up for a service, we may receive a commission or referral fee. In the ordinary case there is no additional cost to you, and you pay what you would have paid going directly to the seller.
Rather than publish a list of individual advertisers that goes out of date the moment it is written, we disclose the networks and platforms we work through. That list is short, it is complete, and it is the accurate way to describe how the site is monetized.
We currently participate in affiliate programs through:
- Amazon Associates, for the product recommendations in our dorm, packing, tech, and gift guides
- Impact, an affiliate network we use for services such as insurance, mental health care, apparel, and travel rewards
- FlexOffers, an affiliate network we use for retail, education, food delivery, storage, gifts, and personal finance
- Travelpayouts, a travel affiliate network we use for flights, ground transport, tours, and attraction passes on our Family Weekend and campus visit pages
- Stay22, a travel affiliate technology provider we use for hotel search and lodging links (see Travel links and automated booking tools)
Each of these networks represents many individual advertisers. We may add or change networks over time, and we may occasionally work with a company directly rather than through a network. When that happens we update this page.
Commission rates vary widely by partner and category. Some pay a fraction of a percent, some pay low double digits, and some pay a flat fee for a completed sign-up or booking rather than a percentage of a sale. Affiliate revenue is our primary business model. We do not charge subscription fees, and we do not sell display advertising.
Partners You Will See Most Often
The companies below are examples, not a complete list. We work with many more advertisers than we could usefully name here, and the roster changes. These are simply the ones you are most likely to run into while reading the site, grouped by what they do.
- Shopping and dorm supplies: Amazon, Best Buy
- Travel and lodging: Stay22, Kiwi.com
- Insurance: GradGuard (renters and tuition insurance)
- Mental health services: Talkspace, Blossom Health
- Education and academics: Chegg, Prep Expert
- Student services: SpareFoot (storage)
- College apparel and gifts: Fanatics, GourmetGiftBaskets.com
Naming a company here says one thing only: if you buy through our link, we may be paid. It is not a clinical, medical, financial, or professional endorsement, and it does not mean the company is the right choice for your family. Read the recommendation in context and make your own call.
Travel Links and Automated Booking Tools
Travel is worth explaining separately, because some of it is handled by software rather than by a link we typed.
Hotel maps. Many of our school guides and Family Weekend pages embed a Stay22 hotel search map showing lodging near campus. If you book through one of those maps, we may earn a commission.
Automatic link processing. We also run Stay22’s link technology on most pages of the site. As a page loads in your browser, it can identify eligible travel and lodging links and route them through Stay22’s booking partners. If you then complete a qualifying booking, we may earn a commission.
Two things follow from that, and we would rather say them plainly:
- This applies to some travel links, not all of them, and not to non-travel links. Whether a given link qualifies is determined by Stay22, not by us.
- It means a travel link can earn us a commission even where we did not add affiliate tracking ourselves. That is why this page discloses the mechanism and not just a list of companies.
As with every other link on the site, this does not change the price you are quoted.
What We Are Not Paid For
Not every company, product, school, hotel, service, or resource mentioned on UniversityParent compensates UniversityParent.
Most of what we write about earns us nothing at all. Every one of the several hundred school guides on this site names real universities, real residence halls, real move-in procedures, real storage and moving companies, real lenders, and real campus offices. Almost none of those are affiliate relationships. Universities do not pay us to be covered, and they cannot pay to be covered.
We also name specific companies in editorial context because they are the ones parents actually encounter, or because they are genuinely the useful answer to a question. Sometimes there is an affiliate program behind that company and sometimes there is not, and the recommendation reads the same either way, because the recommendation was not made for the commission.
If you want to know whether a particular link or recommendation is compensated, ask us. Email hello@universityparent.com with the page and the link, and we will tell you directly.
What Our Affiliate Relationships Do Not Do
They do not determine our editorial recommendations.
We choose which products and services to recommend based on quality, value, and relevance to parents of college students, not based on commission rates. A higher-commission product does not get a recommendation it hasn’t earned. A lower-commission product that genuinely serves parents gets recommended.
We decline affiliate relationships with products and services we wouldn’t recommend on their merits.
If we are approached by a company whose product or service we do not believe is genuinely valuable for our readers, we do not enter into an affiliate relationship, regardless of the financial terms offered.
Affiliate partners do not review, approve, or influence our editorial content before publication.
Our school-specific guides, pillar articles, and tool-generated content are written and edited independently. Affiliate partners have no input into coverage decisions, recommendations, or editorial framing.
Our Editorial Standards for Financial Content
Because UniversityParent covers student loans, financial aid, insurance, and other financial topics, we hold this content to additional standards.
Accuracy
All financial figures, tuition costs, average debt loads, earnings outcomes, are sourced from verifiable government or institutional data: the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, IPEDS, official university financial aid websites, and the Federal Student Aid office. We cite sources and publish update dates.
Financial figures change annually. We update time-sensitive content at least once per academic year and note the last update date on each page.
Independence
Our financial content is written to inform, not to sell. When we discuss student loan options, we present the federal loan system first, because federal loans carry income-based repayment protections and forgiveness programs that private loans do not. We recommend private loans as a supplement or alternative only when relevant to a specific family situation, and we disclose our affiliate relationship with private loan providers clearly.
No Investment Advice
UniversityParent does not provide investment advice. Content about college savings (529 plans, UTMA accounts, etc.) is informational only. For investment decisions, consult a licensed financial advisor.
No Guarantees
Financial products change. Interest rates fluctuate. Scholarship amounts and eligibility requirements shift. We do not guarantee the accuracy of specific financial product terms or rates, always verify current terms directly with the provider before making a financial decision.
Sponsored Content
If UniversityParent ever publishes sponsored content, content created in partnership with a paying brand, it will be clearly labeled “Sponsored” or “Paid Partnership” at the top of the page. As of our 2026 relaunch, we do not publish sponsored content.
FTC Compliance
In accordance with Federal Trade Commission guidelines (16 CFR Part 255), UniversityParent discloses material connections, including affiliate compensation, whenever they are relevant to the content being presented.
This means:
- Affiliate links are used throughout our site, and their presence indicates a potential commission
- A disclosure appears in the footer of every page on the site, and individual guides that carry multiple affiliate placements repeat it in context
- Individual product links that carry affiliate tracking are not individually labeled (doing so for every Amazon link would make guides unreadable), but the disclosure covering the page applies to all links within it
If you have questions about whether a specific link or recommendation carries an affiliate relationship, contact us at hello@universityparent.com and we will tell you directly.
Data Sources
Our content draws on the following primary sources:
| Source | What We Use It For |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard | Tuition, enrollment, graduation rates, median earnings outcomes |
| IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) | Institutional type, location, size |
| Official university websites | Dorm policies, move-in logistics, banned items, parent resources |
| Federal Student Aid (studentaid.gov) | FAFSA information, federal loan terms, repayment options |
| O*NET (U.S. Department of Labor) | Career data used in the College Match Intelligence Tool |
| NOAA Climate Data | Weather information for school-specific guides |
We do not use AI-generated content as a primary source. When AI tools assist in drafting or organizing content, human editors verify factual claims against primary sources before publication.
Corrections Policy
We make mistakes. When we do, we correct them.
If you find an error in any UniversityParent guide, a wrong tuition figure, an outdated policy, an incorrect move-in date, please email us at hello@universityparent.com with the specific page and the correct information. We review every correction report and update content accordingly, typically within 5 business days.
Significant corrections are noted at the bottom of the relevant page with the correction date.
Contact
For questions about this policy:
Email: hello@universityparent.com
For media or partnership inquiries:
Email: press@universityparent.com
Last reviewed: August 2026. We review this page whenever we add or drop an affiliate network, or materially change how the site is monetized, and at least once per academic year.
UniversityParent.com, Founded 2003. Relaunched 2026.