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Curious about financial aid and how it works? Wondering how you're going to pay for your education? Or maybe you'd simply like to know what happens after you file your FAFSA. Find the answers you want in our downloadable semester newsletters (below) or in the informative audio podcasts (to the right).

Student Financial Aid Services (SFAS)  Newsletters

College Access 2011

Come fill out your 11-12 FAFSA for free with us! Click on the flyer for details:

Financial Aid Awareness Week Event

You can't afford to miss this power-packed event of workshops that will change the way you handle your education.  Click the link below for more information.

Get Your College Tax Benefits Before They Expire

Some credits, deductions, and other tax-advantaged programs that Congress has enacted to make college more affordable are scheduled to expire at the end of the year; however, there are things you can do to take advantage of the credits before they expire.

For example, the American Opportunity Credit, which requires that you spend $4000 on qualified expenses in order to get the full credit, is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2010. If you have not spent the full $4000 yet, you can do either of the following before the end of the year:

  • Prepay tuition. Many colleges send out tuition bills for the spring semester at the end of the year. If you pay the spring bill before December 31, you can claim the credit for those expenses on your 2010 tax return.

  • Buy next semester's textbooks. Books and course materials are qualified expenses for the American Opportunity Credit. If you what courses you are going to take in the spring, you can buy the textbooks before December  31 and claim the credit.

Click here to read about what other steps you can take.

Farewell to the Lowest Loan Rates in History

Federal student loans awarded before July 1, 2006, were variable-rate loans. They were set at the price of the 91-day Treasury Bill (T-bill) rate for the last auction in May of each year + 1.7% for loans in grace, 91-day + 2.3% for Stafford loans in repayment; PLUS loans were set at 91-day + 3.1%. Then, in 2005, Congress mandated, as an overreaction to temporarily high interest rates, that Stafford loans after July 1, 2006, would be set at a fixed rate of 6.8% and PLUS loans at 8.5%, removing the variable rate.

Shortsightedness. The 91-day T-bill rate closed on May 28, 2009, at 0.178%, which is the lowest at which it has ever closed for student-loan purposes.

For the class of 2009, which should be the last class to have any variable-rate loans, your Stafford loan interest rate from graduation to the end of your grace period (in six months) is a mere 1.878%, way below the 6.8% for loans issued after July 1, 2006. Once your loans go into repayment, they’ll be at 2.478%. Parents with PLUS loans taken out before July 1, 2006, will pay a rate of 3.278%; again, way below the 8.5% they’ll pay on any loans originated after July 1, 2006.

Here’s the best part for the class of 2009: you can still consolidate your federal student loans. Student loan consolidation remains available, primarily through the Department of Education, and that will lock in these abnormally low interest rates for the remainder of the loan terms.

Commentary. There are two items of importance here. First, consolidate your student loans if you have any of the older variable-rate loans. You will probably never get a better interest rate, period. Second, assume that whatever piece of legislation Congress names, it will have the opposite effect:

  • The 2005 legislation that has since cost college students millions of dollars by locking them out of the lowest interest rates in history? The College Access and Opportunities Act.
  • The 2007 legislation that forced the majority of student loan companies to either go out of business or curtail borrower benefits like interest rate discounts for on-time payments? The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which increased the cost of college and reduced access.

Based on their track record, you can safely bet that the upcoming Higher Education Opportunities Act will provide no new opportunities for students.

Stay informed and engaged in the political process and assume that Congress is completely incapable of predicting the unintended consequences of their legislation. Stay informed, stay engaged, stay up to date on the things that are going to impact your wallet now and in the decades ahead. Communicate with your elected officials and pressure them when they’re about to do something that’s a really bad idea.

Do You Want Free Money for 2010–2011?

Are you a NJ resident who has applied for financial aid? If so, the NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority’s (HESAA) needs more information from you.

If you are a NJ resident who has filed a 2010-2011 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will be required to respond to HESAA’s e-mail request for additional information in order to be considered for NJ state aid programs, such as the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) and the NJ STARS. Dependent students will be asked to respond to three questions, and independent students will be asked an additional question regarding veterans' benefits.

The e-mail will include a direct link that you can click to begin the process, but why wait? Get a head start on your educational financing and go now to www.hesaa.org, click on the “Report 2010-11 Additional Information for State Aid” link, and enter the requested data. It’s never too soon to apply for free money!

Change in NJCLASS Loan Repayment Option

Effective immediately, the NJCLASS loan repayment Option 3, "In-school deferment of principal and interest payments," will not be available on new loans until further notice. This change is for both the NJCLASS Fixed Rate Loan and the NJCLASS for Graduate and Professional Students programs; however, while repayment Option 3 is no longer available, you can still apply for a NJCLASS loan by selecting Option 1 (monthly repayment of principal and interest) or Option 2 repayment (quarterly interest payment while in school). For detailed information, visit http://hesaa.org/index.php?page=NJCLASSapply.

Student Bulletins

Check out the following student bulletins on FastWeb—the Internet's leading scholarship search service that helps you make important life decisions, such as choosing a college, paying for college, finding jobs and internships, and more.