New website offers college finance advice

For students who seek help with understanding college costs, finding loans and creating payment plans, the newly-launched National College Finance Center website can be a valuable resource.

Initiated Tuesday, the interactive NCFC site offers state-specific information about the cost of higher education, tips for how to finance your way through college and how to repay loans.

The NCFC’s mission, as stated on their website, is to provide “a first-stop, one-stop, unbiased resource to help educate students, prospective students and families all across the country about their options for financing a college education.”

Features of the site include a ‘My College Finance Advisor’ option, which will create an individualized plan based on state programs, borrowing needs and other finance-impacting factors.

With state-by-state information on financial aid, students can see what grants, scholarships, loan programs and tuition payment plans are available in their states. The site encourages all students to only apply for loans after all sources of grants and scholarships have been exhausted and to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Connecticut college students are offered federal aid and state aid including tuition waivers for seniors and veterans, the Graduate PLUS Loan and the Independent College Student Grant Program. Students can also be candidates for federal aid like the Federal Pell Grant and subsidized loans. Subsidized loans do not accrue interest while the borrower is in school and for six months after because the U.S. Department of Financial Aid pays the interest.

For students who are already paying for college and must soon begin paying back loans, NCFC also offers advice on loan repayment, lists loan repayment programs and presents a customized plan of action for loan repayment.

For more information, visit the NCFC site at http://collegefinancecenter.org/about-us.html.