State offers financial aid for college

Trenton — The NJCLASS loan program will once again be available from The New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority for the 2009-10 academic year. NJCLASS is available to New Jersey residents and out of state students attending a New Jersey college. Since 1991 NJCLASS has assisted over 171,000 New Jersey students and families with more than $1.8 billion to meet college costs. This past year alone NJCLASS helped 28,000 students with $377 million in student aid. As an extension of the NJCLASS program, MedNJ will be available to students in early July so medical and dental students will be able to pay for their medical or dental school costs. Borrowers will be able to obtain a low, fixed interest rate with the same repayment options offered under the NJCLASS loan, but they will also be afforded the opportunity to defer their payments until they have completed their residency periods. For 18 years the NJCLASS supplemental loan program has been helping students afford the cost of college. It is the largest bond offering of its kind and brings with it one of the lowest interest rates in the country starting at 7.62 percent. For more information, visit www.hesaa.org or call 1-800-792-8670.