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Higher Education Student Assistance Authority of New Jersey

The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority of New Jersey oversees a number of college grants and scholarships:

Tuition Aid Grant (TAG)
Part-Time Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) for County College Students
Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Grant
NJ Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS)
NJ Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship II (NJ STARS II)
Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars (DS) Award
Urban Scholars (US) Award
New Jersey World Trade Center Scholarship (WTC)
Survivor Tuition Benefits (STB)
Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Scholarship (LEOMS)
Dana Christmas Scholarship for Heroism
Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program (OSRP)

There is a new requirement to qualify for these grants and scholarships (which many students didn't know about last year). Although the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority requires students to fill out the FAFSA for these awards, there is an additional form which needs to be filed. Because the FAFSA application was simplified (by dropping some financial information)- the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority has required students to file a separate financial aid form with them to qualify for the Tuition Aid Grants and NJ STARS:

Dependent Student
Independent Student

Be sure to check New Jersey's FAFSA deadline so that your application can be processed on time.

Find more college grants and scholarships for New Jersey students.

New Jersey schools have all switched to the Direct Federal Student Loan program, now that the FFELP ended.

New Jersey's Higher Education Student Assistance Authority is one of the few state agencies that offers a program of alternative student loans. These are more like traditional private student loans than the ones offered by other states, such as Minnesota.

They are called:

NJCLASS Loans

The NJCLASS Fixed Rate Loan

For undergraduates or their parents
may be used for tuition and fees, books, supplies, and room & board
can be deferred while in school
2% origination fee
20 year repayment term
interest rate- fixed 7.62% rate for loans in either monthly repayment or quarterly interest payments;loans with deferred payment- fixed rate of 7.92%

The NJCLASS Fixed Rate for Graduate and Professional Students

for students only
may be used for tuition and fees, books, supplies, and room & board
can be deferred while in school
2% origination fee
25 year repayment term
interest rate- fixed 7.72% interest rate for loans in either monthly repayment or quarterly payments;loans with deferred payment- fixed rate of 8.02%

There are no annual or total limits for these school loans, and NJCLASS school loans can be consolidated. (There is also a bill in the state Senate to offer some teacher loan forgiveness to borrowers who teach in New Jersey schools. 10% of the NJCLASS balance will be forgiven for each year of teaching.) Another option is to find a private loan lender from among the dozens of credit unions that offer college loans.

On December 16, 2008, the Higher Education Students Assistance Authority announced that students will no longer be able to defer payments on these loans until after graduation. These restrictions were imposed because of a surge in new applicants (21% more than in 2007).

New Jersey has a program for social work loan forgiveness:

The Social Services Loan Redemption Program

Requirements

for state or federal school loans where the student is the borrower

must be employed as a direct care professional at a qualified facility within 1 year after completing a bachelor’s or graduate degree program in these fields:

counseling
physical, occupational, recreational or speech therapy
case management
vocational training
assistance with activities of daily living
medication management
budgeting assistance
addiction treatment services

must be a resident of the State of New Jersey

may not be in default on a federal or state loan

The state will pay $5,000 per year for each year of service for a maximum toal of $20,000.

New Jersey also has a teacher loan forgiveness program:

The Teaching Fellows Program

Requirements

must have student loans through the Federal Student Loan Programs

must be teachers teaching in one of the public schools in an Abbott School District

must be graduates of Spring 2004 or after from a New Jersey College or University with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0

must be residents of New Jersey with a New Jersey teaching certificate

The state will pay a maximum of $24,000. Teachers working in the subject areas of math, science, foreign language, or special education will have $6,000 or 25% of their loans redeemed for each year of service. Teachers in other subject area will receive redemption at a rate of 20% per year.

Check out these important financial aid topics:

Printable FAFSA form

Student loan interest rates

Cheap college textbooks

The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority's state loan program does something that federal loans do not- it allows students to borrow as much as they need to cover the costs of college at a low fixed rate. For grants and scholarships managed by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, a FAFSA application must be filed.

Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (New Jersey)
P.O. Box 540
Four Quakerbridge Plaza
Trenton, NJ 08625-0540
Phone: (609) 588-3226
Toll-Free: (800) 792-8670
Fax: (609) 588-7389
TTY: (609) 588-2526