News
NJCLASS - On Top of Its Game
Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) announced today that the NJCLASS loan program will once again be available for students for the 2009-10 academic year. For 18 years the NJCLASS supplemental loan program has been helping students afford the cost of college. This year will be no different. Highly rated by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Rating agencies, HESAA offered $450 million in tax exempt bonds last week to support the NJCLASS loan program which has seen unprecedented growth over the past few years due in large part to its favorable terms.
NJCLASS 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%. 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.
“NJCLASS has been recognized nationally for its low interest rate and flexible repayment options.” said Michael Angulo, Executive Director of HESAA. “We are confident that with those same terms, it will be well received by students and families again this year.”
For 50 years, HESAA has delivered billions of dollars in financial aid, and offered financial literacy programs for young adults, training programs for guidance counselors, and outreach programs across the State to ensure that students and families gain valuable information about the availability and affordability of higher education. “Students are our number one concern,” said Director Angulo, “Our job is to provide information and financial aid resources to help students achieve their dream of a college education.” This past year, a significant need was identified for medical and dental students. As a result HESAA developed a loan program designed specifically for those students. The result – MedNJ – “NJCLASS for Medical and Dental Students”. 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.
“We are fortunate in New Jersey to have in Governor Corzine a leader who is committed to helping students attain a higher education.” Director Angulo continued, “Without his support, programs like NJCLASS and NJCLASS for Medical/Dental Students would not be possible.”
Since 1959, HESAA, a non-profit, state designated Authority, has delivered over $18 billion in financial aid. Each year, over 1 million individuals receive assistance from outreach and aid programs administered by HESAA including the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) program, the Part-time TAG for County College Students, NJSTARS and STARS II, the Coordinated Garden State Scholarship program, the Federal Family Education Loan program, NJCLASS, and NJBEST. For additional information about HESAA please visit our web site at www.hesaa.org or call our toll-free hotline at 800-792-8670.