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Health & Fitness

College Financing Planning Tool

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), which distributes student loans to thousands of college-bound students every year, has launched its newest college-planning resource called MySmartBorrowing.  This interactive tool will help online users to understand more easily the long-term implications of personal and financial choices that are necessary for a student’s higher education success plan. 

MySmartBorrowing includes estimators that assist users in identifying their possible cost of a higher education at different schools, future salary expectations for a particular degree, availability of related employment opportunities, and their potential ability to repay student loans comfortably while also affording an independent lifestyle after graduation. 

The website’s purpose is to get students and their parents and family members thinking seriously about taking on loans for college right from the start, not after acquiring high levels of debt, when it is too late.  As always, students should exhaust all other eligible means of financing like scholarships and grant programs, which do not need to be repaid, before taking out student loans.  

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Individuals who want to check out this new interactive tool can do so by visiting www.mysmartborrowing.org.  I also encourage school districts and guidance counselors to utilize this tool with high school juniors and seniors when students are considering their future higher education plans. 

Borrowing wisely can be the key to graduating college with a healthy and manageable financial footing that can last a lifetime.  It is also important to understand the different types of student loans that are available, each with different advantages and disadvantages during repayment.  MySmartBorrowing is a powerful planning tool that helps users focus on the most important factors of what could otherwise be a complicated process.

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