Financial Awareness Counseling Tool

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a new interactive loan counseling tool to provide students with financial management basics, like information about their current loan debt and estimates for student loan debt levels after graduation. Students can access the new resource, known as the Financial Awareness Counseling Tool, through StudentLoans.gov at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/financialAwarenessCounselingLanding.action.


The Financial Awareness Counseling Tool provides students with five interactive tutorials covering topics ranging from managing a budget to avoiding default. Students are able to access their individual loan history and receive personalized feedback that can help them better understand their financial obligations. College financial aid professionals can also monitor a student’s progress in using the tool and provide assistance if necessary to help ensure they can utilize the information the site provides.

The Department of Education has also recently published its annual college cost lists, which detail schools with the highest and lowest published sticker price, schools with the highest net price once grants and scholarships are factored in, and those schools where prices are rising the fastest.  http://collegecost.ed.gov/catc/Default.aspx