As part of Governor Larry Hogan’s college affordability and student debt relief announcement earlier, Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Secretary Dr. James D. Fielder announced a new website feature to easily access information about financial tools available to students and Marylanders with student debt. Maryland SmartSave is an extensive resource of financial aid programs in the form of grants, scholarships, and other awards to help pay for higher education. The new SmartSave icon located at www.MHEC.Maryland.gov will allow Marylanders to more efficiently navigate all of the resources MHEC has to offer.“SmartSave includes information at your fingertips on all available grants, scholarships, and tuition waivers, as well as government financial aid and loan assistance repayment programs,” said Governor Hogan. “We are offering real solutions for higher education; our initiatives will not only help the next generation of Marylanders, but will also provide much-needed relief to the hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who are currently burdened by student debt.”
The SmartSave page offers valuable information to assist students in obtaining their higher education goals. Maryland is fortunate to have numerous colleges and universities to choose from, and preparation is the key to ensuring Marylanders’ dream of a college education can be realized.
“Governor Hogan’s education priorities set a new standard of student achievement by allowing for affordable access to higher education,” Secretary Fielder said. “It is through Governor Hogan’s leadership that we can promote access, affordability, and innovation to fulfill our goal of increasing student success with less debt.”
Marylanders can easily access the information by clicking on the SmartSave icon at www.MHEC.Maryland.gov. After clicking on the site, students can read a description of the resources and gain easy access to information on all of the scholarships, grants, and loan assistance repayment programs available through MHEC’s Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA).
Each year, OSFA is responsible for awarding scholarships and grants to more than 60,000 students with a total expenditure of more than $105 million. Financial aid is money that helps pay for tuition and, in some cases, other expenses. Merit-based financial aid is aid given to students who have special talents, skills, or who have earned good grades. Need-based financial aid is given to students who demonstrate that they have financial need. Financial aid can come in the form of grants, work, student loans, parent loans, scholarships and other awards.
Since taking office in 2015, the Hogan administration has invested more than $7.1 billion in higher education.
