The U.S. Department of Education's StudentAid.gov website debuted a variety of new tools, including a personalized loan simulator, new alert and notification system, and aid summary tool. These enhancements are some of the first of several upgrades to the website that will roll out in 2020, delivering on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' promise to modernize and personalize the customer experience with federal student aid, according to the news release. Here are the latest tools released and what they mean:

• The Aid Summary feature lets users see specific information for each grant and loan they have received, including the type, date received, repayment plan, and interest rate. Users can use this tool to track their remaining eligibility for William D. Ford Direct Loans and Federal Pell Grants. They will also be able to see their progress toward repaying their loans, receive alerts about their account, and track the number of qualifying payments they have made toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• The Loan Simulator helps borrowers chart a course to successful repayment by allowing them to compare options. The tool combines information entered by borrowers, such as earnings and family composition, with loan data provided by FSA to develop a personalized repayment strategy. Borrowers can use the simulator to compare repayment plans and test-drive which plan provides them with the lowest monthly payment, fastest payoff term, or the lowest amount paid overall.
• The Make a Payment pilot feature allows borrowers whose federally managed loans are in repayment and assigned to servicers Great Lakes or Nelnet to schedule upcoming monthly payments right on StudentAid.gov. Eventually, all Direct Loan borrowers will be able to repay their loans through StudentAid.gov. These new tools are part of the Next Gen FSA initiative, launched by Secretary DeVos to "bring the federal student aid process and organization into the 21st century." For more information about the recent rollout or to explore the new tools, visit studentaid.gov here.

These new tools are part of the Next Gen FSA initiative, launched by Secretary DeVos to "bring the federal student aid process and organization into the 21st century." For more information about the recent rollout or to explore the new tools, visit studentaid.gov. Explore the many ways in which you can pay for college, including through college scholarships and college grants, college saving accounts, Federal Aid, and more, here.

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