Have you heard of iGrad?

The University of New Haven has partnered with iGrad to provide financial literacy services to the community at no cost for students. The program has only formally been introduced to students about two weeks ago. There have been over 150 students to login and interact with the platform so far.

Students are able to access iGrad through their myCharger account by clicking on the Student Resources menu option. Then select Student Financial Services and click the iGrad for schools link under the Financial Literacy banner. iGrad updates their content regularly so there is always something new to learn every time you log in.

“Prospective students and Alumni may not have access to their myCharger account,” said Associate Director of the Financial Aid Office, Amanda King. “So we have also set up a financial literacy website at www.newhaven.edu/financialliteracy so that that all member of our community can access iGrad. Parents and Guardians also have access to use the iGrad platform.”

The iGrad platform offers  plenty of information that can benefit students. There are articles, videos, infographics, games, and tools that can be used to learn more about a variety of topics.

iGrad separates their topics into three major categories. “Managing Money” includes topics, such as budgeting, credit cards, insurance, and saving for goals. “Paying for School” includes topics such as information on applying for financial aid and repaying student loans. “Finding a Career” includes information about resumes and cover letters, interviewing, networking, and job searching.

King said, “Another huge benefit to the platform is free access to loan repayment specialists. If any of our current students or alumni have questions about their loans, repayment plan options, service information etc. these specialists are ready and willing to help.”

Through the iGrad website, students can get their contact information to email, call, or even web chat about any questions regarding loan repayment. The repayment specialists at Money Expert will be able to help with counseling students on how to pick the right repayment plan after graduation in order to help with student debts.

Students are also able to apply for outside scholarships using iGrad. They offer a course through the site that students can take to help improve their scholarship search skills. iGrad has a scholarship search engine on their site students can review and filter their results based on different parameter to try to find scholarships that are specific to them.

“New scholarships are being put up all the time and remain posted until their respective deadline,” King says. “As of today there are 2,068 scholarships listed on the site.”

The Financial Literacy Committee is trying to get the word out and be able for students to be aware of the program.

“We have added information about iGrad to presentations we give and will be providing handouts about the platform at many different events as they happen,” King said. “We also have posters and handouts available in many offices on campus that have representatives on the Financial Literacy Committee.”

CSELO sent out an email promoting iGrad and giving current students the opportunity to be entered to win Amazon gift cards if they log in and complete some tasks on the platform.

The Financial Literacy Committee will be holding a workshop to help students learn how to use iGrad along with completing the above tasks to be entered to win the prizes.