Short of winning the lottery, there are a couple of new tolls available on the internet to help students and their families save and pay for college.

Just unveiled this month by the Secretary of Education is The FAFSA4CASTER. It is available at www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov. This tool will help you determine eligibility for federal aid, tell you how much the family will be expected to contribute and whether you'll be eligible for the federal PELL Grant Program, which provides more than $4,000 for college expenses that doesn't have to be repaid.

FAFSA4CASTER should also help ease the filling out of the complication FAFSA form. Users of FAFSA4CASTER will have their information transferred directly to the application.

The other toll is for 529 plans that was launched by the College Savings Plans Network. The site helps you compare the numerous 529 plans available to help you choose the right one.