| Interest rates on existing variable rate student loans to increase July 1 |
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| Posted by EditorChoice | |
| Tuesday, 03 July 2007 | |
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There is still time to lock in lower interest rates through student loan consolidation; Sallie Mae offers tips and advice on managing repaymentRESTON, “Completing your student loan consolidation application is quick and easy,” said Patricia Scherschel, vice president of loan consolidation, Sallie Mae. “In fact, you can complete the entire process online, including submitting an electronic signature, in 15 minutes or less.”
Consolidation involves paying off current federal education loans in full and creating a single new loan. The new loan features a fixed interest rate calculated as the weighted average of the rates of the loans consolidated, adjusted up to the nearest 0.125 percent, and not to exceed 8.25 percent. Stafford loan customers who are still in their six-month, post-school grace period can lock in an interest rate as low as 6.625 percent with student loan consolidation, and by doing so, they will avoid both the July 1 and the post-grace period interest-rate increases on their loans.
The loan consolidation experts at Sallie Mae offer these tips to last-minute applicants.
Put down the phone and apply online. Customers may call our toll-free hotline at (800) 448-3533 for more information or to request an application, but the fastest way to apply is to go to www.SallieMae.com/Consolidation. Most customers can complete this form in 15 minutes or less. Allow us to help. Sallie Mae’s complimentary, online concierge service walks customers through the application process quickly and easily, takes just five minutes to complete and is a fail-safe choice for customers who don’t have all of their loan details handy. Sallie Mae can help customers fill in the blanks on their student loan consolidation application and will notify them when the application is ready to review and sign online. Customers who complete the concierge request form by June 30 will qualify to lock-in the current lower rates on their variable-rate loans. Take advantage of E-Sign. By signing and submitting applications online, student loan consolidation customers can avoid using snail-mail or an expensive overnight delivery service. Once an application is submitted electronically, Sallie Mae will send an e-mail confirming receipt of the signed application. Shop for the best fit. A customer’s relationship with a consolidation loan provider can last up to 30 years, so it is important to pick a trusted lender that offers competitive discounts. Sallie Mae offers eligible customers with a balance of at least $10,000 an interest rate discount of 1 percent after the first 36 on-time payments. In addition, consolidation customers with balances of $7,500 or more will receive an immediate 0.25 percent interest rate reduction for using automatic debit to make payments electronically. Combined, these benefits mean real money: an average borrower with a $25,000 loan could save as much as $4,200. Optimize your repayment. For a more in-depth analysis of their optimal repayment options, customers can also use the exhaustive simulation provided through Sallie Mae’s Repayment Optimizer tool, which provides detailed repayment estimates that take into account the rate reductions, discounts and benefits associated with various loan offerings. That tool is available at www.SallieMae.com/RepaymentOptimizer. Don’t miss the June 30 deadline. Midnight (PDT) on Saturday, June 30 is the deadline for submitting an application to Sallie Mae. Check your address. If you do not prefer to apply online, you can still apply via regular mail as long as the envelope is postmarked June 30. Before customers drop the letter in the mail box, they should check the pick-up times to make sure the letter will be postmarked June 30. Paper applications should be sent to: Sallie Mae Loan Consolidation P.O. Be patient. It may take a few weeks for applications to be processed, although electronic applications often are processed in less than two weeks. Sallie Mae will base the consolidation loan’s interest rate on the rates in effect on the variable-rate For more information contact: Beth Guerard (703) 984-5621
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SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The company manages $150 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages $17 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and over 7.5 million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewards on purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the |
