Federal and Private Loan Products Offer Wide Array of Financing Options to
Students at the Nation's Two-Year Institutions
RESTON, Va., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Sallie Mae, the nation's leading
saving- and paying-for-college company, announced today that Sallie Mae's
private Signature Student Loan is now available to community college
students enrolled at least half-time at Title IV eligible schools.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
While the total cost of attendance at community colleges is often lower
than the cost of attendance at four-year institutions, there may be certain
circumstances where students need additional financial support. The
Signature Student Loan features interest rates that reward good credit,
with rates as low as Prime minus 0.50 percent and no fees. If students have
less-than-ideal credit, they still may be eligible if they apply with a
creditworthy cosigner. Even if students have good credit, a cosigner may
help them qualify for lower rates and fees. The rates and fees are variable
and reset monthly, and no payments are required as long as the student is
enrolled at least half-time.
While Sallie Mae advises students and families first to apply for and
pursue free money, such as grants and scholarships, to pay for college,
there may be certain circumstances where students need additional financial
support. When it comes to financing the cost of college, Sallie Mae
recommends that students and families maximize their borrowing under the
Federal Stafford Loan and PLUS Loan programs. If students still have
remaining financial need, they could then consider applying for a private
education loan, such as the Sallie Mae Signature Student Loan, to meet the
total cost of attendance.
In addition, Sallie Mae recently announced Upromise Loan Link, a new
benefit that enables customers to reduce their student loan debt by
accelerating repayment as they use rewards earned via Upromise to pay down
their student loans. Upromise's popular rewards service allows members to
earn cash rebates when they and their families shop online, buy gas or
groceries, dine out, or purchase other goods and services from more than
500 participating companies. With Loan Link, these rebates can then be
automatically transferred into the customer's Sallie Mae student loan
account.
Upromise Loan Link will help customers reduce their student loan debt
by accelerating repayment, and could save more than $1,500 for a customer
who has Signature Student Loans totaling $12,000 (assuming a rate of Prime
minus 0.50 percent) and who earns $50 in Upromise rewards annually. Those
savings represent 12 percent of the customer's original loan balance and
ten full months of repayment.
Students interested in the Signature Student Loan may apply online, 24
hours a day, seven days a week. To learn more about the Signature Student
Loan and to start the application process, log on to
http://www.SallieMae.com/CommunityCollegeLoan.
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 $142 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $15 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and assists
more than 7.5 million members with automatic savings through rebates on
everyday purchases. 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
http://www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not
sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
SOURCE Sallie Mae
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