Company Encourages Consumers to be Savvy Shoppers When Selecting a Lender
RESTON, Va., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- As back-to-school approaches,
families may wonder whether time has run out to find last-minute payment
solutions. Sallie Mae -- the nation's leading saving-and-paying-for-college
company -- has several affordable financing options available in time to
meet the cost of higher education.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
Sallie Mae counsels families to adopt a "1-2-3 approach" to paying for
college. First, students and families should look for financial aid that
does not have to be repaid, such as grants and scholarships. Second, they
should maximize their borrowing under the federal student loan programs,
which provide the most consumer-friendly loan rates, benefits, and
repayment options for students and parents. Third, if students still need
money after they have exhausted all options for federal funding, they may
consider applying for a private education loan to meet the total cost of
attendance.
"Many families wrongly assume they have to take costly measures, such
as dipping into retirement savings or using credit cards to meet the cost
of today's rising tuition," said Martha Holler, spokeswoman, Sallie Mae.
"Fortunately, the Federal Stafford Loan is not the end of the road in terms
of affordable financing for education."
Sallie Mae advises families to consider several affordable ways to
bridge the college financing gap:
Tuition Payment Plans
Many schools offer families the opportunity to make monthly tuition
payments over the course of the school year as an alternative to a large,
lump-sum payment due at the start of the term. Sallie Mae's TuitionPay is
an interest-free, debt-free way to spread tuition payments over a number of
months. The TuitionPay plan is not a loan, so there are no interest
payments, just a nominal yearly enrollment fee. TuitionPay can help
families reduce or even eliminate the amount they need to borrow to pay for
college in the fall, by spreading out payments. For more information, visit
http://www.TuitionPay.com or call 800/635-0120 to speak with a TuitionPay
consultant.
Sallie Mae PLUS Loan
Federal PLUS Loans allow eligible borrowers to finance their unmet
financial need. Parents of dependent undergraduates, as well as
graduate/professional students, can borrow up to the total cost of
attendance (less other financial aid received) for expenses such as
tuition, room, board, books, supplies and even travel. PLUS Loans are
one-size-fits-all: customers who qualify receive the same interest rate and
fee structure regardless of their credit history, income, assets or
collateral. Parent PLUS loans offer flexible repayment choices, the option
for those experiencing financial hardship to postpone repayment while the
student is in school or after the student graduates, and an interest-rate
reduction of up to 0.75 percent when parents make their payments using
automatic debit. Graduate PLUS loans also provide flexible repayment
options and allow students to automatically postpone repayment while they
are enrolled at least half-time. When you borrow from a Sallie Mae lender,
Graduate PLUS also offers, among other money-saving benefits, a 0.50
percent interest-rate reduction for making payments via automatic debit. In
addition, Sallie Mae assists parents and graduate/professional students who
do not immediately qualify for a PLUS Loan in resolving outstanding or
erroneous credit issues. More information is available on
http://www.SallieMae.com.
Sallie Mae Signature Student Loan(R)
For students with additional unmet need who have exhausted all funding
available through the federal loan programs, the Sallie Mae Signature
Student Loan is the next best option. Sallie Mae's Signature Student Loan
is a private education loan for qualified undergraduate, graduate and
health profession students. Interest rates and fees are based on credit
history; the better the student's or co-signer's credit, the lower the
interest rates and fees. Sallie Mae's Signature Student Loan offers
interest rates as low as Prime Rate minus 1 percent, with zero fees. Also
new this year: Signature Student Loan customers can lower their interest
rate in repayment by 0.50 percent when they make their student loan
payments using automatic debit. By logging onto
http://www.SallieMae.com/Signature, students can learn more about the
Signature Student Loan, use the online pre-approval feature to receive
credit results in seconds and complete the entire application online using
the e- signature process.
Sallie Mae encourages consumers to be savvy shoppers when it comes to
selecting a lender. Students and parents have a wide range of choices and
should not hesitate to ask college financing providers questions about
borrower benefits, customer service, repayment options and experience.
"If you anticipate that you may need student loans to help bridge your
education financing gap, select a reputable lender that provides a single
point of service for both federal and private loan options," said Holler.
"Make sure you understand your rights as well as your responsibilities, and
borrow only what you need to cover the cost of your education."
Some additional questions to ask potential lenders include:
-- Is the lender a well known, reputable company?
-- What is the lender's track record in the industry?
-- Does the lender offer competitive rates and pricing including interest
rate reductions and rebates?
-- How easy is it to earn and keep rate reductions and rebates?
-- Does the lender offer to pay fees on the student's behalf?
-- Does the lender recommend that students maximize their use of free aid
and federal loans before taking a private loan?
-- Does the lender educate and counsel students about effective debt
management?
-- Does the lender provide a variety of federal and private loan repayment
solutions?
-- Does the lender require repayment while in school?
-- How convenient are the lenders call center hours and can students
access and manage their accounts online, 24/7?
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 $153 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $18 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8
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 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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Related links:
http://www.salliemae.com
http://www.TuitionPay.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
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CONTACT:
Beth Guerard of Sallie Mae, +1-703-984-5621,
beth.guerard@salliemae.com
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