This month, approximately 4 million college students will leave campus for good, taking away diplomas, friendships, and an average of $23,000 in federal student loans. The first shock of life after college may not be the workforce for many graduates, though. On July 1, 2006, graduates with federal Stafford loans will be facing a significant increase in their student loan interest rates, from their current 4.7% rate to a whopping 6.7% rate or higher. Only by consolidating their student loans well before July 1 can graduates lock in their current, lower interest rates, protecting them from the impending increase.
Quincy, MA (PRWEB) May 22, 2006 -- This month, approximately 4 million college students will leave campus for good, taking away diplomas, friendships, and an average of $23,000 in federal student loans. The first shock of life after college may not be the workforce for many graduates, though. On July 1, 2006, graduates with federal Stafford loans will be facing a significant increase in their student loan interest rates, from their current 4.7% rate to a whopping 6.7% rate or higher. Only by consolidating their student loans well before July 1 can graduates lock in their current, lower interest rates, protecting them from the impending increase.
"Two percent doesn't sound like much, but on $23,000 in federal student loans, a 2% increase represents an additional $5,100 in interest paid on the loan - that's $5,100 in unnecessary interest that you don't have to pay if you consolidate now," says financial aid expert Christopher Penn. "Can you think of something you'd rather do with $5,100 than pay it to the government? I sure can," he remarked.
Mr. Penn recommends on his daily Internet radio show that graduates consolidate their loans with a service like www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com, which offers graduates consolidation benefits and discounts above and beyond what they could get from the government itself. "Services like StudentLoanConsolidator.com offer interest rate reductions for paying on time, up to 1% off, along with automatic checking account withdrawal benefits. On top of that, federal loan consolidation with www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com has no fees, no credit checks, no cosigners, and no penalties for early repayment if you suddenly land a great paying job after graduation," he said.
One caveat that Mr. Penn frequently warns about is the importance of filing your application as early as possible. Last year, graduates who waited until the last minute in many cases had their loan consolidations delayed, sometimes for weeks, as companies throughout the financial aid industry had to cope with record numbers of applications. With such a large interest rate increase on the horizon, Mr. Penn predicts that this year will be equally busy, and urges graduates to consolidate sooner rather than later.
For more information or to file a free consolidation application, graduates should call toll-free (877) 328-1565 or go to http:// www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com on the Web.
www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com is a service of the Student Loan Network (http://www.StudentLoanNetwork.com), an education services company offering students options for managing the entire education life cycle, from getting into their college of choice to financing their education and beyond. The Student Loan Network is based in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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