Graduating from College? Time to Think about Paying Back Student Loans: SimpleTuition Student Loan Consolidation Guide Helps Borrowers Manage Student Loan Debt

The average college student graduates with $20,000 to $40,000 in student loan debt. For many, consolidating their federal student loans is a viable and necessary option.

NEWTON, Mass. (BusinessWire EON) May 17, 2007 -- The average college student graduates with $20,000 to $40,000 in student loan debt. For many, consolidating their federal student loans is a viable and necessary option.

There's a lot going on around graduation - moving, starting a job, dealing with the 'real world,'

SimpleTuition, Inc., a company dedicated to helping students and parents make sense of education financing choices, today announced the availability of the ‘Guide to Student Loan Consolidation.’ The guide, offered as a free, five-page document that is easy to download, is designed to help parents/students understand the loan consolidation process and to determine if consolidating is the right option for them.

“There’s a lot going on around graduation – moving, starting a job, dealing with the ‘real world,’” said Kevin Walker, CEO of SimpleTuition, Inc. “But even though it may not be much fun to think about it during such a busy time, graduates should give thought to how their student loan obligations will impact their budget. For many, consolidation may be the right choice. We hope our consolidation guide can help graduates figure that out with straightforward advice and tips on analyzing their options.”

SimpleTuition recommends getting all the information about repaying your student loans before making a choice. The company’s Student Loan Consolidation Guide offers answers to general questions and highlights the following important points to consider:

• Evaluate the pros and cons of consolidation: Consolidation can simplify your life with one lower monthly payment from one lender. However, the repayment period may be longer, resulting in a higher total cost of the loan.
• Understand the types of loans that can be consolidated: Just about any federal loan can be consolidated. Private loans are not subsidized or guaranteed by the government, and cannot be consolidated under the federal loan consolidation guidelines. Borrowers are reminded to never include their federal loans into a private student loan consolidation plan.
• Understand the repayment options: There are four types of payment plans to choose from, including a standard plan, extended plan, graduated plan and income sensitive/income contingent plan.
• Evaluate your timing: If you are in “repayment” mode or in a “grace period”, then you can consolidate now.

The Consolidation Guide walks graduating students through a quick but thorough analysis. Using the guide and other resources at SimpleTuition.com, students can determine if consolidation is even right for them and if so, compare up to 25 consolidation offers from major banks, student lenders and the federal government. Users can even enter ANY other federal consolidation offer they’ve received to see how it compares. Results can be sorted by monthly payment, number of payments, total cost of loan and APR. With direct links to a financial institution’s online application, the entire consolidation process can be completed online or via a toll free call. To ensure accuracy SimpleTuition is not a lender.

About SimpleTuition, Inc.

Founded in 2005, SimpleTuition is dedicated to helping students and parents make sense of education financing options. Recently featured as one of Fast Company’s Top 12 Web 2.0 sites, SimpleTuition offers the leading independent and interactive solution for researching and comparing over 100 private, PLUS, Stafford, GradPLUS and Federal Consolidation loans from more than 45 lenders. SimpleTuition is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts and is funded by Atlas Venture, IDG Ventures Boston and North Hill Ventures. For more information, visit www.SimpleTuition.com.