The Student Loan Revolution: Graduates and Alumni

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

If you graduated before, or are graduating in May 2010 these changes have minimal effect on your previous loans. In fact, the terms of your loans, interest rates, lender, and grace periods will remain the same.

The biggest change will be your repayment options. Some of these options have been improved to make Federal Student Loan payments easier to fit into a budget. To learn more about your options click here or contact your lender directly.

You will also notice a change if your loan is sold. Previous lenders do have the option to sell your loan to the Department of Education. If that happens to your loans, you will notice some changes. Each lender will have their own methods of notifying you of the sale of your loan and what will happen next. At this time, we recommend contacting your lender to see what their plans are for your loans that are in repayment.

CAN I CONSOLIDATE? 

Sure! Consolidating all of your Federal Loans together may save you money and if you do it through the Department of Education, most of your loans benefits (like begin able to defer a subsidized Stafford Loan and have the government continue to pay the interest on your loan) will remain in tact. Consolidation is not a good choice for everyone and you MUST do your research to see how consolidation will effect your current loan arrangement and your debt as a whole.

Click here for more information on Consolidation with the Direct Lending Program