Saturday, July 2, 2011

Student Loans Company: Choosing The Right One

Student borrowings can be obtained by applying through third parties like Studentdebts.com, MyGreatLakes.org, National Education loan Network (Nelnet), American Education Services (AES) and Sallie Mae which also helps students obtain private fundings. Great Lakes is a 40 year old company that guarantees and services student debts. It guarantees financings for the states of Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is not specifically a student borrowings company, it does act as a go between for educational institutions and lenders. It simplifies the delivery of financial aid and helps borrowers repay student fundings through financing repayment software that offers many features. One of the features is to schedule automatic payments and another is being able to access financing payoff amounts at any time online.

The National Education funding Network or Nelnet is a loan servicing and information site that offers information about debts and the costs associated with obtaining a debt. They are not themselves a student financings company. There are repayment calculators and debt management information to guide your payment planning. The student can sign up to receive text alerts about their financing. They can also register for webinars that teach important information about borrowing. It is also a site used by authorized payors to make funding payments.

American Education Services (AES) is another borrowing servicing site that illustrates repayment plans and offers different ways to make actual payments when the funding is due. The AES is also not a student fundings company. Your account information is available for viewing at all times. You can access information about any trouble you might be having with making payments in a timely manner. You can get you borrowing payoff balance at any time as well. Tips on managing your funding are also readily available.

Sallie Mae provides federal and private fundings to students. Sallie Mae is a student debts company. You can apply for a student financing, check your application, eSign for your funding and cosign for borrowings with Sallie Mae. You can apply for the Smart Option Student debt, a private debt through Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae is a guarantor of student fundings, it originates, services and collects on student borrowings. Sallie Mae or the Student funding Marketing Association publicly trades borrowings and holds about one third of all educational loans in the United States. It has the ability to buy student debts and provide liquidity to other banks, savings and fundings institutions that support the credit needs of students.

The federal government offers the most student borrowings and consequently is the largest student loans company in the world. Federal Student Financial Aid issues student financings annually to students in need. If you qualify, you may be eligible for up to $5500 in guaranteed student loans for undergraduate study. Federal education borrowings include the Stafford borrowing for both undergraduate and graduate students. The Stafford debt is offered with a fixed rate as low as 4.5%.

A student loans company like Chase offers loans from $500 and up to cover certifies school expenses including books, computer, living expenses and tuition. The funds that are borrowed are sent directly to the educational institution. Interest accrues during school and is added to the principal of the loan. Repayment begins 6 months after graduation or after the student leaves part-time attendance at school. Credit approval is required to qualify for a private debt with Chase. A cosigner may be required to qualify. If so, after 36 consecutive timely payments, the cosigner may be released if the borrower's credit is approved.

Citibank offers the CitiAssist Student debt which allows you to borrow as little as $1000 and as much as $120,000 in aggregate amounts. Citibank is a well known student fundings company. You must be credit worthy or have a credit worthy cosigner. The borrower can take up to 15 years to repay the loan. There are no loan fees and.25% can be taken off your funding payments if you have them automatically deducted from your account. Interest on a private student debt is generally deductible from your federal taxes.

Wells Fargo is also a student financings company. Wells Fargo offers borrowings beginning at a variable rate as low as 3.4% for the cost of your education minus any other financial aid you receive up to $120,000 in aggregate amounts. There is no origination fee, no application fee and no additional fees. The money is sent directly to your school. They offer a second variable rate financing which has a 2% origination fee and a variable rate as low as 5.68%. borrowings start at $25,000 and go up to an aggregate amount of $100,000. This money is paid directly to the borrower. The third debt they offer for education is with a variable rate as low as 3.5% on amounts beginning at $25,000 per year and going up to $100,000 in aggregate debt amounts. There is no application or origination fee and the money is paid directly to the borrower.

Bank of America provides private fundings and is also a student debts company. Bank of America also offers student debts at a variable rate. It gives discounts on the rate based on how many accounts the borrower has with the bank prior to borrowing for the student loan. The combined balance in all of your accounts will determine the final rate you receive for your student debt. If your savings account and or your Merrill Lynch brokerage account is with them you may be eligible for discount.

Another student loans company is in the form of a credit union. Check with your credit union to see if they offer student borrowings before you search for one, you may be able to get a better rate because of your relationship with them. Whether you select an institution like the federal government, Sallie Mae, or a bank or credit union to apply for a student loan, remember they are all very competitive and the rates are similar for each type of debt, federally guaranteed or not guaranteed.

Selecting a student loans company should take into consideration the rate, the origination fee, the application fee and the amount you can borrow with and without a cosigner.

Options for Waiving Student Loans in the Public Services Sector

Did you know that a portion of an educational loan can be waived for public service employees? Debt management services can do a detailed analysis for you.

Many who now work in public services might have borrowed through a Professional PLUS Loan or Parent PLUS Loan. But did you know, as public service workers, you are entitled to have a certain portion of your loans forgiven? Yes, it's true, but there are certain criteria you must meet to be eligible. Experts of debt management services give clear insight into those criteria:
  • You must be a full-time public service job holder
  • The outstanding educational loan should ideally be under the William D. Ford Direct Loan program
  • There should be no defaults on the eligible loans
  • You should have made at least 120 monthly payments since October 1, 2007
  • You should have made your payments under a licensed repayment plan
  • At the time of loan cancellation, you must be employed at a qualifying public service venue
Debt management services experts predict the loan cancellation will not happen until October 17, 2017, even if you started making payments in October 2007, because of the 120 payment requirement. But this is still a better option than being stuck with accumulated debt problems.
Companies offering debt management services lise the following jobs that qualify for the student loan forgiveness plan:
  1. Government sector
  2. Law enforcement
  3. Public safety
  4. Child care
  5. Family service agency
  6. Disability service
  7. Elderly service
  8. Tax-exempt organizations
  9. Emergency service
  10. Military sector
Getting a waiver on a student loan is not as easy as it sounds. Your repayment plans are also taken into consideration. Debt management experts have categorized the following plans:

Income based repayment
Your repayment plan is based on your income. However, Parent Direct PLUS borrowers are not eligible for this plan.

Standard repayment
You can opt for repayment under the standard 10 year scheme.

Direct loan repayment
You can also opt for direct loan repayment if your monthly payment is similar to the standard 10 year repayment plan.

This loan forgiveness program is very much available for those with public sector jobs. You just need to be aware and plan ahead to take advantage of the program and reduce your debt problems. Once you are close to reaching the required 120 monthly debt payments, it is recommended that you contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center.