Sallie Mae student loans are a great way to pay for college. Sallie Mae can help you obtain federal loans along with alternative financing for students who cannot otherwise qualify. The federal loans typically have the best interest rates and payback policies. Federal loans include the Federal Stafford Loan and the Federal Perkins Loan.

The Perkins Loan is unique in that the school you attend will be the lender. Some schools will not participate in the Perkins Loan. Sallie Mae can act as the lender for a Stafford Loan, or they can act as the guarantor for the lender.

You can also get a private Sallie Mae loan if you do not meet the Federal guidelines. These loans are typically called an alternative student loan as they are personal and generally not subsidized.

Rather than going to a bank for a private loan, you should utilize Sallie Mae for a loan. The rates tend to be lower and payment terms better than you can obtain at a bank.

A federal loan has certain income and grade point restrictions. A private loan generally will not have as many restrictions and will allow you to borrow more money. The primary concern here will be with your credit score.

Many students find that they need more than one loan to pay for college, some of the loans have different interest rates, terms of payments, and payment dates. These students find that it may be advantageous to consolidate all of their loans into one Sallie Mae loan. This may, or may not, be the best thing for your situation. If you decide to consolidate your loan you may end up paying a higher interest rate, or change the terms of your loan, where the interest is now due, when previously you had an interest deferred loan. Once you consolidate your Sallie Mae student loan, you cannot go back and change it to the way it previously was.

Also, you may no need to consolidate your loans in order to get lower interest rates and one monthly payment. Sallie Mae can combine the payments from the various loans, both federal and private, into one convenient monthly payment without having to consolidate your loan.

Check with your lending institution, they can provide you with the information you need in order to make an informed decision. A Sallie Mae student loan consolidation may be the best solution for you.

By: John Marston

At times it becomes difficult to finance education from your own pocket or via scholarships. For that purpose you must go for student loans. There could be many choices of getting a student loan, depending upon your status and type of education. So, you should check all options available and to choose the best one.

Student loans are of three main types:

• Federal student loans

• Private student loans

• Consolidation student loans

Federal loans are the main source for educational loans. Private financial institutes provide these loans. They are better than private loans, due to their assurance from government and their lowest interest rate.

Credit scores are not accountable for this so almost all students can apply for them before going for any other loan. You can make delay payments, flexible credit requirements and they have longer refund terms. Federal loan is further divided in three major types. i.e.

• Federal Stafford loans

• Federal Perkins loans

• Federal Parent PLUS loans

• Federal Graduate PLUS loans

In further categorization of Federal loans Perkins are better than Stafford due to their lowest interest rate (i.e. 5% interest rate). Federal Perkins loans are only for those who are facing acute financial crises. They have no fee, a lengthy grace period.

On the other hand Federal Stafford loans are more suitable if you need college loan. It has six month grace period and flexible repayments with no fine. You should be declared poor from your school.

Stafford loan can be taken in case you already owe an educational fund. Its interest rate is 6.8%.There is classification of Stafford loan, i.e. if you need a long term and need based loan, and you want government to pay your interest during the school time or you want to request a grace period. In such a case Stafford loan will be term as subsidized federal Stafford loan.

In another case if you need long term and you don’t fall under need based, with low interest rate, or you want additional financial support, then unsubsidized federal Stafford loan is best for you. Here interest will be paid by you. And if you are independent student then you should go for Additional unsubsidized federal Stafford loan.

There is another kind of federal loan termed as federal parent plus loans, they are better for the parents of undergraduate students, who depend on their parents and parents of independent students can’t apply. For this kind of loans it necessary to check credits, they have flexible repayment options and can be used for saving money during repayments of another loan. Prepayment fine is not charged, no wages or security required, repayments can be postpone till 60 months along with the school time period of your dependent child.

For graduates and professional students Federal Graduate plus loans is a best selection and these loans are better than Stafford loans and Private loans for them. You can borrow complete cost of education, but credits are checked, they offer flexible repayments, no prepayment fine is charged, interest could be tax deductible. They could also be helpful to save money for repayments and could be taken with Stafford loans. You can borrow full educational expenses, until you receive some other aid. Fee is charged but you could get help from lenders and sponsors.

If you are attending a community college or a 4 – 5 year college and you are heading for your degree with adequate credits, then you can go for Signature Student Loan. In this type of loan interest rate and fee is variable depending upon the student credits, standard repayment duration is 15 years but can be extended up to 30years.

Now if you have good credits and you are a parent or working adult, graduate or even undergraduate and you own a social security numbers then you are suitable for Tuition Student Loan. You should give the poof that you are already registered as student at licensed institute.

In case your need is not fulfilled by federal Stafford loan or any other aid or scholarship then Signature Student Loan for Community colleges could help you. These loans have a variable interest rate, no prepayment fine and a grace period of six months.

If you are part time student looking forward for degree or postsecondary student and not looking forward for degree, then Continuing Education loan is best for you. In this loan repayments can be done up to 15 years, interest rates are variable and change every month.

For technical training, some sort of continuing education and online courses, Career Training loan is best. Its terms and conditions are almost same as Continuing Education loan only difference is that its fees are from 0% to 6.5%.

By: Steve Morin

If you are one of the many people struggling with student loan debt, bankruptcy may feel like the only option. Fortunately this kind of debt can be resolved without filing for bankruptcy. There are programs, such as consolidation and forbearance, that many people are unaware of. Here are a few ways to settle your debt before you decide on something as drastic as bankruptcy.

Consolidation
Even if you only have one loan outstanding, consolidation can be a great option for former students looking to eliminate their debt. You can find federal student loan consolidation pretty easily. These programs work by taking all of your loans and lumping them in to one. The result is one monthly payment with a lower interest rate. With federal programs you can be given as long as 30 years to pay back the loan, which can make your payments much more manageable and not damage your credit. Private consolidation can also be a good alternative to bankruptcy.

These programs work slightly differently. A private consolidation company will work with your creditors to settle the debt for less than what you owe. That amount is then broken down in to smaller monthly payments with a standard APR (usually right around 10%). While this will reflect on your credit report as a settled debt, it doesn’t look as bad, or carry the consequences, of a bankruptcy.

Forbearance
A forbearance is one of the nicer things available to these kinds of loans. While most loans will have a set amount you have to pay each month over a certain amount of time, a loan program designed for students will typically offer additional options. If you are facing a tough financial decision such as bankruptcy, it can save your credit to look in to these programs. The forbearance will essentially extend your loan payoff date. If you are facing a situation where you can not afford to make your monthly payments, the forbearance can give you a set number of months to not worry about it. Most of the time a forbearance is available for 3-9 months, and only if you qualify.

Losing a job, divorce, a death in the family, or unexpected hospital expenses are just a few of the reasons that a specialist loan company will offer a forbearance. While it’s not a long term solution, it can give you the time you need for a few months to get things in order. Often it can save you from bankruptcy. Before you look at filing bankruptcy over student loan debt, you should look at some of the programs available to help you out of a crunch.

By: Hector Milla