Fed Financial

What help is available for Sallie-Mae student loan programs? The payments/interest are unbearable.?

Public Comments

1. don't get a loan from them or pay off ur loan ASAP!
2. Best thing to do is to call them and see what they can do to help. Fed student loan rates are set by the gov, not Sallie Mae. Private student loan rates are based on your credit history. If you've got private loans, finding a cosigner with a good credit history can help bring down your rate. There may also be another repayment plan, or consolidation option that could help you. Remember, if you stretch out your repayment term to get a lower monthy payment, and pay the minimum each month, you'll end up paying more total interest over the life of the loan, just like a credit card. So, even if you do this, as soon as you can afford to, start paying more than the minimum.
3. Under certain circumstances, the federal government will cancel all or part of an educational loan. This practice is called Loan Forgiveness. To qualify, you must: * Perform volunteer work for organizations such as Volunteers in Service to America, Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps. ; * Perform military service (The Army National Guard also has a program worth looking into); * Teach in certain types of communities or practice medicine in certain types of communities (Low income areas of the country or working with disabled or mentally retarded) ; or, * Meet other criteria specified by the forgiveness program. If you don't qualify for federal student loan forgiveness, consolidating your student loans can help ease its repayment. Consolidation can stretch the repayment term from 10 years to a maximum of 30 years, making the monthly impact on your cash flow much lower. You should also check your loan organization's policy on student loans. Some will offer a small percentage of loan reduction for signing up for online bills/automatic debit payments or having a required amount of payments made on time. Another option is looking into your state's position on loan forgiveness because many states have job or income related loan reduction.
4. THE BIGGEST MISTAKE INCOMING COLLEGE STUDENTS MAKE IS NOT READING THE FINE PRINT!!!! I cannot stress this enough, I am a loan coucilor for a student loan company, and I have seen this time and time again. If you dont read what you sign, you're setting yourself up for a high payment, never sign anything that you cant afford to pay. If you want to go to college for less money, try looking at a cheaper university. as long as its an accredited university, you wont have to worry about a huge loan. Students think that if they dont go to a major university, that they wont get a good education. This is not true. A bachelors degree from an accredited community college is the same as a bachelor's degree from Harvard. Whats important is that you learn while youre there. Its not about how prestigious the school is. After you're out of college it wont matter WHERE you went, what will matter is IF you went. But back to your problem, if youre out of college already, consider a consolidation loan. They will stop the high interest rates, and maybe bring down your payment. You will only have one payment to one company, and you might even get a fixed interest rate, which, believe me, you want that. Whatever you do. do not get more loans until you get your current ones under control. If that means taking a break from school to get a job and get caught up, it might be best for you. Real life job experience looks just as good on an application as a degree. I hope this helps some.