Posts Tagged ‘sallie mae’
Posted by admin on June 18th, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education said it awarded contracts to SLM Corp (SLM.N) and three other companies to service its $550 billion student loan portfolio, as the government prepares to shift much of the nation’s student lending into a direct loan program.
The government said it also awarded servicing business to Nelnet Inc (NNI.N), American Education Services/PHEAA and Great Lakes Education Loan Services Inc. It said the contracts run for five years, and can be extended for five more.
Eligibility for the servicing program became more important to student loan companies after President Barack Obama in February submitted a fiscal 2010 budget calling for the end of the Federal Family Education Loan Program by July 2010.
The president proposed to shift most of the nation’s $90 billion of student lending into a direct loan program, possibly saving taxpayers more than $4 billion a year.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Wednesday said the servicing contracts will help ensure that “all eligible students” will have access to federal student loans.
The department did not say how it plans initially to allocate the servicing business.
SLM, which better known as Sallie Mae, said it has the scale to add more than $100 billion of new volume under its servicing platform. Smaller rival Nelnet said it expects its participation to add to earnings, excluding start-up costs.
Posted by admin on March 24th, 2009
Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading saving- and paying-for-college company, today announced a new private loan that enables students to save money, build good credit, and repay their student loan debt faster. With the new Smart Option Student Loan, a typical customer would pay off the balance nine years sooner and would save an estimated 40 percent of the total amount paid, including principal and interest, compared to most other private student loan alternatives.
Students may apply for the Smart Option Student Loan beginning today. Under the new program, customers will make interest-only payments while in school, so students avoid negative amortization and graduate with substantially less student loan debt. A freshman borrowing the average loan size of $7,700 would cut the payment time in half and save approximately $8,700, compared to most other private student loan alternatives.
Sallie Mae recommends private student loans for families who have exhausted their eligibility for free or less-expensive funds such as scholarships, grants and federal student loans. The company continues to offer federal student loans, which allow students to defer interest payments while in school, to every eligible student at every school in the United States through the 2009-2010 academic year. Terms of previously disbursed private loans remain unchanged.
“Today’s students are financially savvy and looking for affordable, responsible options to help with their investment in higher education,” said Jack Hewes, senior executive vice president and chief lending officer, Sallie Mae. “We have tried to design this loan to be sensitive to the needs of students who not only rely on this financing to get to college, but also want a more manageable level of debt as they transition from school to work. Paying a little while in school guarantees that students will save a lot later.”
Sallie Mae’s Smart Option Student Loan encourages responsible borrowing by functioning like other monthly obligations, such as cell phones and cable TV. The interest-only monthly payments required while in school, coupled with regular financial literacy communications, will help students develop good repayment habits, improve their credit scores, and help make loan payments after graduation more manageable. Reactions from college financial aid officers were favorable and confirmed the need to help students borrow responsibly.
The Smart Option Student Loan’s repayment term will range between five and 15 years, depending on the student’s cumulative Sallie Mae-serviced private student loan balance and academic grade level. Interest rates will be variable based on LIBOR. Those who apply for a Smart Option Student Loan with a creditworthy cosigner will increase the probability of approval and a lower interest rate. Interest rate reductions may also be available for customers who elect to make payments via automatic debit and receive communications via email. To prevent students from borrowing more than their budgets can handle, the approval process will include a review of monthly income and other debt payments.
Students and families considering a Smart Option Student Loan are encouraged to use Sallie Mae’s Education Investment Planner to estimate the total cost of a college degree, build a comprehensive plan to pay for college, and estimate the salary a graduate would need to keep repayment of student loans manageable. Visit www.SallieMae.com/plan for more information.
Provided by Maketwatch.com
Posted by admin on March 2nd, 2009
The new 2010 budget introduced by President Barack Obama contains a proposal to move federal student loans into the U.S. Department of Education’s direct-loan program.
Currently, private financial institutions that lend money to students receive subsidies from the government under the Federal Family Education Loan Program. Sallie Mae is the largest of these lenders.
Without the funding, private lenders do not have much incentive to offer student loans, as they do not typically generate much revenue for banks.
But the program has faced criticism over the years for its expense and has recently come under scrutiny due to the economic turmoil on Wall Street, which led to an unreliable supply of funds for higher education.
According to a Department of Education news release, the change is aimed at making loans “reliable, stable and efficient.”
The budget also includes a provision that the Federal Pell Grant program will be tied to inflation, which Education Secretary Arnie Duncan said will open more education opportunities to low-income students.
“The new funding announced today represents a significant expansion of our federal student aid programs, providing more dollars to allow more students to attend more schools,” he said.
provided by Credit.com
Posted by admin on February 23rd, 2009
Sallie Mae, the largest provider of student loans in the country, announced today an offer that no family preparing for college admissions should miss.
A new website, www.salliemae.com/resources, aims to help alleviate fears and provide answers. “We have helped more than 21 million Americans achieve the dream of a college education, and we do not intend to let this economy keep us from helping you achieve yours.” They’re not only offering detailed responses to frequently asked questions, but on Wednesday (February 25), Sallie Mae has a toll-free hotline open from 6pm – midnight EST. In addition, you can submit questions directly to the site, get email updates when new answers are posted, and download a free podcast that explains how to complete the FAFSA (the federal financial aid application).
Finally, there are two 45-minute webinars that explain how to calculate and compare college costs, create a plan to pay for college, understand loan payments, and use free scholarship Web tools. The webinars will be held on February 24 at 6 pm and February 25 at 7 pm (both EST). Register by emailing schoolresource@salliemae.com. If you miss it, the webinar will be available on their website beginning February 26.
Posted by admin on October 16th, 2008
Sallie Mae offers 5 tips to help newly minted alumni begin student loan repayment and build a healthy credit history and to help customers get off on the right path for student loan repayment:
1. Automatic debit: Set up monthly loan payments with
automatic debit as an easy way to make on-time payments. Your
monthly student loan payments are electronically deducted from
your checking or savings account, saving you time and stamps.
2. Run the numbers: Sallie Mae’s Loan
Repayment Calculator estimates the monthly payments and total
interest costs under the different repayment plans available.
Before selecting a repayment plan, run the numbers and see which
repayment plan gives you a monthly payment that fits into your
budget.
3. Link your loan to Upromise: Join Upromise,
then link your Sallie Mae loan account to your Upromise account
and use your Upromise rewards to transfer savings automatically to
help pay down your eligible Sallie Mae student loans. Upromise
helps students and families save money for education expenses by
earning rewards on everyday purchases from participating
companies. Visit www.SallieMae.com/upromise
to learn more.
4. Stay in touch: Immediately notify your student loan
servicer(s) of any change to your name, address, telephone number,
employer, or Social Security number. This will ensure that you
receive all communication from your loan provider and that you are
aware of your payment amount, payment due date and repayment
options.
5. Prepay or pay extra when possible: You may prepay your
loans in part or in full at any time without penalty. This will
lower the overall cost of the loan. Adding a little extra to each
monthly payment can help.
