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Company Encourages Consumers to be Savvy Shoppers When Selecting a Lender RESTON, Va., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- As back-to-school approaches,families may wonder whether time has run out to find last-minute paymentsolutions. Sallie Mae -- the nation's leading saving-and-paying-for-collegecompany -- has several affordable financing options available in time tomeet the cost of higher education. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a ) Sallie Mae counsels families to adopt a "1-2-3 approach" to paying forcollege. First, students and families should look for financial aid thatdoes not have to be repaid, such as grants and scholarships. Second, theyshould maximize their borrowing under the federal student loan programs,which provide the most consumer-friendly loan rates, benefits, andrepayment options for students and parents. Third, if students still needmoney after they have exhausted all options for federal funding, they mayconsider applying for a private education loan to meet the total cost ofattendance. "Many families wrongly assume they have to take costly measures, suchas dipping into retirement savings or using credit cards to meet the costof today's rising tuition," said Martha Holler, spokeswoman, Sallie Mae."Fortunately, the Federal Stafford Loan is not the end of the road in termsof affordable financing for education." Sallie Mae advises families to consider several affordable ways tobridge the college financing gap: Tuition Payment Plans Many schools offer families the opportunity to make monthly tuitionpayments over the course of the school year as an alternative to a large,lump-sum payment due at the start of the term. Sallie Mae's TuitionPay isan interest-free, debt-free way to spread tuition payments over a number ofmonths. The TuitionPay plan is not a loan, so there are no interestpayments, just a nominal yearly enrollment fee. TuitionPay can helpfamilies reduce or even eliminate the amount they need to borrow to pay forcollege in the fall, by spreading out payments. For more information, visithttp://www.TuitionPay.com or call 800/635-0120 to speak with a TuitionPayconsultant. Sallie Mae PLUS Loan Federal PLUS Loans allow eligible borrowers to finance their unmetfinancial need. Parents of dependent undergraduates, as well asgraduate/professional students, can borrow up to the total cost ofattendance (less other financial aid received) for expenses such astuition, room, board, books, supplies and even travel. PLUS Loans areone-size-fits-all: customers who qualify receive the same interest rate andfee structure regardless of their credit history, income, assets orcollateral. Parent PLUS loans offer flexible repayment choices, the optionfor those experiencing financial hardship to postpone repayment while thestudent is in school or after the student graduates, and an interest-ratereduction of up to 0.75 percent when parents make their payments usingautomatic debit. Graduate PLUS loans also provide flexible repaymentoptions and allow students to automatically postpone repayment while theyare enrolled at least half-time. When you borrow from a Sallie Mae lender,Graduate PLUS also offers, among other money-saving benefits, a 0.50percent interest-rate reduction for making payments via automatic debit. Inaddition, Sallie Mae assists parents and graduate/professional students whodo not immediately qualify for a PLUS Loan in resolving outstanding orerroneous credit issues. More information is available onhttp://www.SallieMae.com. Sallie Mae Signature Student Loan(R) For students with additional unmet need who have exhausted all fundingavailable through the federal loan programs, the Sallie Mae SignatureStudent Loan is the next best option. Sallie Mae's Signature Student Loanis a private education loan for qualified undergraduate, graduate andhealth profession students. Interest rates and fees are based on credithistory; the better the student's or co-signer's credit, the lower theinterest rates and fees. Sallie Mae's Signature Student Loan offersinterest rates as low as Prime Rate minus 1 percent, with zero fees. Alsonew this year: Signature Student Loan customers can lower their interestrate in repayment by 0.50 percent when they make their student loanpayments using automatic debit. By logging ontohttp://www.SallieMae.com/Signature, students can learn more about theSignature Student Loan, use the online pre-approval feature to receivecredit results in seconds and complete the entire application online usingthe e- signature process. Sallie Mae encourages consumers to be savvy shoppers when it comes toselecting a lender. Students and parents have a wide range of choices andshould not hesitate to ask college financing providers questions aboutborrower benefits, customer service, repayment options and experience. "If you anticipate that you may need student loans to help bridge youreducation financing gap, select a reputable lender that provides a singlepoint of service for both federal and private loan options," said Holler."Make sure you understand your rights as well as your responsibilities, andborrow only what you need to cover the cost of your education." Some additional questions to ask potential lenders include: -- Is the lender a well known, reputable company? -- What is the lender's track record in the industry? -- Does the lender offer competitive rates and pricing including interest rate reductions and rebates? -- How easy is it to earn and keep rate reductions and rebates? -- Does the lender offer to pay fees on the student's behalf? -- Does the lender recommend that students maximize their use of free aid and federal loans before taking a private loan? -- Does the lender educate and counsel students about effective debt management? -- Does the lender provide a variety of federal and private loan repayment solutions? -- Does the lender require repayment while in school? -- How convenient are the lenders call center hours and can students access and manage their accounts online, 24/7? SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is thenation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. Thecompany manages $153 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, thecompany also manages $18 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewardson purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offerdebt management services as well as business and technical products to arange of business clients, including higher education institutions, studentloan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information isavailable at http://www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiariesare not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
