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San Diego, CA - Students and
parents with loans should consolidate now. The
Department of Education announced that rates on federally
guaranteed student loans will jump by a record amount on
July 1. Because of an increase in Treasury bill rates -
which the loan rates are pegged to - the in-school rate
for the federal Stafford new loans will rise from the
current 2.77% to 4.7%. The rate for Stafford loans
in repayment will rise from 3.37% to 5.3%. The rates on
PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) loans will
rise from 4.25% to 6.1%.
Students can still consolidate their loans at these
record-low rates until June 30, 2005.
Students may contact
SmartLoan.com, part of SallieMae, which is the
nation's No. 1 paying-for-college company, that primarily
provides federally guaranteed student loans originated
under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).
Sallie Mae currently owns or manages student loans for 8
million borrowers. The company was created by Congress in
1972 as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE). SLM
Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, began
privatizing its operations in 1997, a process it completed
at the end of 2004 when it terminated its GSE charter,
ending its ties to the federal government.
Students may also contact
LoanConsolidation.ed.gov, a federal direct loan
consolidation group which works with borrowers, schools
and loanholders. To qualify for the current low interest
rates, the student loan consolidations must be completed
on or before June 30, 2005..
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About the ICFE:
About the
ICFE:
The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), founded in 1982 by the
late Loren Dunton (creator of the “certified financial planner” (CFP)
designation) and it is dedicated to helping consumers of all ages to improve
their spending, increase savings and use credit more wisely. The ICFE trains and
certifies Personal Finance Instructors for its own curriculum. It also trains
and certifies Credit Report Reviewers and Identity Theft Prevention Specialists.
The ICFE is an award winning, nonprofit, consumer education organization that
has helped millions of people through its education programs and resources. It
publishes the Do-It-Yourself Credit File correction Guide, now in its 16th
printing and has distributed over one million “Credit/Debit Card Warning Labels”
and “Credit/Debit Card Sleeves” world wide.
The ICFE became an official partner with the Department of Defense/Financial
Readiness Campaign in June of 2004.
The ICFE is also a partner in the national Jump$tart Coalition for Financial
Literacy and the California Jump$tart chapter. The ICFE staff is also active
with San Diego Saves, an offshoot of America Saves, and the California Student
Debt Resource Awareness Project (CASDRAP) (studentdebthelp.org).
The ICFE’s on-line help for consumers who spend too much was featured in PARADE
Magazine in the Intelligence Report section. The money helps and tips are from
“The Money Instruction Book,” a course in personal finance, positioned to become
among the premier programs in the new bankruptcy and debtor education
initiatives.
The ICFE Web site at:
http://www.icfe.info helps consumers with mending spending, learning about
the proper use of credit, budget and expense guidelines, how to set up and
implement a spending-plan and also how to access financial education courses and
videos and how to teach children about money. Other ICFE services include a free
eNewsletter, and an online resource center of financial education learning
tools, including videos, books, software and personal finance courses.
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