Higher Education Act Delay Allows College Graduates to Consolidate Student Loans
(For Immediate Release)
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Higher Education Act Delay Allows College Graduates to Consolidate Student Loans
Quincy, MA –
Legislative changes affecting federal student loans have been pushed back in Congress for at least 60 days, giving recent college graduates a window of opportunity to consolidate their federal student loans at the current interest rates and programs. Graduates can take advantage of locking in low interest rates and transforming their variable rate federal student loans into fixed rate loans.
Both houses of Congress spent a fair portion of the summer designing revisions to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (last reauthorized in 1998) which, if passed, would make significant changes to federal financial aid programs. Some of the proposed changes include:
- Penalizing graduates with higher interest rates if graduates choose a fixed rate consolidation over a variable rate consolidation,
- Stafford Loan interest rate increases from the current 5.3% to 6.8%,
- Reduction of $5 billion - $12 billion in funds from higher education funding,
- Elimination of spousal consolidation, which allowed married couples to consolidate their loans together,
- Preventing graduates who opt for income contingent repayment plans from consolidating their loans.
Not all of the proposed changes will be ratified in the final passage of the Higher Education Act Reauthorization of 2005, tentatively titled the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005. However, there are enough changes to the student loan consolidation program in the House and Senate committee drafts to warrant concern for any recent graduate with federal student loans.
Katie Dexter, Director of Operations at the popular www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com web site, states, “With no fees, no credit checks, and low rates, there’s no reason not to consolidate, especially since legislative changes make it very hard to determine what benefits will be available for graduates who wait.”
“However, graduates need to act today,” urges Ms. Dexter. “Very often, graduates wait until the last minute to file their paperwork and by then, they may not be able to insulate themselves from potential changes in the consolidation program.”
Students wishing to file a consolidation application should do so at http://www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com immediately or call (877) 328-1565.
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Contact Katie Dexter at StudentLoanConsolidator.com by email at CustomerService@StudentLoanConsolidator.com for more information; to apply for a student loan consolidation, graduates should visit http://www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com as soon as possible.
StudentLoanConsolidator.com is a service of the Edvisors Network, a multi-national education services company offering students options for managing the entire education life cycle, from getting into their college of choice to financing their education and beyond. The Edvisors Network is based in Quincy, Massachusetts, with offices in Quincy and London, England. Visit them on the web at http://www.EdvisorsNetwork.com for more information.
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