PLU grads with student loans, heads up!
Congratulations on completing your degree program at PLU. As you make plans for the next phase of your life, don’t forget that you are now in a six and/or nine month grace period prior to entering repayment on your student loans.
During this grace period, you will likely be bombarded with direct marketing literature from consolidation loan companies, urging you to “save hundreds” by consolidating your student loans during this grace period. And while it is true that consolidating during the grace period will usually result in the lowest interest rate on a consolidation loan, loan consolidation itself may not be in your best interest. (For instance, you may be encouraged to consolidate your Federal Perkins and Nursing loans, but they already have a fixed 5% interest rate with loan cancellation provisions that will be lost if consolidated). We encourage you to find out how consolidation impacts your current loan portfolio before making the consolidation leap. A good starting point would be with the lender that provided your Federal Stafford Loan. (Not wanting to lose your loan portfolio to another consolidation company, your lender’s consolidation program should be competitive with the market) Do follow up research with more neutral, non-lender resources like www.nela.net (click on “About Student Loans”, then select “loan consolidation”); www.glhec.org (click on “Borrowers”, then “Consolidate my loans”); www.amsa.com (click on “Students, Parents, and Borrowers”, then “Post College”, then “Consolidation”); www.ed.gov (click on “Student Financial Aid”, then “Consider Consolidating”).
If you have any questions about consolidation, be sure to get all the information you need before you make a decision; make an informed decision about your financial future. Again, congratulations and best wishes as you begin your career with your PLU degree.
