WILMINGTON, Del., June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- American Education Services (AES) is encouraging borrowers with either federal Stafford or PLUS loans to act quickly if they are interested in consolidating their student loans, before interest rates increase by almost two percent on July 1, 2006. Borrowers will have until midnight on June 30th to consolidate their student loans.
Borrowers who consolidate will benefit by locking in the current low interest rate and will make their repayment easier by lowering their monthly payments and by combining multiple payments into one. By consolidating and locking in interest rates before July, borrowers with a $25,000 loan can save an average of $5,580 in interest.
"Time is running out for borrowers to potentially save thousands of dollars in repayment on their federal Stafford student loans," said Christine Lodge, Director of the AES Delaware office.
Unlike some other financial aid programs, student loans must be paid back. There are several types of student loans available in the United States. The first is the Federal Student Loans made to the students directly (1). There are no payments until after graduation, but amounts are quite limited. The second is the Federal Student Loans made to the parents (2). They have a much higher limit, but payments start immediately. The third type is the Private Student Loans made to students or parents (3). These have higher limits and no payments until after graduation. Usually the interest will start to accrue immediately though.
The first type of student loan is made directly to the students and is used to supplement personal and family resources, scholarships, grants and work-study. These loans can be subsidized by the Federal government or may not be, depending on the students needs. .