The single biggest factor that impacts the amount of interest you pay is your credit score. People with credit scores over 750 pay a lot less interest than people with scores of lower than 650. If you can increase your credit score by 100 points, you can pay less interest, pay more principle and get out of debt more quickly. Credit score is a huge factor in who gets richer and who gets poorer in this country.

The little known secret about credit scores.

Those student loans you needed to get through college can have a huge impact on your score. That small monthly payment could be crippling your entire financial health through increased interest payments on all your other bills.

When you have any type of loan, it shows the maximum credit, the outstanding balance and your payment history. The credit score takes into consideration the total amount of outstanding balances. The more you owe, the lower the score.

You’re thinking simple, right? Newsflash, it isn’t.

Student loans almost always report to your credit report in triplicate. So, for your credit score, even though you may owe only $15,000, it computes your score as if you owed $45,000! This can have a huge impact on the amount of interest you pay.

Even worse, yet in Sallie Mae’s eyes, your loan could look like 7 loans. Then multiply those 7 by 3 and you could have “21 Student Loans” on your credit report. This can destroy your credit score and most people never realize it. They do their best to work hard and pay their bills on time. However, they don’t get the credit score they deserve because the computers foul up their student loan balances.

Only a few professionals understand how this works.

And most don’t care to understand. They just buy your credit score, slap the interest rate on your loan and move on to the next person. You have to work with a professional who understands the inner workings of credit score computers. Only they can help you pay off those student loans and get you the interest rates you truly deserve.

-- Source: National Association of Responsible Lending and Investment

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on June 23, 2006 at 6:23 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

With only a week left before the July 1, 2006 student loan interest rate increases, the "noise" about consolidating your student loans now is about to be amplified.

However, let's take a moment to reflect on this most interesting time...

• Have you noticed how members of Congress have jumped on the "consolidate now" bandwagon? With the cost of college tuition going up, students have had to take out more loans. And more loans at higher interest rates means an onerous student loan burden upon graduation. And the kids and parents are all voters or potential voters, which makes members of Congress sit up and take notice.

• A student loan consolidation firm, OneSimpleLoan®, is challengng the Department of Education's early termination of two-step consolidation, a process to help more students to lower their borrowing costs. Isn't it a bit ironic that a government agency advocating education in our country takes away such a benefit?

• However, there is a bright light to all this. The recent repeal of the single holder rule has now provided borrowers who have all their student loans with one lender the privilege of shopping around for a consolidation company that will work best for them. The government taketh away one thing, yet the government giveth back something else. We wonder, why does there even have to be a trade-off?

So as you contemplate all the consolidation offers and ads about low rates, rebates and give-aways, we strongly encourage you to read the fine print. Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. Shop around, yes. But be sure to speak with consolidators who will give you the straight facts on rates, "borrower benefits," repayment terms and yes, on fine print.

After all, with one week left, you'll want to make the right decision that will affect your financial affairs for years to come.

Posted by OneSimpleLoan on June 22, 2006 at 10:50 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Looking for U.S. government provided financial aid or other such benefits? Head to GovBenefits.gov. It was recently named a “Cool Site of the Day” by Internet guru and talk radio host, Kim Komando. GovBenefits.gov is the official benefits Web site of U.S. Government, and includes more than 1,000 government benefit and assistance programs from all 50 states. Visitors to the site can use the unique eligibility questionnaire that helps them find programs that match their needs. To date, 21 million Americans have visited these sites, and 4.5 million people have been referred to the proper government agency for assistance.

Students and parents can go on GovBenefits.gov to find out if they are eligible for various education reimbursement programs to help them obtain the assistance they need to pay for their education. GovLoans.gov is the sister site of GovBenefits.gov, and provides information on government loan reimbursement programs, including education loan reimbursement programs.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on June 21, 2006 at 6:05 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Oldsmar, FL- June 19, 2006 – OneSimpleLoan’s® lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s early termination of the ‘two-step’ consolidation program was a critical catalyst in the repeal of the single holder rule. The repeal of the single holder law went into effect with the approval of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (i.e., H.R. 4939).

“It’s a victory for OneSimpleLoan but even a larger victory for our nation’s students,” said Paul Simino, President of OneSimpleLoan, a firm specializing in personal student loan consolidation. “Thanks to our lawsuit, students will have more options in refinancing their student loans.”

This repeal means that student loan borrowers will be able to consolidate their student loans through a variety of student lenders and will no longer be tied to their original lender. This will allow borrowers to take full advantage of the consolidation offers with the most favorable terms regardless of lender.

“Student borrowers are about to get hit with one of the most dramatic single-year rate hikes in the history of federal student loans," Simino explained. “Our lawsuit had its intended result for students: the opportunity to find lower interest rates and best possible repayment terms.”

OneSimpleLoan is a member of the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) and the Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (FASFAA) and has over twenty years’ combined experience in personal student loan consolidation.

Posted by OneSimpleLoan on June 19, 2006 at 4:40 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

President Bush signed the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 4939), which includes the repeal of the single holder rule (also known as the 'single lender rule').

This means that those of you with student loans all with one lender now have the option to shop around for the best rates and customer service, rather than be held hostage to the lender who holds all your student loans.

Given that interest rates are scheduled to jump by nearly 2 percentage points next month, now's the time to consolidate your student loans, single lender or not.

Posted by OneSimpleLoan on June 15, 2006 at 10:10 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

The student loan rates effective July 1, 2006 are now officially in, and believe us, they're not pretty.

Interest rates on Stafford and PLUS loans disbursed prior to July 1, 1998 will be 1.84 percentage points higher on July 1. For student loans disbursed after July 1, 2006, Stafford and PLUS loans will have a 6.80% fixed rate of interest. (Additional interest rate information is available here.)

Of course, these rates have an impact on student loan consolidation rates, too. Consolidated student loans are based on a weighted average of the rates on those existing student loans you wish to consolidate, rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of one percent or 8.25%, whichever is less. So, the higher your interest rates on your individual student loans, the higher your consolidation loan interest rate.

Now you may think that 2 percentage points is no big deal. However, the power of compounding means that you could pay thousands more in interest fees over the life of a consolidated loan.

That's why you're encouraged to "jump" now consolidate your student loans before the July 1st rate hike.

Posted by OneSimpleLoan on June 10, 2006 at 12:20 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

On July 1st, student loans from the federal government will rise two percent, which can add up to quite a lot: for instance, an additional $10,000 by the time you pay off a $50,000 loan. Ouch.

If you are within six months of graduation or previously graduated, have $10,000 or more in student loan debt, and are not in default, then run (don't walk) to consolidate. One great option is the CollegeRecruiter.com Student Loan Consolidation Service.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on June 1, 2006 at 11:48 PM | Leave a Comment (0)