Today is the last day to save 0.25% on your student loans by consolidating them under the Special Direct Consolidation Loan program by the U.S. Federal Government. This means if you have about $30,000 in student loans you may save at least $8,000 (and likely more). It is important that you apply today because interest on student loans is likely to go up next week (the reason is because congress could not get its act together to lower interest on student loans). The details for this program are explained on the website as follows:
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) began offering Special Direct Consolidation Loans to eligible borrowers in January 2012. This is a short-term consolidation opportunity, ending June 30, 2012, for borrowers with
- at least one student loan held by the Department (a Direct Loan or a Federal Family Education Loan [FFEL] owned by the Department and serviced by one of the Department’s servicers); and
- at least one commercially-held FFEL loan (a FFEL loan that is owned by a FFEL lender and serviced either by that lender or by a servicer contracted by that lender).
*By the way, if you are from Chula Vista, California and have a stable income (even if it is small), then short-term loans up to 1 month for up to $300 are available to you.
Special Direct Consolidation Loans are intended to help borrowers manage their debt by ensuring all of their federal loans are serviced by the same entity, resulting in one bill and one payment (borrowers repay loans to a loan servicer). Borrowers will also receive an interest rate reduction on Special Direct Consolidation Loans as a repayment incentive.
Apply for the Special Direct Consolidation Loan program here.
I know I am applying today! Go Federal Government!