Sallie Mae changes private student loans

Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading provider of student loans, announced that it is changing the way it handles its private student loans.

Sallie Mae is changing the way that loans are repaid in a couple of different ways:

• Borrowers will not be required to make monthly interest payments while they are still enrolled in school. Previously, students were not always required to make payments while in school, but were instead often allowed to defer payments until after graduation.
• Borrowers will now be offered repayment periods of 5 to 15 years. Previously, borrowers could often choose repayment periods of up to 30 years.

Depending on how you look at it, the changes can be seen as both good and bad.

The good:
Borrowers will end up repaying less interest over the life of the loan(s).

The bad:
The additional requirements may make it more difficult for some potential borrowers to get approved for the loan(s).

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