Graduate on time
It sounds simple enough, but keeping your grades up and graduating on time can save you a bundle.
While another year with your friends on campus could be fun, it also means incurring more student loan debt. Completing your degree on time prevents additional student loan borrowing.
Remember that many scholarships and grants require that you maintain a certain grade level or "satisfactory academic performance." So enjoy college, but also stay focused and keep those grades up!
Consider making interest payments while in school
If you can afford it, making student loan payments while you are in school can significantly reduce your student loan obligation after graduation.
Making payments while you are in school gives you a better understanding of how much you owe and starts you on the right path to effectively managing your student loans.
Remember: This is just a tip. You are not required to make payments until six months after you leave school — an important benefit of the federal student loan program. But don’t forget that interest accrues on any unsubsidized Stafford loans while you are in school and during your six-month grace period.
Since every bit helps, paying off the interest while in school goes a long way toward minimizing your monthly payments when you are trying to enter the workforce and cash in on the investment you have made.
One way to start paying down your loans is with Upromise Loan LinkSM.
Keep track of your financial paperwork
Whether you decide to start repaying your student loans while you are in school or wait until after graduation, it is important to stay organized and keep track of your student loan paperwork.
Start a file for your records and all student loan information, keeping everything in one place. Web-based account management tools can simply this process.
Sallie Mae’s Manage Your LoansSM allows you to review your account status, make a payment, change your repayment plan, see payment history, get loan details, and communicate with your lender — all online. Plus, by accessing Manage Your Loans you are automatically entered into the Great Sallie Mae Giveaway, a sweepstakes that rewards one lucky Sallie Mae student loan borrower each month with up to $25,000 toward his or her outstanding Sallie Mae student loan balance.
Be sure to read the mail (and email) you get about your student loans — and do it when you get it. Don’t wait.
Include your loan number on all correspondence with your lender and keep copies for your files.
If you have any phone conversations with your student loan provider or servicer, keep notes in your files with names and dates.