NCHELP Releases Student Loan Awareness Brochure

The National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) recently released a consumer awareness brochure entitled "Research, Remember, Repay - A Guide to Responsible Borrowing" to help students and parents better understand their options and obligations when borrowing a student loan. The publication is available to lenders, schools, high school counselors, and any other person or institution that would find the brochure useful.

According to NCHELP, the brochure focuses on three main themes: Research, Remember, and Repay:

Research all options before borrowing a private loan and borrow only what you need;
Remember that all loans must be repaid so develop and stick to a budget, work part-time to reduce the need for loans and be certain that the salary for a career in your chosen field will allow you to make your monthly loan payments;
Repay your loans as quickly as possible so that you build good credit and minimize overall loan costs.

The brochure also stresses that students should exhaust all grant, scholarship and Title IV Loan eligibility before considering private education loans and encourages parents to consider borrowing PLUS Loans on behalf of their children. Parents are also encouraged to consider co-signing their children’s private loans to obtain lower interest rates.

Institutions can co-brand and customize the brochure to suit their purposes by downloading the tools included in an accompanying .zip file on the NCHELP Web site. Questions about accesses, co-branding or print the brochure should be directed to Tim Fitzgibbon at tfitzgibbon@nchelp.org or by calling 515-224-1400.

The brochure is a product of NCHELP’s Private Loan Committee’s financial literacy campaign. NCHELP represents a nationwide network of guaranty agencies, secondary markets, lenders, loan servicers, collection agencies, schools, and other organizations involved in the administration of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). NCHELP members promote student access and choice for post-secondary education and training. Since its inception in 1965, the FFEL program has provided over $467 billion in loans to postsecondary students and their parents.

Posted 01/24/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.