A Few Helpful Tips For Taking Tests

May 20th, 2008

graduation_cap.jpgTests Are Designed To Check One’s Knowledge Or Expertise

One should be very clear that tests are meant for checking a person’s knowledge. Knowledge comes with time, study and experience.

You should always review a topic before the taking a test. Reviewing the topic immediately before taking the test helps to retain the subject matter. Moreover, to help the review process, one should prepare good notes while studying.

The more prepared you are, the more confidence you will gain and the better you can perform. The combination of knowledge and confidence is the best possible approach.

Everyone Is Required To Take Tests!

Everyone is required to take tests whether written or verbal, at some point in their life. There is a lot one can learn from each test and each successful test result provides a certain amount of confidence and knowledge.

Tests are meant to check the knowledge of a person, although not all tests are the same. To get a good amount of confidence it is very important to believe in oneself. If you believe in yourself and work smart, you can achieve anything.

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5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Chances Of Winning A College Scholarship

May 19th, 2008

1. Take SAT and/or ACT scores testing during your junior year to give yourself plenty of time to become familar with the test and the testing requirements.

2. Don’t send “extra documentation”. Send ONLY the information required by the program.

3. Read all instructions carefully. Read them twice if necessary.

4. Study college scholarship requirements carefully and apply for those scholarships for which you are well qualified.

5. Make certain that you have answered all questions clearly and truthfully. A well-written essay attached to neatly presented support documents, may set you apart from your peers.

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Having Trouble Making Those Student Loan Payments? Get A Forebearance!

March 11th, 2008

Having trouble making those student loan payments? You may qualify for a student loan forbearance. A lot of people think that you either have to be in the military or be completely financially distitute to qualify for a student loan forbearance. Not True! ANYONE with trouble making the payments may qualify for a “General Forebearance,” provided your student loans are held and managed by the U. S. Department of Education.

If you write your monthly checks to the U. S. Department of Education, you may qualify for a “general forbearance”. https://www.dlssonline.com

IF for some reason you are turned down, you can always choose to select a “graduated payment plan” which can also be very low for the first couple of years. Either way, you don’t have to starve to death to make those payments. Once you have your PIN number, you can simply go here: https://www.dlssonline.com/borrower/BorrowerLogin.jsp

.. and you can change your payment option to “Graduated Loan Repayment Plan” to get the lowest possible monthly payments. That’s all there is too it!

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The Best Student Loan Consolidation Program

March 11th, 2008

There’s only one good student loan consolidation program right now, and that’s from the U.S. Department of Education.


https://www.dlssonline.com/borrower/BorrowerWelcomePage.jsp

Typically, you should be able to get your student loans consolidated (all joined together in one payment) for as low as 6%. However, if you have had a Student Loan consolidated in the past, it can not be done twice. Sometimes people think that they can get an already consolidated loan re-consolidated to a lower rate. Not True. You can only consolidate once with the U.S Department of Education.

Here are the rules:

1. Current Consolidation Interest Rate.

The interest rate for a Direct Consolidation Loan is the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated (as of the date we receive the application), rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent. This rate is fixed for the life of the loan and cannot exceed 8.25 percent. Use our online calculator, or call us at 1-800-557-7392, to estimate your weighted average interest rate and to see what your loan payments might be under each of our four repayment plans.

Six steps to calculate the Weighted Average Interest Rate

Step 1:

Multiply each loan by its interest rate to obtain the “per loan weight factor.”

Step 2:

Add the per loan weight factors together.

Step 3:

Add the loan amounts together.

Step 4:

Divide the “total per loan weight factor” by the total loan amount and then multiply by 100.

Step 5:

*Round the result of Step 4 to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent if it is not already on an eighth of a percent.

Step 6:

Compare the result of Step 5 with the interest rate cap of 8.25 percent. The fixed interest rate on the Direct Consolidation Loan will be the lower of the two.

2. Direct Loan and FFEL Interest Rates from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.

Direct Loans Interest Rates
Interest rates for Direct Loan Program loans for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Federal Direct Subsidized Loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans [PDF Format (11K)]

Federal Direct PLUS Loans [PDF Format (8K)]

Federal Direct Subsidized Consolidation Loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loans [PDF Format (12K)]

Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) Interest Rates
Interest rates for FFEL Program for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
FFEL “Converted ” Variable-rate Stafford Loans [PDF Format (24K)]

FFEL Regular Variable-rate Stafford Loans [PDF Format (20K)]

FFEL Variable-rate PLUS and SLS Loans [PDF Format (33K)]

FFEL Variable-rate and Fixed-rate Consolidation Loans [PDF Format (32K)]

3. Information for borrowers who consolidated during the Repayment Incentive Program (10/1/00 - 9/30/01)

As an incentive to encourage timely student loan repayments, all borrowers who consolidated eligible student loans into the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program between October 1, 2000, and September 30, 2001 received an immediate interest rate reduction of 0.8 percent. To keep this benefit beyond the initial 12-month period, borrowers must make the first 12 monthly payments on time. The 0.8 percent rate reduction will become permanent once these first 12 payments are made on time.

For example, if your Direct Consolidation Loan interest rate is 8.25 percent, your interest rate drops to 7.45 percent. If you make your first 12 payments on time, you keep that interest rate and could save more than $400 for every $10,000 borrowed over a standard 10-year term.
How Will the Lower Rate Affect Your Loan Before You Fulfill the 12-Payment Requirement?

You will not see a reduction in the amount of your monthly payment until after you fulfill the 12-payment requirement. Until then, the savings that result from the 0.8 percent interest rate reduction will be applied toward reducing the principal balance of your Direct Consolidation Loan.

How Will the Lower Rate Affect Your Loan After You Fulfill the 12-Payment Requirement?

After you successfully fulfill the 12-payment requirement, the 0.8 percent rate reduction will be applied permanently toward your interest rate. At this point, the savings that result from the lower interest rate will be applied toward reducing your monthly payment.

Please Contact Us for Additional Information

Website - See our list of Questions and Answers related to the Repayment Incentive Program.

Phone: Talk with a loan representative between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday, at 1-800-557-7392 (TDD 1-800-557-7395).

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