Use Your Alumni Status to Help Consolidate

It�s a Graduate Thing

If you’re in the market for a consolidated loan, you will know by now that, as with any product of the financial world, there are a thousand and one different offerings coming your way. Consider the Alumni Consolidation Loan as one of these offerings that may just be the right plan for you. While you’ve probably heard of federal and private loan consolidation plans, Alumni programs are a whole different animal and offer some graduates another advantageous option in the consolidation arena.

As any student knows, it’s often not until six months or so after graduation when repayment becomes critical that you realize the impact of student loans. On this note, the recent government legislation that reduced guaranteed student loan rates was supposedly done with the intent to make college more affordable. Critics, however, argued that the measure really had no direct effect on active college students, but instead with graduates.

Graduates newly floundering in the job market are the ones who are most affected by their student loans, and likewise graduates are the target that Alumni consolidation loans are designed to benefit. This is where the Alumni association, already set out to help in the ways of career preparation, job hunting, and professional support, steps in to assist with issue of debt payment.

How Alumni Programs Work

This alternative brand of student loan consolidation is particular to the Alumni of a certain college or university that offers the program. Valuable partnerships between student loan lenders and college and university alumni associations may be already in place at your college to provide affordable, even discounted, group rates on student loan consolidation products.

The college benefits by being able to support its Alumni in one more critical way, and by acting as a lender who buffers your repayment until you can take care of your debt in full. The student benefits by garnering further assistance from and deepening their post-graduate relationship with their alma mater, while simultaneously cutting their monthly payments down and successfully stretching out their repayment term to something they can manage.

Alumni organizations, always intent on trying to get re-involved in the lives of their former students in a variety of ways, are happy to be able to offer consolidation programs as an attractive perk. This program serves to engage graduates in the association, offer them the benefits they certainly deserve and provide a reputable debt management resource for those who they hope will be supportive of the college in the future. If you are interested in possibly receiving a consolidation loan from your alma mater, be sure to check with your alumni association for available consolidation options.

Popular Alumni Consolidation Loan Programs

Alumni consolidation programs have grown in volume and interest among college graduates has spiked as well over the years. It seemed to be a win-win for both parties – each benefiting from the financial and organizational situation of the other, with an eye towards a potentially long-term relationship between the student borrower and the Alumni association.

Unfortunately, however, the dramatic student loan shakeup in mid-2007 forced many student loan lenders to cut ties with colleges, and Alumni associations were effectively caught in the middle. This disturbance of the system in place has caused current coverage for these programs to exist here and there but only with wide inconsistencies. Your best bet is to contact your college’s Alumni association directly for current information on any sponsored loans they might offer.

The good news is that Alumni associations no longer featuring customized Alumni consolidation loans are often still directing members to affiliated lenders. These secondary lenders, such as Nelnet, Chase and Sallie Mae, have been leading providers for Alumni consolidation loans up until recent developments.

For example, the Wisconsin Alumni Association of the University of Wisconsin – Madison has been partnered with private lender Nelnet for a number of years. The organization heavily promotes its consolidation loan to its alumni members and features incentives such as reduced interest rates and fees for on-time and electronic payments.

Check out their website for an informative summary of the status of Alumni loan programs and for the details of their offerings. The Alumni group through the University of Wisconsin – Madison is notable as it is one of the only associations advertising a consolidation loan at this time.

Clearing Up the Confusion Surrounding Alumni Consolidation

Since the aforementioned debacle of 2007 that served to throw off the relationship between lenders and colleges and throw the programming that existed into a state of disarray, there has been a cloud of confusion surrounding the promise of Alumni consolidation loans. Understand that the student loan industry is in the throes of deep changes and undoubtedly there are many alterations still to come in regards to consolidation loans.

What is clear is that prior to the industry shake-up, alumni consolidation programs were on an upward trajectory and interest remains high in this potentially rewarding system. Don’t hesitate to contact your alma mater if you have made the decision to consolidate, and be sure to inquire about any programs or recommended lenders that may have to offer you.