Avoid Loan "Gotchas!"

An informative how-to guide for Ohio college students with loans

COLUMBUS, OH— Student Lending Works, the State of Ohio’s designated nonprofit provider of student loan products, is working diligently to help Ohio college students understand the various ”gotchas” contained in many student loan consolidation applications.  ”Gotchas” are typically buried in the fine print of loan applications, and are what will disqualify a borrower from earning a discount on a consolidation loan.  This spring, Student Lending Works will be distributing free Consolidation Survival guides to colleges statewide.  The guide, titled Consolidation Survival: Tips to Manage Your Student Loan Debt, is a rendition of Student Lending Work’s widely requested “Graduate Survival Guide,” which is available online.

The free Consolidation Survival guide will advise students on how to most effectively identify and avoid loan gotchas when shopping and signing up for a Federal consolidation loan.  One common gotcha is an automatic withdrawal payment plan.  This plan allows the borrower’s monthly payment to be automatically withdrawn from their bank account.  The gotcha occurs before these payments even begin.  The borrower must sign up shortly after signing the consolidation application, or they will lose their discount. This caveat often is not explained verbally.  In this case, students can lose their discounts before their first payments are even due.  Student Lending Works’ Consolidation Survival guide identifies this and many other common loan gotchas to help students sign up for the best plan for them, not the lender. 

For a free guide or for more information about Student Lending Works, call 1-877-256-0066.

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