Graduating students entering the Paladin Stadium before President George w. Bush watches them during commencement ceremonies at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, May 31, 2008.
WASHINGTON (Reuters)-the class of 2011 has now moved to real life. There’s good news: early reports indicate they get offered a better job than their older brothers and sisters did when they graduate. Report of the National Association of colleges and employers that graduates just starting jobs with average salaries of $ 41,701, up 2.3 percent from levels.
But there is bad news, too. Class of 2011 is said to be most indebted before, with an average loan balance close to $ 27,000, according to Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher of FinAid.org. People who graduated in may began to Bill for their first payments right around Thanksgiving. Ouch.
That’s double-Ouch for graduates who are still looking for a job or work at low-paying, no performance benefit. But in an era of low interest rates, a number of ways to cut student loan payments or fees. Here is an overview.
–Using new tools to understand your options. You can combine Your loans into one that stretches far into the future; that will lower the payments but increases the total cost of the loan. Or You can pay extra each month to burn the initial loan; that will increase your payments but lower your total cost.