Hi,

I have an $18,000 private student loan serviced by Sallie Mae, currently now down to 12% interest rate due to the recent rate cuts, but this is still ridiculously high. My other loans are much more reasonable. My parents originally did these loans while I was a student and didn't make any money. I haven't been able to find the original promissory notes and documentation...

Is it possible to have a rate reduced on a private student loan without consolidating? And if not, is there any way to predict what rates you would get on a consolidation loan?

I have a strong credit score and a well-paying job now that I graduated two years ago. I find it extremely difficult to justify continuing to pay 12% on ANY loan, particularly now. I contacted Sallie Mae via phone and just hung up, the indian call center is worthless. I contacted them via email though and got the same one line response: private loans are non-negotiable. I just wanted to verify this, since I've had them tell me thing flat out wrong before...

I haven't applied for a consolidation loan yet since I don't want to pull my credit history until I figure out what the best option is. I figure there must be some way I can lower this rate significantly. SM says there are no fees for their consolidation, but I don't know how they would compare to other companies. I get tons of offers in the mail which I just throw out... Would I be able to get an estimate before they pull my credit history?

Thanks!

I am shocked no one has answered your post. I would be very wary of consolidating with Sallie Mae at this point. My fiancée made the very big mistake of consolidating for me my private debt with Sallie Mae when my variable rates for private loans, totaling around $70,000, were around 7.5%. Subsequently, I made the big mistake of not checking the consolidation when it went through. Sallie Mae NEVER SENT ME THE TRUTH AND LENDING DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. Upon making two payments, I started to see what was going on and opened the doors to this whole interest rate scheme. Without notice, they had just gotten me into a 12.5% variable rate repayment mess.

Today, thanks to the recent cuts, I am at 9.5% but still looking for a better rate. I believe that it is too late to get a lawyer involved, as I tacitly approved the deal by making the payments that I did. The game Sallie Mae and other bastards play is to get you started on the consolidation process and never disclose the rate you are getting until the loan has been finalized. I tried to reconsolidate with Education Finance Partners, for example, and after getting a preliminary quote of 8.2% from two people within a one-hour period, I decided to go forward with the consolidation. Once their paperwork hit my inbox, I noticed that those rate quotes were not printed anywhere. The same day, I called the lender a third time, only to find out that they had jacked the rate to 9% within a half hour.

Fortunately, I now know the game these thieves play and make sure I get in writing the rate they are offering. Thus far, no one has done this, but I am playing the field. Finally, for your info, these are the rates that I am able to get with a clean credit score of 780. The fact that these people advertise rates around 7% defies logic. Who is getting those rates if my records are perfect and I am hovering around 9% every time I apply?