Governor David A. Paterson today announced that the New York Higher
Education Loan Program (NYHELPs), the State's new low-cost student loan
program, will offer New York families very favorable rates on loans
that will be made available for students attending college this spring.
For the spring term of the 2009-2010 academic year, NYHELPs will offer
New York State students and their families the following fixed rates:
-- 7.55% interest on loans where principal and interest payments begin when the loan is issued;
-- 8.25%
interest on loans where students pay only interest costs while in
school and pay full principal and interest costs six months after
graduation; and
-- 8.75% interest on loans where both principal and interest payments are deferred until six months after graduation.
-- These rates could be further reduced by another 0.25% if the borrower opts to have their payments automatically debited.
“I’m
proud that the interest rates for our NYHELPs student loans are among
the lowest of any state program and rival those offered by
long-standing programs,” Governor Paterson said. “This new program will
help families struggling to pay for college and reinforce New York
State’s leadership in helping our students.”
NYHELPs’ fixed-rate
student loans are designed to fill the gap between college costs and
available financial aid for New York students attending participating
New York State colleges and universities. The program creates a unique
public-private partnership with the State, the banking community and
colleges to ease the burden of financing education for students and
their families.
Students can apply for loans for the spring term of the 2009-2010
academic year starting mid-December, 2009, at the HESC Student Loan Marketplace, powered by Overture Technologies (www.hescmarketplace.com).
Loans up to $10,000 per academic year will be available for students
who have exhausted all applicable Federal, State, institutional and
private financing sources.
To read the full press release, click here, and visit the HESC Student Loan Marketplace at http://www.hescmarketplace.com.
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