With double-digit tuition increases, more and more students have turned to The Student Loan People, Kentucky’s only nonprofit student loan provider, to take advantage of recently developed savings opportunities that are not available elsewhere.

The Student Loan People^sm, created by the state in 1978 to provide low-cost student loans to Kentuckians, reached the $1 billion-mark in August. With interest rates at an all-time of low of 2.77% on Federal Stafford Loans and a number of ways to achieve additional savings, The Student Loan People portfolio will continue to grow.

“We are committed to providing the lowest cost student loans in Kentucky and using our revenue to make higher education more accessible,” said Dr. Joe L. McCormick, Executive Director of The Student Loan People and its sister agency, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA). “The Student Loan People’s BestStart Loan is the only zero-fee Stafford Loan in Kentucky with no origination or insurance fees that can reduce the amount the student receives by as much as 4%. But the savings don’t stop there; borrowers receive principal and interest rate reductions for both on-time and automatic payments.”

 KHEAA and The Student Loan People also distribute free college planning and financial aid publications to guidance counselors for every Kentucky high school student and employ nine outreach counselors who travel throughout the state making presentations to high school groups and exhibiting at the State Fair, college fairs and financial aid workshops.

The Student Loan People will contribute $5 million for additional need-based state grant awards and save students over $17 million on their student loans during the current school year.

Kentucky teachers, guidance counselors and school librarians benefit from the Best in Class program, which offers interest-forgiveness loans. Teachers of math, science, special education and English as a second language receive 20 percent of the principal forgiven each year. Similar benefits are also available through Best in Care to registered nurses and licensed practical and vocational nurses who work in Kentucky.

“These benefits are a tremendous incentive to encourage students to enter Kentucky’s critical shortage areas of teaching and nursing and to remain in Kentucky after graduation,” said Dr. McCormick. “Besides being the lowest-cost loan programs available in Kentucky, these benefits have the potential to help the state reach its goal of increasing the college-going rate.”

For more details about The Student Loan People’s borrower benefits, visit studentloanpeople.com or call 888.678.4625. For more information about KHEAA’s student aid programs, visit kheaa.com or call 800.928.8926.

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