Is there a silver lining to the rise in student loan debt?
It might be blurry, but if you look really hard, it’s there. According to a report from private student loan lender Sallie Mae, approximately 56% of the people enrolled in one of their loan plans are actually paying into their outstanding debt while they’re still in school.
To encourage this debt responsibility, Sallie May offers 2% in rewards for anyone enrolled in the program who starts making those early payments on their loans. The program reports having paid out $2 million in awards since 2010, meaning that students made approximately $100 million in payments while still in school during that time.
If rewards aren’t enough incentive, students making payments while still in school also receive lower interest rates once they graduate.
“Paying for college is a significant commitment for any family, and in many cases it is a student’s first opportunity to participate in a major financial decision,” senior vice president at Sallie Mae Charlie Rocha told Yahoo! Finance. “We’ve designed our loan program to promote financial responsibility by encouraging families not to wait until graduation to start loan payments, even nominal ones, and rewarding them for it.”
