Created: 9/30/2008 5:45:29 PM 
Greensboro, NC -- A giant college lender is cutting back on financial perks to North Carolina students. College Foundation currently has about 83,000 borrowers - both students and parents.
Joelle Gary borrowed money from CFI for nursing school at UNC-G. "I have 20,000 in loans which is you know, a substantial amount," says Gary. She's looking at borrowing another 20,000 for grad school, but she'll have to pay more for it.
That's because CFI will no longer reward new borrowers with interest rate cuts for things like on-time payments. They're rewards that could save students hundreds of dollars depending on their loan amount.
"You can use that toward a car payment, or other things that you need like gas prices, anything that can be saved helps, especially in this economy," says Gary.
CFI already suspended loan consolidation - something else financial advisers say could hit students in the pocket.
"If you don't get the opportunity to consolidate, you know, it could come to the point that you're paying a higher interest for a period of time," says Bruce Cabiness, a financial aid adviser at UNC-G.
CFI spokesman Benjamin Kittner says the foundation is cutting back to make sure it has enough money to keep lending to students. But Joelle Gary doesn't think students like her should suffer financial consequences.
"For us to have to take the responsibility of paying for somebody else's loan, it's kinda like? why are we doin' that?" asks Gary.
Kittner insists CFI is still a good deal, and cutting back on incentives will make the Foundation eligible for federal funding to back up its loans if necessary.
To find out how CFI could help you pay for college, click on the link below.
College Foundation
Cabiness notes borrowers who can't consolidate loans through the Foundation can do so through the federal government.
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