1. Home
2. SafeStart 101

FINANCIAL LITERACY TRAINING – SafeStart's financial literacy tools are designed to match your particular situation and to help you plan your financial future. These tools include a curriculum that progresses with you as you progress through your program and that matches your stage in life, streamed updates on financial and economic happenings, and access to our financial library of reports and personal finance calculators. If your institution participates in the School Purchase Program, you'll also be invited to on-campus seminars that guide you through your financial decisions and answer questions asked by you and other students at your school.

LOAN REPAYMENT PROTECTION – SafeStart provides you with a no-interest line of credit you can use to make your student loan payments if you face financial difficulties in your first 5 years after graduation. That's right, no interest!

The way it works is that, after you graduate, if you don't have a job or if your Stafford loan payments are 10% or more of your monthly gross income, then you can draw on your SafeStart line of credit to make your student loan payments for up to 37 months, so long as you continue to meet the financial hardship conditions. Then, pay back your line of credit over another five years, and don't worry about the interest!

PERSONALIZED DEBT COUNSELING (optional) – Wondering about how to navigate the complicated financial aid process? Looking to find the lowest interest loans?  If you choose SafeStart Plus, you get personalized counseling on how to best use the different sources of financial aid available to you and how to best pay off your student loans and other debts. And you can access our call center not just during school but after you leave.  As a bonus, if you pay off your line of credit within the first 5 years after you graduate – or if you fortunately never have to use it – you'll get a 30% SafeBorrower Rebate^SM off SafeStart's purchase price.