THE BURDEN of repaying student loans will soon get a little lighter. The rate on Stafford loans, currently 8.19%, could drop as much as two percentage points on July 1. For PLUS loans for parents (and Stafford loans issued before July 1998), the rate could fall to as low as 7%. Look for the new rates on our Web site, Kiplinger.com.

If you're repaying loans now, you don't need to do anything because the rate automatically adjusts each year. Most borrowers will see their payment drop to reflect the lower rate. But if you want to lock in the low rate for the remaining term of your loans, roll them into a fixed-rate consolidation loan before July 1, 2002.

Recent grads, please note: An even lower rate applies for the first six months after graduation--probably about 5.6% as of July 1 for loans taken out after July 1998. And if you consolidate during that six-month period, you can lock in the low rate.

If you do consolidate, beware of signing on for a longer repayment term, which will increase your total interest. "Most people take out consolidation loans for payment relief, so the term is set at the longest repayment period allowed," says Patricia Scherschel, an executive with Sallie Mae, which funds and services the loans. If you can afford the payments, keep the standard ten-year repayment term. For details, call Sallie Mae's information hotline at 800-448-3533.

Top-Yielding Money-Market Mutual Funds

30-DAY YIELD MIN.
Taxable TO MAY 3 INVEST.

1. McM Principal Preservation(*) 5.11% $5,000
2. Harbor(*) 5.09 1,000
3. Bunker Hill 5.04 5,000
4. Vanguard Prime 4.98 3,000
5. Fidelity Cash Reserves 4.94 2,500
NATL AVERAGE 4.45%

WEB ADDRESS TOLL-FREE
Taxable (WWW.) NUMBER

1. McM Principal Preservation(*) mcmfunds.com 800-788-9485
2. Harbor(*) harborfund.com 800-422-1050
3. Bunker Hill paydenfunds.com 800-572-9336
4. Vanguard Prime vanguard.com 800-635-1511
5. Fidelity Cash Reserves fidelity.com 800-544-8888
NATL AVERAGE

TAX. EQ. YIELD
Tax-free 30-DAY YIELD 28%/31% MIN.
TO MAY 3 BRACKET INVEST.

1. Strong Municipal 4.07% 5.75%/5.9% $2,500
2. Strong Tax-Free(*) 3.99 5.5/5.8 2,500
3. Vanguard 3.68 5.1/5.3 3,000
4. American Century 3.57 5.0/5.2 2,500
5. Calvert 3.55 4.9/5.1 2,000
NATL AVERAGE 3.18% 4.4%/4.6%

Tax-free WEB ADDRESS TOLL-FREE
(WWW.) NUMBER

1. Strong Municipal strong.com 800-368-1030
2. Strong Tax-Free(*) strong.com 800-368-1030
3. Vanguard vanguard.com 800-635-1511
4. American Century americancentury.com 800-345-2021
5. Calvert calvert.com 800-368-2748
NATL AVERAGE

(*) Fund is waiving all or a portion of its expenses. SOURCE: Money
Fund Report, iMoneyNet Inc., One Research Dr., Westborough,
MA 01585; 508-616-6600; http://www.imoneynet.com
Top-Yielding Certificates of Deposit

RECENT MIN.
6-month ANN. YIELD AMOUNT

1. NexityBank (Ala.)([dagger]) 5.25% 1,000
2. USAccess Bank (Ky.)([dagger]) 5.15 500
3. Giantbank.com (Fla.)([dagger]) 5.11 2,500
4. Southern Pacific Bank (Cal.) 5.05 5,000
5. IndyMac Bank (Cal.) 4.95 10,000
NATL AVERAGE 3.81%

WEB ADDRESS TOLL-FREE
6-month (WWW.) NUMBER

1. NexityBank (Ala.)([dagger]) nexitybank.com 877-738-6391
2. USAccess Bank (Ky.)([dagger]) usaccessbank.com 877-369-2265
3. Giantbank.com (Fla.)([dagger]) giantbank.com 877-446-4200
4. Southern Pacific Bank (Cal.) spbank.com 800-428-5056
5. IndyMac Bank (Cal.) indymacbank.com 800-734-6063
NATL AVERAGE netbank.com

RECENT MIN.
1-year ANN. YIELD AMOUNT

1. USAccess Bank (Ky.)([dagger]) 5.15% 500
2. Southern Pacific Bank (Cal.) 5.10 5,000
3. Giantbank.com (Fla.)([dagger]) 5.06 2,500
4. IndyMac Bank (Cal.) 5.05 10,000
5. NetBank (Ga.)([dagger]) 5.01 1,000
NATL AVERAGE 3.94%

WEB ADDRESS TOLL-FREE
1-year (WWW.) NUMBER

1. USAccess Bank (Ky.)([dagger]) usaccessbank.com 877-369-2265
2. Southern Pacific Bank (Cal.) spbank.com 800-428-5056
3. Giantbank.com (Fla.)([dagger]) giantbank.com 877-446-4200
4. IndyMac Bank (Cal.) indymacbank.com 800-734-6063
5. NetBank (Ga.)([dagger]) netbank.com 888-256-6932
NATL AVERAGE

RECENT MIN.
5-year ANN. YIELD AMOUNT

1. Key Bank (Ohio) 6.02% $5,000
2. Discover Bank (Del.) 5.92 10,000
3. Providian Bank (Utah) 5.80 10,000
4. Cross Country Bank (Del.) 5.80 5,000
5. Capital One (Va.) 5.74 10,000
NATL AVERAGE 4.63%

WEB ADDRESS TOLL-FREE
5-year (WWW.) NUMBER

1. Key Bank (Ohio) keybank.com 800-872-5553
2. Discover Bank (Del.) discovercard.com 800-347-7000
3. Providian Bank (Utah) providian.com 800-414-9693
4. Cross Country Bank (Del.) crosscountrybank.com 800-334-3180
5. Capital One (Va.) capitalone.com 800-564-7426
NATL AVERAGE

([dagger]) Internet only SOURCE: [C] 2001 Bankrate.com, a publication
of Bankrate Inc., 11811 us Highway 1, N. Palm Beach, FL 33408;
800-327-7717, ext. 274; www.bankrate.com
Yield Benchmarks
RECENT MONTH-AGO YEAR-AGO
Bonds & Treasuries YIELD YIELD YIELD

U.S. series EE savings bonds 4.50%(*) 5.54%(*) 5.73%
U.S. series I savings bonds 5.92 6.49 7.49
One-year Treasury bills 3.69 4.17 6.23
Five-year Treasury notes 4.74 4.84 6.76
Ten-year Treasury notes 5.22 5.23 6.51

(*) For bonds purchased after May 1,1997; 5.36% for bonds purchased
earlier.