Are you getting ready to graduate? Well, along with college graduation comes the much-dreaded student loan repayment. If you were lucky enough to qualify for subsidized student loans, the government has been paying the interest on your student loans through school; if you had to take out unsubsidized student loans, your interest has been accruing. Either way, six months after graduation your grace period ends and it is time for you to begin repaying your student loans.
NextStudent, a leading Phoenix-based education funding company, recommends that you start shopping around for student loan consolidation loans as soon as possible. Student loan consolidation (http://www.nextstudent.com/consolidation_loans/consolidation_loans.asp) is a great way to manage your monthly student loan payments. Not only will you lock into one loan at one fixed interest rate, it also is possible to reduce monthly payments by up to 60 percent and eliminate the hassle of dealing with multiple payments to different lenders.
Do Your Research before Selecting a Student Loan Consolidation Lender
Frequently, college financial aid offices offer students a list of Preferred Lenders for all of their financial needs, from Stafford loans to student loan consolidation loans. However, students are not required to work with the lenders on those lists and instead should shop for a company that best suits their needs.
Just like every student is different, every lending company has its own character, ethical standards and quality controls. Borrowers should be selective and choose their lender carefully, making sure to consider and compare the reputation and integrity of the company, level of customer service provided, and the individual student loan consolidation (http://www.nextstudent.com/) incentives offered.
NextStudent’s LOCKED Discount
The federal government sets the base interest rate on all student loans (http://www.nextstudent.com/student-loans/student-loans.asp), including student loan consolidation. The only true differences the consolidation loan lenders provide are the incentives offered by each company. For example, in an effort to extend significant savings to borrowers, NextStudent offers a 1 percent LOCKED interest rate discount after 36 consecutive on-time payments, which borrowers retain for the life of their student loan, while other lenders may revoke their benefits for a single late payment. NextStudent also is committed to providing outstanding customer service and the best incentives in the industry.
Some of NextStudent’s Federal Consolidation Loan Benefit Packages:
Package #1
• 1 percent LOCKED interest rate reduction after 36 on-time payments
• .25 percent interest rate discount for Auto-Debit payments
Package #2
• 2 percent interest rate reduction after 36 on-time payments (not locked)
• .25 percent interest rate discount for Auto-Debit payments
NextStudent believes that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and it is dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding simple. Learn more about Student Loans, Private Student Loans (http://www.nextstudent.com/private_loans/private_loans.asp) and Student Loan Consolidation at NextStudent.com.
Student Loans Consolidation Must Known Secrets
If you have reached your wit's end with your school loans, consider a student loans consolidation. It is a popular means of loan debt consolidation intended to simplify the whole process of repayment. This form of debt consolidation loan also gives you the opportunity to lock in your interest rate for the entire length of your loan. It is no surprise that more students each year are looking into obtaining a student loans consolidation.
Students in the United States will find their student loans are consolidated differently than other types of debt, such as credit card debt. Loans that come from the government, or federal loans, are 100% guaranteed by the U.S. A federal loan is consolidated when a company that handles loan consolidation buys existing loans. The interest rate used for the consolidation is then determined by the year's student loan rate as of May of the current calendar year.
Those who look into student loans consolidation will discover a wide range of potential interest rates. These rates can be as low as 4.7% or as high as 8.25%. Keep an eye on the rise and fall of interest rates, and then act accordingly to strike when the rates are low. You will benefit by having an affordable rate in place during the entire length of repayment of your school loans.
Loan debt consolidation is not an endless road of opportunity. You are allowed to consolidate once with a private lender, and then once more with the Department of Education. You have one chance to get it right, so do your homework. Be sure that you have researched all of the consolidation companies. Make it a priority to find the most reputable companies and the ones that offer the lowest rates.
People often refer to federal student loans consolidation as refinancing, but this is not entirely correct. With this form of loan debt consolidation, your loan rate will not change, regardless of how different your previous loans were. It will merely be set at a fixed rate. Keep in mind that all of your previous loans will be weighed to find an interest rate that is appropriate in light of the current rate. As with all aspects of financial matters, there are a number of elements that will affect the rate at which your interest is compiled.
For the many students struggling with school loans, student loans consolidation remains an appealing option. It is important, however, that students do their financial research, and be aware of the pros and cons of loan debt consolidation. It has its drawbacks: Monthly payments, although combined into one, will be extended over a greater period of time than if the student had not consolidated the loans to begin with. In spite of this, student loans consolidation can be invaluable for students struggling with payments, and its benefits lure more students every year.
Students in the United States will find their student loans are consolidated differently than other types of debt, such as credit card debt. Loans that come from the government, or federal loans, are 100% guaranteed by the U.S. A federal loan is consolidated when a company that handles loan consolidation buys existing loans. The interest rate used for the consolidation is then determined by the year's student loan rate as of May of the current calendar year.
Those who look into student loans consolidation will discover a wide range of potential interest rates. These rates can be as low as 4.7% or as high as 8.25%. Keep an eye on the rise and fall of interest rates, and then act accordingly to strike when the rates are low. You will benefit by having an affordable rate in place during the entire length of repayment of your school loans.
Loan debt consolidation is not an endless road of opportunity. You are allowed to consolidate once with a private lender, and then once more with the Department of Education. You have one chance to get it right, so do your homework. Be sure that you have researched all of the consolidation companies. Make it a priority to find the most reputable companies and the ones that offer the lowest rates.
People often refer to federal student loans consolidation as refinancing, but this is not entirely correct. With this form of loan debt consolidation, your loan rate will not change, regardless of how different your previous loans were. It will merely be set at a fixed rate. Keep in mind that all of your previous loans will be weighed to find an interest rate that is appropriate in light of the current rate. As with all aspects of financial matters, there are a number of elements that will affect the rate at which your interest is compiled.
For the many students struggling with school loans, student loans consolidation remains an appealing option. It is important, however, that students do their financial research, and be aware of the pros and cons of loan debt consolidation. It has its drawbacks: Monthly payments, although combined into one, will be extended over a greater period of time than if the student had not consolidated the loans to begin with. In spite of this, student loans consolidation can be invaluable for students struggling with payments, and its benefits lure more students every year.
Student consolidation loans: the solution to cash flow problems
Sometimes, what makes student debt so frustrating is the fact that if one did not have to pay so much money on interests, the income would be good enough to cover all the other expenses. In other words, the interests on debt prevent students from having a good standard of living and enjoying their youth.
It does not seem fair that one should have to cut on recreation expenses due to high and sometimes abusive interest rates. If this also forces students to cut one essential expenses such as food, transportation, studying material, etc. the whole point of student financing becomes just an excuse for exploitation.
Cash flow explained
What high risk lenders and credit card dealers that charge interests rates over 18% take advantage of is the fact that most students have cash flow problems. A cash flow interruption takes place when for some unexpected expense, a student has to spend all the cash he has for everyday transactions and has to seek finance. If the income-expense ratio is too tight, debt will start accumulating and this vicious circle will go on till an extraordinary income solves it or till the person is forced to fill for bankruptcy.
There is a simple way to prevent this problem; you need to have a contingency savings amount ready to cover for unexpected events and an income-expense ratio that will let you rebuild this quantity in just a couple of months. Saving 20% of your overall earnings is a smart thing to do; you can destine half of it to build the contingency funds and the other half for leisure expenses.
How to solve cash flow problems
If the cash flow interruption has already forced you to become increasingly indebted, there is a way of considerably reducing the incidence of debt interests in your budget. To do so you need to combine debt consolidation with a reduction on your expenses. With a student debt consolidation loan you will be able to reduce the amount of money you pay on interests and with a reduction on your other expenses you will be able to destine a higher amount of money to paying off the loan's principal in order to hasten your debt reduction process.
This combined effort will soon show its effectiveness as you will notice how the amount of money you pay on interests is progressively reduced and you will be able to retake all the non essential expenses you had to cut in order to get out of your debt problem. By then, the sacrifices you had to make will become praiseworthy.
How student debt consolidation loans work
Student consolidation loans are granted with the sole purpose of repaying as much debt as possible. Since the interest rate charged for a consolidation loan is significantly lower than the average interest rate of student debt, the monthly installments will be considerably lower than the combined payments of the paid off loans and credit cards. This not only will reduce the debt burden but it will also save you thousands of dollars that you will be able to use for other important purposes.
It does not seem fair that one should have to cut on recreation expenses due to high and sometimes abusive interest rates. If this also forces students to cut one essential expenses such as food, transportation, studying material, etc. the whole point of student financing becomes just an excuse for exploitation.
Cash flow explained
What high risk lenders and credit card dealers that charge interests rates over 18% take advantage of is the fact that most students have cash flow problems. A cash flow interruption takes place when for some unexpected expense, a student has to spend all the cash he has for everyday transactions and has to seek finance. If the income-expense ratio is too tight, debt will start accumulating and this vicious circle will go on till an extraordinary income solves it or till the person is forced to fill for bankruptcy.
There is a simple way to prevent this problem; you need to have a contingency savings amount ready to cover for unexpected events and an income-expense ratio that will let you rebuild this quantity in just a couple of months. Saving 20% of your overall earnings is a smart thing to do; you can destine half of it to build the contingency funds and the other half for leisure expenses.
How to solve cash flow problems
If the cash flow interruption has already forced you to become increasingly indebted, there is a way of considerably reducing the incidence of debt interests in your budget. To do so you need to combine debt consolidation with a reduction on your expenses. With a student debt consolidation loan you will be able to reduce the amount of money you pay on interests and with a reduction on your other expenses you will be able to destine a higher amount of money to paying off the loan's principal in order to hasten your debt reduction process.
This combined effort will soon show its effectiveness as you will notice how the amount of money you pay on interests is progressively reduced and you will be able to retake all the non essential expenses you had to cut in order to get out of your debt problem. By then, the sacrifices you had to make will become praiseworthy.
How student debt consolidation loans work
Student consolidation loans are granted with the sole purpose of repaying as much debt as possible. Since the interest rate charged for a consolidation loan is significantly lower than the average interest rate of student debt, the monthly installments will be considerably lower than the combined payments of the paid off loans and credit cards. This not only will reduce the debt burden but it will also save you thousands of dollars that you will be able to use for other important purposes.
Students Loans - Student Loan Consolidation Calculator
You will be better off to consolidate now so as to forestall a higher debt load. You can consolidate your existing college loans while in school to secure low rates for at least part of your student loan portfolio. Sometimes the pressure of working long hours and not having sufficient time to sleep and study can result in second rate test scores and dropping out of college.
You are not in default on the loans you are seeking forgiveness for.
You can consolidate your existing college loans while in school to secure low rates for at least part of your student loan portfolio. While student loans may clear the path to a college degree for you, you will eventually come to the end of that path and have to start repaying the loans. The maximum interest rate that can be charged on student loans is 8.5%.
Schoolloanshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about School Loans. While student loans may clear the path to a college degree for you, you will eventually come to the end of that path and have to start repaying the loans. Just as much as providing a sound education to one's children is the biggest dream in one context, in another context, education is now the biggest nightmare as well of many a parent, splitting their brains over ways and means of finding the additional funds needed to pay for their children's education especially as the children grow older while keeping the home fires burning.
There are students who enroll in a work study program and try to pay their way through college. Rate of interest and other credit terms will vary depending on the lender; and as such before taking a private loan it is pertinent to search for many private lenders of prominence, and visit their websites to extract their respective terms and rates and do a thorough research as to which lender has the best solution to suit your particular situation.
In order to make the best use of your loans, your first endeavor should be to reduce the cost of your finance by choosing one or if not, a combination of loans comprising of grants scholarships, subsidized loans; and going for other loans carrying little higher interest rates only after exhausting all options for obtaining any more of the low cost loans of the former types. Just as much as providing a sound education to one's children is the biggest dream in one context, in another context, education is now the biggest nightmare as well of many a parent, splitting their brains over ways and means of finding the additional funds needed to pay for their children's education especially as the children grow older while keeping the home fires burning.
A federal student loan consolidation can help you do that more affordably by extending your repayment term and lowering your payment and interest rate. Remember your initial salary would be far less; and finalize your calculations accordingly. This means that you wouldnt be responsible for a payment during this time.
Parents may sometimes have the incredible experience of seeing their savings piled up over several years just vanish paying only for the first year or maybe even the first semester of one child! In case the child decides to pursue further higher studies with some ambitious degree or diploma on their sights, paying for these costs could become a significant strain on the finances of the parents at least as long as the education lasts, and in many cases, even beyond. What Benefits await with Loan Consolidation? Consolidated loans have accessible repayment plans and dont require credit checks or cosigners. You are not in default on the loans you are seeking forgiveness for. As a student, it can be hard to keep track of the various loans you have taken out, their interest rates and monthly payments.
Be sure to be educated by searching out more facts before taking your final decision. Loan consolidation is favorable to college loan debtors because they offer them good benefits in both short and long term by enabling the lumping of ones college loans into one account and one repayment plan. You can acquire information about consolidating at any bank or directly with the U.S. The bottom line is that you should base your decision to borrow or consolidate your student loan on informed knowledge based on choices that are favourable to you.
You are not in default on the loans you are seeking forgiveness for.
You can consolidate your existing college loans while in school to secure low rates for at least part of your student loan portfolio. While student loans may clear the path to a college degree for you, you will eventually come to the end of that path and have to start repaying the loans. The maximum interest rate that can be charged on student loans is 8.5%.
Schoolloanshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about School Loans. While student loans may clear the path to a college degree for you, you will eventually come to the end of that path and have to start repaying the loans. Just as much as providing a sound education to one's children is the biggest dream in one context, in another context, education is now the biggest nightmare as well of many a parent, splitting their brains over ways and means of finding the additional funds needed to pay for their children's education especially as the children grow older while keeping the home fires burning.
There are students who enroll in a work study program and try to pay their way through college. Rate of interest and other credit terms will vary depending on the lender; and as such before taking a private loan it is pertinent to search for many private lenders of prominence, and visit their websites to extract their respective terms and rates and do a thorough research as to which lender has the best solution to suit your particular situation.
In order to make the best use of your loans, your first endeavor should be to reduce the cost of your finance by choosing one or if not, a combination of loans comprising of grants scholarships, subsidized loans; and going for other loans carrying little higher interest rates only after exhausting all options for obtaining any more of the low cost loans of the former types. Just as much as providing a sound education to one's children is the biggest dream in one context, in another context, education is now the biggest nightmare as well of many a parent, splitting their brains over ways and means of finding the additional funds needed to pay for their children's education especially as the children grow older while keeping the home fires burning.
A federal student loan consolidation can help you do that more affordably by extending your repayment term and lowering your payment and interest rate. Remember your initial salary would be far less; and finalize your calculations accordingly. This means that you wouldnt be responsible for a payment during this time.
Parents may sometimes have the incredible experience of seeing their savings piled up over several years just vanish paying only for the first year or maybe even the first semester of one child! In case the child decides to pursue further higher studies with some ambitious degree or diploma on their sights, paying for these costs could become a significant strain on the finances of the parents at least as long as the education lasts, and in many cases, even beyond. What Benefits await with Loan Consolidation? Consolidated loans have accessible repayment plans and dont require credit checks or cosigners. You are not in default on the loans you are seeking forgiveness for. As a student, it can be hard to keep track of the various loans you have taken out, their interest rates and monthly payments.
Be sure to be educated by searching out more facts before taking your final decision. Loan consolidation is favorable to college loan debtors because they offer them good benefits in both short and long term by enabling the lumping of ones college loans into one account and one repayment plan. You can acquire information about consolidating at any bank or directly with the U.S. The bottom line is that you should base your decision to borrow or consolidate your student loan on informed knowledge based on choices that are favourable to you.
Student Loan Debt Consolidation - How To Reduce The Burden Of Student Loan Debt
It’s not enough as a student earning good grades, graduating, and landing a job with a good salary. What makes it more difficult is the rising costs of education, in tuition fees, books and the cost of living during the years being in school. There is no question that the trends of college and university prices have rose steadily over that last decade. During the 2004-2005 academic year about $129 billion in financial aid was distributed to undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, these students borrowed almost $14 Billion dollars from non-federal sources to help finance their education according to the report Trends in Student Aid (2005) from the College Board association. With an adjustment to inflation the total financial aid given to undergraduate and graduate students has increased by almost 100% from 1994 to 2005.
Why have students been borrowing much more today?
There has been a widening gap between the cost of university and college tuition and aid in the form of grants causing students to borrow more. Many students look at taking students loans as a good investment because it allows them to complete their education with better odds of a getting a better job and life. Because Students are borrowing more and often taking out multiple student loans today, however, it could lead to financial burdens. This would delay things like buying a new home, car, getting married, and raising a family.
How can student loan consolidation help?
Also known as a federal consolidation loan, repays some or all of the outstanding eligible federal student loans and replaces the multiple payments that are made with one single payment. The payment terms can even be extended to make the payments more affordable. The interest rates are fixed rate for the entire term and is calculated as the weighted average interest rates of your consolidated loans rounded up to 1/8% not exceeding 8.25%.
Which student loans can be consolidated?
1. Federal and Federal Direct Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized)
2. Federal and Federal Direct PLUS SLS (Supplementary Loans for Students)
3. Federal Perkins
4. Federal Nursing Student Loans (NSL)
5. Federal Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)
6. Federal Health Professional Student Loans (HPSL)
7. Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
8. Federal Insured Students Loans (FISL)
If a person has bad credit, can they still consolidate their student loans?
Under the federal student loan consolidation program, no credit checks are necessary, however, if any loans are in default, three consecutive payments must be made prior to consolidating the loans.
What lenders consolidate student loans?
The Internet is an excellent resource to compare student loan consolidation lenders rates and offers. It is just a matter to take some time and compare different incentives between lenders.
Lenders may offer added incentives to consolidate student loans. For example, depending on the balance of the current student loans, some lenders may offer a credit or an interest rate reduction if payments were made consecutively on time. Or, if a married couple has individual student loans and want to combine and consolidate their loans.
It should not be a strike against anyone requiring student loans to get through university or college nor having a delayed hardship when a person graduates and gets back into the work force.
Why have students been borrowing much more today?
There has been a widening gap between the cost of university and college tuition and aid in the form of grants causing students to borrow more. Many students look at taking students loans as a good investment because it allows them to complete their education with better odds of a getting a better job and life. Because Students are borrowing more and often taking out multiple student loans today, however, it could lead to financial burdens. This would delay things like buying a new home, car, getting married, and raising a family.
How can student loan consolidation help?
Also known as a federal consolidation loan, repays some or all of the outstanding eligible federal student loans and replaces the multiple payments that are made with one single payment. The payment terms can even be extended to make the payments more affordable. The interest rates are fixed rate for the entire term and is calculated as the weighted average interest rates of your consolidated loans rounded up to 1/8% not exceeding 8.25%.
Which student loans can be consolidated?
1. Federal and Federal Direct Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized)
2. Federal and Federal Direct PLUS SLS (Supplementary Loans for Students)
3. Federal Perkins
4. Federal Nursing Student Loans (NSL)
5. Federal Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)
6. Federal Health Professional Student Loans (HPSL)
7. Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
8. Federal Insured Students Loans (FISL)
If a person has bad credit, can they still consolidate their student loans?
Under the federal student loan consolidation program, no credit checks are necessary, however, if any loans are in default, three consecutive payments must be made prior to consolidating the loans.
What lenders consolidate student loans?
The Internet is an excellent resource to compare student loan consolidation lenders rates and offers. It is just a matter to take some time and compare different incentives between lenders.
Lenders may offer added incentives to consolidate student loans. For example, depending on the balance of the current student loans, some lenders may offer a credit or an interest rate reduction if payments were made consecutively on time. Or, if a married couple has individual student loans and want to combine and consolidate their loans.
It should not be a strike against anyone requiring student loans to get through university or college nor having a delayed hardship when a person graduates and gets back into the work force.
Student Debt Consolidation Loan – Tension Free Student Life
Student life is once, so we must enjoy it. But the tension of paying off the different student loans can be frustrating at times. Besides procrastination is also a natural part of student's college life. This does not harm your results but not paying loans at time will definitely affect your financial future. The best option for a student to keep his financial worries away and enjoy maximum of college life is student debt consolidation loan. Such a loan consolidates all your loans into a single one which is easy to manage.
Student debt consolidation loan: Distinct features
Fundamentally student consolidated loan is a large loan taking care of all your numerous small loans. But they differ from other types of consolidation loans on various grounds. Some distinctive features are:-
1) Student loans in default can’t be consolidated but student loans that are in grace period as well as loans on which you are currently making payments can be consolidated.
2) Student loans through conventional federal funding find it relatively easy to obtain a consolidated loan than loans from private funding sources.
3) No fee is levied to consolidate student loan debt.
Student debt consolidation loan: Amount, interest rate and repayment period
Certain lenders require that a minimum amount of student loan debt should be consolidated. This amount varies from lender to lender but if your total loan amount is less than £10,000 then you may find fewer options while consolidating. The interest rate of debt consolidation loan for students is the weighted average rate of all existing loans. A typical repayment period is ten years but students with £60,000 or more in student loans can apply to extend their payment period up to thirty years.
Student debt consolidation loan: Benefits
One can save thousands of pounds over the period of loan because of low interest rate. It also helps in lowering your monthly installments by extending repayment terms. Moreover interest of debt consolidation loan is tax-deductible, which further reduces cost of borrowing. It also helps in improving credit ratings.
Student debt consolidation loan: Distinct features
Fundamentally student consolidated loan is a large loan taking care of all your numerous small loans. But they differ from other types of consolidation loans on various grounds. Some distinctive features are:-
1) Student loans in default can’t be consolidated but student loans that are in grace period as well as loans on which you are currently making payments can be consolidated.
2) Student loans through conventional federal funding find it relatively easy to obtain a consolidated loan than loans from private funding sources.
3) No fee is levied to consolidate student loan debt.
Student debt consolidation loan: Amount, interest rate and repayment period
Certain lenders require that a minimum amount of student loan debt should be consolidated. This amount varies from lender to lender but if your total loan amount is less than £10,000 then you may find fewer options while consolidating. The interest rate of debt consolidation loan for students is the weighted average rate of all existing loans. A typical repayment period is ten years but students with £60,000 or more in student loans can apply to extend their payment period up to thirty years.
Student debt consolidation loan: Benefits
One can save thousands of pounds over the period of loan because of low interest rate. It also helps in lowering your monthly installments by extending repayment terms. Moreover interest of debt consolidation loan is tax-deductible, which further reduces cost of borrowing. It also helps in improving credit ratings.
Student Loan Consolidation
Why Consolidate Your Student Loans?
It's January of your senior year and time to start thinking about all those loans you took to help pay for college. Between Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and all the rest, between subsidized and unsubsidized you begin to realize that a year from now you will have run out of grace period and have to start paying back all those loans. You're going to be paying back eight different loans at eight different interest rates and eight terms. It's time to start thinking about a student consolidation loan.
A student consolidation loan could be worth it just to simplify your repayment schedules. But more importantly, if you can get a loan with a lower interest rate than you are paying on your school loans, then you can save yourself some money. If the consolidation loan extends the length of your student loan payback term, then it may have the added benefit of lowering the monthly payment now (when you aren't making a large salary). You can always increase your payments as your salary grows.
How to Consolidate Your Student Loans
After deciding to consolidate your student loans, the next step is to figure out how to go about it. You may have several choices of lenders, and what you choose could affect the amount you ultimately pay. Choose carefully.
The Department of Education provides the Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Program. Numerous states have student consolidation loans, some for your federal loans and others for your state loans. Then there are private lenders offering consolidation loans as well. You might first check with your current loan providers to see what they have to offer. They may have a better deal for current customers.
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans are run by the US Department of Education and provide a means to combine multiple Federal loans into one.
You can apply online for the Federal Direct Program by visiting the website at https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/appentry/appindex.html.
State Student Consolidation Loans
Several states offer consolidation loans as part of their education loan programs. Check with your state to see if they have a loan consolidation program.
Private Student Consolidation Loans
Private loans can not be consolidated under the Federal Direct Plan. If you can't qualify for the federal and state student loan consolidation programs because you have private loans, there are many lenders who make private consolidation loans available to students. Check with your own lenders first to see if they have a consolidation program.
It's January of your senior year and time to start thinking about all those loans you took to help pay for college. Between Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and all the rest, between subsidized and unsubsidized you begin to realize that a year from now you will have run out of grace period and have to start paying back all those loans. You're going to be paying back eight different loans at eight different interest rates and eight terms. It's time to start thinking about a student consolidation loan.
A student consolidation loan could be worth it just to simplify your repayment schedules. But more importantly, if you can get a loan with a lower interest rate than you are paying on your school loans, then you can save yourself some money. If the consolidation loan extends the length of your student loan payback term, then it may have the added benefit of lowering the monthly payment now (when you aren't making a large salary). You can always increase your payments as your salary grows.
How to Consolidate Your Student Loans
After deciding to consolidate your student loans, the next step is to figure out how to go about it. You may have several choices of lenders, and what you choose could affect the amount you ultimately pay. Choose carefully.
The Department of Education provides the Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Program. Numerous states have student consolidation loans, some for your federal loans and others for your state loans. Then there are private lenders offering consolidation loans as well. You might first check with your current loan providers to see what they have to offer. They may have a better deal for current customers.
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans are run by the US Department of Education and provide a means to combine multiple Federal loans into one.
You can apply online for the Federal Direct Program by visiting the website at https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/appentry/appindex.html.
State Student Consolidation Loans
Several states offer consolidation loans as part of their education loan programs. Check with your state to see if they have a loan consolidation program.
Private Student Consolidation Loans
Private loans can not be consolidated under the Federal Direct Plan. If you can't qualify for the federal and state student loan consolidation programs because you have private loans, there are many lenders who make private consolidation loans available to students. Check with your own lenders first to see if they have a consolidation program.
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