Student loans are a great source of financial aid for students who need help paying for their education. Unfortunately, students often leave college with burdensome debt. In addition, they often have multiple loans from different lenders, meaning they are writing more than one loan repayment check each month. The solution to this problem is loan consolidation.
What is loan consolidation?
Loan consolidation means bundling all your student loans into a single loan with one lender and one repayment plan. You can think of loan consolidation as akin to refinancing a home mortgage. When you consolidate your student loans, the balances of your existing student loans are paid off, with the total balance rolling over into one consolidated loan. The end result is that you have only one student loan to pay on.
Both students and their parents can consolidate loans.
Should I consolidate my loans?
Loan consolidation offers many benefits:
- Locks in a fixed, usually lower, interest rate for the term of your loan, potentially saving you thousands of dollars (depending on the interest rates of your original loans)
- Lowers your monthly payment
- Combines your student loan payments into one monthly bill
In addition, consolidated loans have flexible repayment options and no fees, charges, or prepayment penalties. There are also no credit checks or co-signers required.
You should consider consolidating your loans if the consolidation loan would have a lower interest rate than your current loans, particularly if you are having trouble making you monthly payments. However, if you are close to paying off your existing loans, consolidation may not be worth it.
How will the interest rate for the consolidated loan be?
The interest rate for your consolidated loan is calculated by averaging the interest rate of all the loans being consolidated and then rounding up to the next one-eighth of one percent. The maximum interest rate is 8.25 percent.
To figure your interest rate, visit loanconsolidation.ed.gov for an online calculator that will do the math for you.
How much can I save?
How much you save by consolidating loans depends on what interest rate you get and whether you choose to extend your repayment plan. According to Sallie Mae, the leading provider of student loans in the United States, consolidating student loans can reduce monthly payments by up to 54 percent. However, the only way to reduce your payment this much is to extend your repayment plan. You typically have 10 years to repay student loans, but, depending on the amount you're consolidating, you can extend your repayment plan all the way up to 30 years. Remember that if you choose to extend your repayment term, it will take longer to pay off your overall debt and you'll pay more in interest. There are no preypayment penalties, so you can always choose to pay off the loan early.
Am I eligible to consolidate my loans?
In order to consolidate your loans, you must meet the following criteria:
- You are in your six-month grace period following graduation or you have started repaying your loans
- You have eligible loans totaling over $7,500
- You have more than one lender
- You have not already consolidated your student loans, or since consolidation you have gone back to school and acquired new student loans
The following types of loans can be consolidated:
- Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans and Federal PLUS Loans
- Direct Consolidation Loans and Federal Consolidation Loans
- Guaranteed Student Loans
- Federal Insured Student Loans
- Federal Supplemental Loans for Students
- Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students
- Federal Perkins Loans
- National Direct Student Loans
- National Defense Student Loans
- Health Education Assistance Loans
- Health Professions Student Loans
- Loans for Disadvantaged Students
- Nursing Student Loans
Where can I get a consolidation loan?
You can consolidate your loans through any bank or credit union that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or directly from the U.S. Department of Education. The loan terms and conditions are generally the same, regardless of where you consolidate. You may want to check first with the lenders that hold your current loans.
If all your loans are with one lender, you must consolidate with that lender.
If you decide to consolidate your student loans, remember that you can only do so once unless you go back to school and take out more loans. Therefore, you will want to make sure you get the best deal the first time. The interest rate will be the same from all lenders, but some lenders may offer future rate discounts for prompt payment and a discount for having monthly payments directly debited from your account.
Can my spouse and I consolidate our loans together?
You can consolidate your loans together, but it is not a good idea for a couple reasons:
- Both of you will always be responsible to repay the loan, even if you later separate or divorce
- If you need to defer payment on the loan, both of you will have to meet the deferment criteria
When should I consolidate my loans?
You can consolidate your loans any time during your six-month grace period or after you have started repaying your loans. If you consolidate during your grace period, you may be able to get a lower interest rate. However, since you will lose the rest of the grace period, it is a good idea to wait until the fifth month of the grace period before consolidating. The consolidation process usually takes 30-45 days.
This article is distributed by NextStudent. At NextStudent, we believe that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and we're dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding as easy as possible. We invite you to learn more about how to get Student Loan Consolidation at http://www.NextStudent.com .
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Is Consolidating Your Student Loan A Good Idea?
Some students leave college and you expect them to heave a sigh of relief because at long last the long hurdle is over. No more sleepless nights studying for lessons, no more academic books to read, no more exams to take and most of all no more tuition fees to be paid. But what if the student just relied on student loans all throughout his or her studies? That must have been a lot of loans to pay. Fortunately there is a thing called student loan consolidation.
Student loan consolidation is combining all previous loans into one loan to make it easier for the students to pay the debts. If your loans are consolidated, you need not pay multiple loans every month, you only have a single loan to pay and this makes it less confusing and burdensome.
Through consolidation, a student or a graduate can have some sort of relief. Most student fret and think of their loans while still studying and often miss out on their education. On the other hand, fresh graduates that are in debt could not focus or advance in their careers because they have this huge debt to pay.
You may be wondering if student loan consolidation is a good idea. Here are a few reasons why you should consider consolidating your loans -
It lowers your monthly payment
Often times if a student has multiple loans to pay, it means paying higher as the student is paying for interest for multiple loans.
Lower interest rates
Consolidation offers students a fixed monthly interest that is usually lower than the interest rates of their previous loans.
New interest rates
Consolidating your loans will most likely mean that you are going to have a new interest rate. You may get lower interest rates because interest rates these days are decreasing.
More convenient payment scheme Because all the previous loans are combined into one, payment is easier and more convenient when student loans are consolidated.
Helps you save more money
Typically, consolidating your loans can help you reduce your monthly payments to as much as 54 percent depending on the interest rates. But no matter what the interest rate, bottom-line is your still going to save money.
Extends repayment period
Usually consolidation gives the students more time to pay their debts. This is a good thing so students wont feel pressured to pay their consolidated loans because it lowers the monthly payment.
Different types of loans can be consolidated
Student consolidation is not only limited to one or two types of loans. There are actually a lot of different types of loans that can be consolidated. Some loans that can be consolidated are direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans, federal insured student loans, federal Perkins loans, national defense student loans, etc.
While student loan consolidation provides a lot of advantages, there is also a negative side to it. You may want to consider these disadvantages before deciding to consolidate your loans.
Increases overall total amount paid Because consolidating all your loans extends repayment period, it will lower your monthly payments but this will result in an increased overall total amount paid.
Lose incentives
If you consolidate all your loans you may lose several incentives that are offered to you by your lenders.
Lose benefits for Perkins loans Consolidating Perkins loans means cancellation of your benefits and losing interest subsidy.
Reading the pros and cons of student consolidation may have given you an idea on whether or not consolidation is a good idea. The advantages obviously surpass the disadvantages but it is still up to you if you want to consolidate your loans.
Before indulging in the consolidation scene, you need to do research on that consolidation companies offer the best deals and will really help you lower your payments.
The best way to research is through the internet because you will be able to compare different plans conveniently. You can find information and news on consolidation. Some sites even offer quotes and this makes it easier for you to compare and choose among different companies.
Student loan consolidation is combining all previous loans into one loan to make it easier for the students to pay the debts. If your loans are consolidated, you need not pay multiple loans every month, you only have a single loan to pay and this makes it less confusing and burdensome.
Through consolidation, a student or a graduate can have some sort of relief. Most student fret and think of their loans while still studying and often miss out on their education. On the other hand, fresh graduates that are in debt could not focus or advance in their careers because they have this huge debt to pay.
You may be wondering if student loan consolidation is a good idea. Here are a few reasons why you should consider consolidating your loans -
It lowers your monthly payment
Often times if a student has multiple loans to pay, it means paying higher as the student is paying for interest for multiple loans.
Lower interest rates
Consolidation offers students a fixed monthly interest that is usually lower than the interest rates of their previous loans.
New interest rates
Consolidating your loans will most likely mean that you are going to have a new interest rate. You may get lower interest rates because interest rates these days are decreasing.
More convenient payment scheme Because all the previous loans are combined into one, payment is easier and more convenient when student loans are consolidated.
Helps you save more money
Typically, consolidating your loans can help you reduce your monthly payments to as much as 54 percent depending on the interest rates. But no matter what the interest rate, bottom-line is your still going to save money.
Extends repayment period
Usually consolidation gives the students more time to pay their debts. This is a good thing so students wont feel pressured to pay their consolidated loans because it lowers the monthly payment.
Different types of loans can be consolidated
Student consolidation is not only limited to one or two types of loans. There are actually a lot of different types of loans that can be consolidated. Some loans that can be consolidated are direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans, federal insured student loans, federal Perkins loans, national defense student loans, etc.
While student loan consolidation provides a lot of advantages, there is also a negative side to it. You may want to consider these disadvantages before deciding to consolidate your loans.
Increases overall total amount paid Because consolidating all your loans extends repayment period, it will lower your monthly payments but this will result in an increased overall total amount paid.
Lose incentives
If you consolidate all your loans you may lose several incentives that are offered to you by your lenders.
Lose benefits for Perkins loans Consolidating Perkins loans means cancellation of your benefits and losing interest subsidy.
Reading the pros and cons of student consolidation may have given you an idea on whether or not consolidation is a good idea. The advantages obviously surpass the disadvantages but it is still up to you if you want to consolidate your loans.
Before indulging in the consolidation scene, you need to do research on that consolidation companies offer the best deals and will really help you lower your payments.
The best way to research is through the internet because you will be able to compare different plans conveniently. You can find information and news on consolidation. Some sites even offer quotes and this makes it easier for you to compare and choose among different companies.
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