Student Loan Consolidation

A federal student loan consolidation program is a federally regulated loan that allows you to combine all of the existing federal loans you received for your education into one new single loan. When you do a student loan consolidation, the new lender will arrange to have all your existing loans fully paid off and issue you one new loan. Generally there are no application fees or credit checks required for consolidation loans and by consolidating your loans you can benefit in the following ways:

• Lower monthly payments. By consolidating your federal student loans, you can take advantage of lowering your monthly payments which will give you more money to use for other expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, food and car expenses, utility expenses, and credit card payments. Depending on your balances, you might be able to reduce your monthly payments up to 45%.

• One payment per month. If you currently have loans with multiple lenders, you know the hassle of having to write several checks per month, each for a different amount and to a different lender. By consolidating, you eliminate the need to make multiple monthly payments. You will only have to write one check or make one payment each month!

• Lock in a low fixed interest rate. Currently, unconsolidated federal student loans have a variable interest rate which changes each year. By consolidating, you can lock in a fixed interest rate which remains constant through the life of the loan.

• Customize a Payment Plan. By consolidating your student loans, you have the opportunity choose a payment plan and payment term that fits best with your current income. In some cases you can take up to 30 years to repay and you can change the plan annually without any penalties. In addition, if you decide you would like to repay your loans early, there are no prepayment penalties.

• Maintain your deferment and interest subsidy benefits. By consolidating your loans, you do not give up your deferment options or interest subsidy benefits on any subsidized FFELP or subsidized Direct loans that you consolidate.

When Should I Consolidate

You can do a student loan consolidation during your grace period or during repayment. You might even get to do a consolidation before you graduate. The timing depends on a variety of factors.

• Consolidating during the grace period may get you a lower rate
• You don’t want to consolidate too soon after graduation. If you do, you might lose out on some interest subsidies
• If you think interest rates are low, you might lock in the rate
• If you want a lower monthly payment today, you might try to get an extended repayment plan

Federal Loans Eligible for Student Loan Consolidation

Many federal student loans already have a low interest rate. However, you may be able to achieve a lower payment by consolidating these student loans. Here is a list of federal loans that are normally eligible for student loan consolidation:

•Federal Stafford Loans
•Federal Direct Loans
•Federal Perkins Loans
•Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS)
•Federally Insured Student Loans (FISL)
•National Direct Student Loans (NDSL)
•Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
•Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
•Auxiliary Loan to Assist Students (ALAS)
•Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)

Student loan consolidation could benefit you, but evaluate the amount and types of student loans that you are carrying, and then see if you can consolidate and cut your payments and debts. Read More..

What is Student Loan Consolidation Program?

You are getting a few student loans to support your study. After the graduation, you need to start repaying these student loans. These student loans come with different interest rates and they have different repayment due date for each month. You may find it difficult to manage your multiple student loans and any late payment or miss payment may hurt your credit rating.

Student Loan Consolidation Program is a loan repayment program for college students and graduates with multiple student loans to make their repayment easier. However, before signing on the dotted line, it's important for students to understand some basic facts about consolidation.

What A Student Loan Consolidation Program Does?

The student loan consolidation program allows you to combine all your outstanding student loans. For example, if you have three separate government student loans, you can consolidate them into one single loan. Technically, all three of those loans will be considered paid in full and a new loan will be started in their place. The basic concept is you are getting a new loan to pay off all your outstanding student loans; which mean instead of having 3 student loans with 3 repayment amount and due date, after the loan consolidation, you only have one loan with one repayment amount and one due date. It will enable you to manage your loan easier.

How A Student Loan Consolidation Program Will Help?

By consolidating your outstanding student loans through student loan consolidation program, you basically can enjoy at least 3 benefits:

1. More Convenient

With multiple student loans, you will have to make multiple payments every month; that means there are more paperwork and due dates to keep track of. There are more chances that you may miss one of them and cause you to make late payment. You can get rid of this hassle by consolidate them into single repayment and make you easier to keep track only one payment with one due date and one repayment amount.

2. Save You Some Money

All loans come with interest, so do the student loans. Although student loans normally have lower interest rate, student loan consolidation program may be able to negotiate a lower interest for your new consolidation loan than all your current loan rates and save you some money on interest. For example, you have 3 outstanding loans may be required to make $150 payments each month to all three lenders. That is a total of $450 per month. After consolidation with only one payment is required and that payment is usually much less than the combined payments from all of the loans. This can be huge benefit to you especially if you are new graduate who are just getting started in your careers and who don't have the income necessary to cover large loan expenses right away.

3. More Repayment Possibilities

Consolidating your student loans may open up additional opportunities for you. You may be offered with deferment choices and/more repayment possibilities. These offers can come in handy if you wish to further your education to another level, struggling to find employment in your field or experiencing financial hardships.

In Summary

Managing your multiple student loans are not too hard but you can make them more convenient and easier by combine them into one through the student loan consolidation program and enjoy the benefits it can offers. However, before enrolling into any of the student loan consolidation program, you need to understand the details and ensure the package is really inline with you financial needs. Read More..

Student Loans For Those With Bad Credit

When it comes time for you to start college, you really do not want your bad credit to get in the way. The good news, too, is that it does not have to. You still have access to a number of loans - and at reasonable rates. Here is some information to tell you about what kind of student loans are available to you.

One thing that should help you to relax some is that a number of available college loans from the government do not even look at your credit rating. They tend to make the assumption that applicants are fresh out of high school and have not had any time to even think about their credit rating - let alone build a decent one. One of these is the Stafford loan, which allows anyone to apply.

The Stafford loans come in two different types - subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized version of this loan is based entirely on the need the student has for that year. If you get the loan, you must also apply each year that you need the benefits. One nice thing about this loan is that it pays your interest while you are in school. The unsubsidized version is available to any student - regardless of your need.

Another Federal loan that does not require good credit is the Perkins loan. This loan is made available to students through their entire college years. It can be provide amounts up to $4,000 per year, for a total of $20,000.

Both of these loan programs should be looked at before you look anywhere else. When it comes to interest, any Federal loan program will be lower than anywhere else. This means it will provide you with the most savings over the years that it will take to pay it back.

One school loan that could also help you to subsidize that education, even if you have bad credit, is an OSL loan. These private loans are more expensive than the Federal schools loans, but remain less expensive than your more standard traditional personal loans. They are not backed by the Government, but at the same time, will give a higher percentage toward your education goals than the Federal loans.

Another way to get a loan for your education, even though you have bad credit, is to get a PLUS program. This loan actually needs to be made by the parents of the student. Since the student is not actually applying, the basis of the interest rating will be on that of the parents and not on the bad credit of the student.

Other loans are available to those with bad credit. Some of these will apply to the special field of education, such as medical, etc., which can be obtained as personal loans. When it comes to getting any other kind of loan, other than Federal, be sure to do some comparing to see which one is the best. In many cases, it will be necessary to get loans from different sources in order to complete your education. Read More..