Benefits Of Comparing Student Loan Consolidation Programs

Consolidating a student loan is like suddenly finding a new partner! It could take years, even decades to pay back the student loan consolidation program, so it is a wise idea to compare student loan consolidation programs before choosing a particular student loan consolidation program.

Student loan consolidation programs are a way to make life a little easier. There is no doubt that if you have to live off of a credit card, then you are paying much more than you need. The extortionate rates of credit cards, and the low monthly payments required, make credit cards one of the worst options to get by.

So, if you find yourself in such a position, getting a student consolidation loan can really make life easier while in education. The interest rates will likely be much lower than having to pay all those other student loans and credit card debts separately.

A big benefit of comparing student loan consolidation programs is that you get to find the best rate. The little differences between each program can amount to a big difference in what you have to pay back, so it is well worth comparing student loan consolidation programs.

The best way to do this is online. In fact you can do online student loan consolidation, which can be much easier than having to call several places to find out which one is right for you. By comparing student loan consolidation programs online, you can find out all of the hidden charges that many loan companies seem to add on without us knowing.

By doing a comparison of student loan consolidation programs online, you can also find out what other benefits can be had by getting the consolidation program from that company. Some may offer benefits such as cash back, access to discounts on books and other things related to what you need in your studies as a student. Some others may also offer discounts on travel, which again may benefit you. The key is to consider your needs when you find such offers, as some may benefit, while others could just be a great way to show an inflated student loan consolidation rate.

The key is to find the ones that meet your needs. Don't just settle on the first one you see. Make sure you research, and find out all the costs associated with the student loan consolidation program. After all, the student loan will likely run for several years before you can pay it back.

Another point to consider is whether the people are helpful with your needs. If you have problems with being able to pay the loan back in time or if you need a bigger loan later, will the company be able to give you that extra student loan consolidation. It is some food for thought, and by doing a comparison of student loan consolidation programs, you are more likely to find the one that meets your needs.

Is Student Loan Consolidation Good?

Consolidating your student loan(s) is one of the smartest things that you can do. You should consider a student consolidation loan if you have several federal student loans or even just one large one.

Student consolidation loans will have fixed interest rates which are similar to those of the loans that are being consolidated. The amount that you can save through consolidation can be up to 58%.

Federal Stafford loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans as well as many others can be consolidated. Most of the time, they already have low rates.

Advantages

- You will have a single loan payment which is often lower than what you currently pay.
- It is easy to set up.
- It will help lower your debt burden.
- You can secure the lowest interest rate at the time.
- It can help you qualify for new or renewed deferments.

What To Consider

When you consolidate, make sure that the interest rate that you are offered is lower than your current rate. You want to pay off your student debt easier and maybe quicker too.

While consolidation can simplify the loan repayment process and lower your monthly payment, in the long run it usually increases the total amount that you will have to pay.

Student loan consolidation provides lower monthly payments by allowing you to spread the loan over 30 years in some cases. You are paying more payments, so be sure to compare the total cost of repaying your unconsolidated loans with the cost of repaying them through the consolidation loan.

The process of consolidating is very flexible. Consolidation is available from before you graduate down through years of repayment.

First, you need to gather information about your current loan. You need to know the balances and the interest rates, the names and addresses of companies and the names and addresses of personal references. The National Student Loan Data System can help provide you with the information that you need since it holds the most complete and accurate information for federal loans.

Paying Them Back

You will have 2 options to pay these loans back.

1. Pay a standard amount each month. This will include principle and interest. This is the lowest cost of interest paid way to go.

2. Or a graduated repayment. Here you start with lower payments that are only interest, but then they will keep increasing.

Usually repayment of your consolidation loans will begin in 60 days and will take from 10 to 30 years to fully pay back.

There are some questions that you should ask the lender before going forward.

- is there a rate reduction, for example for making your payments online or on time?

- does the loan meet your specific needs?

- is that the best interest rate available?

To get a student loan consolidation, you can still be enrolled in school or graduated. Either way, you'll find many lending options that will fit your needs.

Student loan consolidation tips guide

During their student life, students accumulate a number of loans to secure their college degrees. These loans prove to be helpful for a while, however when the time for their repayment arrives, their numerous monthly installments with different interest rates pester the students causing them to lose their sleep and get diverted from the path of success in their career. Hence, the most desirable thing to do to avoid this kind of situation is to opt for a Student Loan Consolidation.

Student Loan Consolidation is basically a loan which absorbs all the previous loans taken by a student to finance his studies and other needs. By consolidating all his loans a student saves his time and effort as it is much easier to handle one payment monthly than several separate payments. Secondly, a consolidated student loan carries a lower interest rate than the various other student loans. Moreover when a student opts for a consolidated loan he has to pay only one interest rate, not several different rates. Also, a consolidated loan offers more flexible repayment options than the other loans. This type of loan is also generally free of any kind of prepayment penalty.

Student Loan Consolidation rates might vary depending upon the student's financial situation. It will be very easy to acquire an excellent Student Consolidation Loan plan if one has a credit score of more than 660 (FICO score). Different lenders offer different monthly plans according to the student's loan situation. Some lenders might offer 50% lower monthly plans than others. A student should review the terms and conditions of all the lenders and should select the one who offers simplest repayment options with a monthly payment that will not become a burden for him.

While considering consolidation a student should always opt for fixed interest rate rather than floating rate. This reduces the element of uncertainty and clearly defines what one has to repay in future. Hence, one should always choose a lender who is offering the lowest fixed interest rate. One should select the payment period, which does not burden him in any way. This is very significant as the rate of interest and monthly installments are both calculated according to the duration of the loan. Whether the lender will be able to extend the payment period according to the needs of the borrower should also be enquired first. Above all, it is recommended that a student should avoid Student Loan Consolidation if he has already paid a major part of his loans because opting for consolidation on this stage can reset the loan process, which will ultimately make him pay more than what he had planned for.

Keeping these tips in mind a student should first do his homework by carrying out a survey of what the numerous Student Loan Consolidation companies are offering him and then go for the best deal that will make it easier for him both financially and psychologically to get rid of his debt.

Direct Student Loan Consolidation Could be the Best of the Lot

When in order to reduce your existing loan burden you decide to opt for the student loan consolidation, you will have to decide the plan that is most suitable for you. Direct student loan consolidation is considered best for many experts owing to its unique features.



The traditional advantages derived are flexible plans of repayment of your loans and reduction in the interest rates, and lowering of premium by 53%. However the feature that makes such direct student loan consolidation process unique is the deferment and forbearance options that you get.



Types of direct student loan consolidation



Like others there are also various types of direct student loan consolidation plans. These are -



* The Stafford and PLUS loan consolidation plans.



* Direct Stafford and PLUS loan consolidation plans.



* Direct loan consolidation plans.



* Obtaining loan bills from the Center for direct loan servicing.



* Ford Federal program for direct loan consolidation.



* Direct lending school loan consolidation program.



The uses of the direct student loan consolidation



Obviously when you opt for the direct loan consolidation plan or any such student loan consolidation plan you will be concerned about the interest to be paid. Internet has solved the problem of getting the required information altogether. You can have all the information on student loan consolidation interest rates on line using the Internet.



Two methods of obtaining the information to learn about the benefits of the direct student loan consolidation plan are requesting for the free information packet or going through the step by step tutorials provide by many consolidators on line. There are also independent reviews available reading which you can form your opinion.



Apply online for direct student loan consolidation



Good news for you is that neither you will have to run to the federal or private provider's offices nor you have to go for a mediator who will perform all tasks for you. You can simply log on to the website of the consolidator and get the required information, apply online, and get approved also online.



Of course you may have doubts and it is better to have them cleared instead of suffering at the end of it landing with wrong choice. This can be effectively achieved by going through the frequently asked questions sections of the website where you have logged on for online application and approval.



Direct Student Loan Consolidation benefits



Traditional benefits available in respect of all other student loan consolidation plans like lowering the premium, extending the repayment period up to 30 years, and reducing the overall payments are available in direct student loan consolidation plan.



You will however have to fulfill certain requirements to be eligible for the direct student loan consolidation. For example you must have federal student loan worth $10,000 and must not have defaulted at any time.



Student loan consolidation process with lower rate of interest would be a great relief for the otherwise financially constrained family. They will now have more savings to look after divergent interests of the family members. That is why lowering the student loan consolidation rates are extremely essential to save your economy from disaster.

Student Loan Consolidations - Finding a Program That Works For You

Student loan consolidation help is a good solution to students who are in debt because of all of the loans that they needed in order to pay for school.

Student loan consolidation is basically the combining of two or more student loans. The point behind this is to allow the student to pay only one low monthly payment, based on what they can afford. This allows people who are in a bad financial situation to live a little easier.

If you just take a look around you can find hundreds of options for student loan consolidations, as well as other consolidations for other types of debt.

Looking at student loan consolidations, you will find that there are two major types of student loan consolidations. They are the federal student loan consolidation and private student loan consolidations. Though you are able to combine federal loans with private loans it is a bad idea. When you combine the two different types, you lose all of the benefits that you are offered with federal student loans but can't get from using private loans.

First and foremost, with federal student loan consolidation the interest rates you pay can be tax deductible. That is a good benefit that you would have no chance at getting if you were to consolidate them with private loans, or if all you had were private loans.

Next comes the possibility of being forgiven for certain federal loans when you go to consolidate them. Again, if you were to combine them with private loans, or if all you had were private loans, you would not have a chance at this.

And finally, for some who might need this, there is a possibility for you to defer your payments if you need to go back to school. You again can't take advantage of this benefit if you have just private student consolidations, nor if you mix private with federal student loans.

If at all possible, you want to use only federal student loans. Remember that when you go to get student loans consolidated, you need to be sure to keep federal loans separate from private loans.

When you decide on a student loan consolidation, you need to pay close attention to the interest rates they charge. If all of your rates are the same, then it will be slightly higher, but you will have no extra fees, and you will have a monthly price set based on what you can afford. If the rates are different then they will calculate an interest rate that will land somewhere between your highest rate and your lowest rate. When they tell you that your interest rate will be lower, it isn't really true. It will just be lower than your current higher rate.

If you come across a place that asks for an up-front fee then you should be wary. These are scams. That's not to say that everything that has a fee is a scam, just the ones that ask for the fees in the very beginning.

School loan consolidation doesn't have to be a major headache. By doing research on the Internet and using free student loan debt consolidation resources you'll be able to find a program that will save you money and headaches!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Imran_Jeans_A

About Your Student Loan Debt Consolidation

Anybody who has taken out multiple loans to help pay for school has probably looked at student loan debt consolidation at one point or another. Student loan consolidations are used specifically to help a student, or their parents, pay for multiple student loans with one easy monthly payment instead of the usual numerous payments.

For many students it is a hassle to pay for each and every loan separately and keep track of each payment as proof in case it is needed in the future. In fact, many of them don't continue on to even higher education because they are so far into debt that they can't afford much more. It often damages credit and makes it hard for to be approved for much of anything. What is worse is that it can often take so much money a month that living costs, including food, can barely be met each month.

In many of these instances, having a student loan consolidation program can prove to be helpful. Rather than letting the multiple student loans ruin a life, student loan consolidations work to help students and their family pay off their loans by lowering monthly payments so that they can all be met. Generally, assuming all payments are on time, this means that the credit of whoever is repaying the student loans is able to raise their credit score.

When you decide to turn towards student loan consolidation help there are a few things you need to look at. First of all, what kind of student loan consolidation do you need?

If you have federal student loans, then you will want to have those grouped together. It is important to have federal student loan consolidations, and then private student loan consolidations for one main reason. You can get certain breaks with federal student loan consolidations that are impossible to get if you mix the federal loans with the private loans.

The interest rates. Student loan consolidation rates tend to be a little higher than the original rates, but that can be expected because they don't generally charge any other fees. (A select few may charge a small fee, but that is only on certain loans, and you will never be charged on up front. If you are it is a scam, and you need to find another place). The interest rate that you are charged will be somewhere between your highest and lowest interest rate. When you're looking you should always make sure that it isn't above your highest interest rate, unless the interest rates for all of your loans are all the same. In that case it may be a little above those rates, but not a by much. When an interest rate is decided on for your student loan consolidation program it will stay at that rate for the entire time that you are working to pay off your new student loan consolidation.

When you undergo student loan consolidations, you will find that money is less of a problem than before. After a student loan consolidation you pay only one low monthly payment, leaving extra money for things you need and want.

School loan consolidation doesn't have to be a major headache. By doing research on the Internet and using free student loan debt consolidation resources you'll be able to find a program that will save you money and headaches!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Syedsalman_Shah_Salman

Guarantee Agencies Student Loan Consolidation

Federal student loans are extremely low risk loans, as compared with other types of unsecured loans, in part because the Federal government guarantees them against default.

This section of FinAid provides information about student loan guarantee agencies, also referred to as student loan guarantors and student loan guaranty agencies. Guarantee agencies insure student loans against default. The 1% default fee (previously "guarantee fee") that is collected from each disbursement is paid to the designated guarantee agency to cover the costs of insuring the loan. (Some guarantee agencies have built up enough of a reserve that they are able to waive or reduce the default fee.) If the borrower defaults, dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled, the guarantee agency reimburses the lender for the balance remaining on the loan.

Mapping Your Future

Mapping Your Future is a web site sponsored by a group of 35 FFELP guarantee agencies and secondary markets. The site provides information on planning a career, selecting a school, and paying for school. It also includes a college admissions and financial aid calendar.

FFELP Guarantee Agencies


American Education Services (AES) [alternate link] is a student loan guarantor located in Pennsylvania. AES is a division of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). They've grown into a full-service education financing operation that acts as a servicer, lender and secondary market in addition to a guarantor. They offer Stafford, PLUS, Consolidation and private education loans. Their repayment incentives include 0% default fee, origination fee reductions of up to 3% (depending on state and bank), a 0.25% interest rate reduction for automatic direct debit of monthly payments and a 2% interest rate reduction after 48 consecutive on-time payments. One key benefit is their partnership with Upromise, which allows borrowers to use Upromise savings to repay student loans. For more information, write to 1200 N 7th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102-1444 or PO Box 2461, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2461, Undergraduate students should call 1-800-233-0557 or 1-717-720-3100, fax 1-717-720-3916, TDD: 1-717-720-2354, or send email to aescs@aessuccess.org. Graduate students should call 1-800-233-0557 or 1-717-720-3500/3492, fax 1-717-720-3931/2774, TDD 1-717-720-2354, or send email to aesgs@aessuccess.org or aespas@aessuccess.org. Related web sites include Education Planner (College Planning), CampusChamps (Student Athletes), YouCanDealWithIt (Debt Management), and FurtherYourEducation (Continuing Education).

American Student Assistance (ASA), established 1956, is the student loan guarantor for FFELP Loans in Massachusetts and Washington, DC. Their delinquency and default prevention efforts include their Wellness programs. For more information, call 1-800-999-9080, fax 1-617-728-4265, TDD 1-800-999-0923, or write to American Student Assistance, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1600, Boston, MA 02114.

College Assist (previously known as College Access Network and Colorado Student Loan Program (CSLP)) is a national guarantor agency as well as the designated guarantor of student loans for Colorado. For more information, call 1-303-305-3000 or 1-800-727-9834, TDD 1-800-727-5343 or 1-303-305-3150, or send email to information@college-assist.com. Related web sites include StudentLoanOnline, College Assist's online loan interface.

Connecticut Student Loan Foundation (CSLF) is a student loan guarantor and lender located in Rocky Hill, CT. Established in 1965, CSLF offers fee-free and reduced rate loans through Susie Mae, its lending division. They offer fee-free Stafford Loan with a 4% rebate on the original principal amount of the loan after 33 timely automated payments, plus a .25% interest rate reduction for auto-debit. They offer PLUS loans at up to 1% below the federal rate (an immediate and guaranteed 0.5% interest rate reduction for simply using Susie Mae and a 0.5% interest rate reduction for auto-debit). They offer Consolidation loans with a 2% rebate on the original principal amount after 24 consecutive ontime payments, plus a .25% interest rate reduction for auto-debit. For more information, call 1-800-237-9721 x442 or 1-860-257-4001, fax 1-860-563-3247, write to CSLF, 525 Brook Street, PO BOX 1009, Rocky Hill, CT 06067, or send email to customersupport@mail.cslf.org.

Education Assistance Corporation (EAC) is a guarantor of Federal student loans, established in 1978. They guarantee loans in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and other states. Their subsidiary, Educational Assistance Service Company, Inc. (EASCI), originates and services student loans. For more information, call 1-800-592-1802 (EAC) or 1-800-458-4011 (EASCI), write to 115 1st Ave SW, Aberdeen, SD 57401, or send email to eac@eac-easci.org.

EdFund was established by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) in 1997 as a guarantee service provider. CSAC is the designated guarantor for California and was established in 1955. They are the second largest student loan guarantee agency. CSAC also administers the Cal Grant program and the state work-study program. For more information, call 1-877-2EDFUND (1-877-233-3863) or write to PO Box 419045, Rancho Cordova, California 95741-9045. Schools should call 1-888-22FFELP (1-888-223-3357). Related web sites include EdFund.net, EdFund's online loan interface.

Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) is the designated guarantor for Virginia and Oregon. They also provide information and assistance to borrowers whose loans were originally guaranteed by the Higher Education Assistance Foundation (HEAF) and service bankruptcies for borrowers whose loans were guaranteed by guarantee agencies in 25 states. For more information from their Virginia office, call 1-888-775-ECMC (3262) or 1-804-267-7100 or write to PO Box 8809, Richmond, VA 23225 or Boulders Building VII, 7325 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23225. In Minnesota call 1-888-221-ECMC (3262) or 1-651-221-0566 or write to PO Box 64909, St. Paul, MN 55164-0909 or 101 East 5th Street, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55101. In New Mexico call 1-505-428-2100 or write to 4001 Office Court Drive, Building 700, Santa Fe, NM 87507. See also the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) for information about other student aid programs for Virginia.

Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) is a secondary market and guarantee agency for student loans in Maine. For more information, call 1-800-228-3734 or 1-207-623-3263, fax 1-207-623-0095, TTY 1-207-626-2717, write to 5 Community Drive, PO Box 949, Augusta, ME 04332-0949, or send email to info@famemaine.com.

Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), part of the Florida Department of Education, is the designated student loan guarantee agency for Florida. OSFA does not charge a default fee for loans guaranteed on or after March 1, 2008. OSFA also administers multiple grant and scholarship programs. For more information, call 1-800-366-3475 (loans) or 1-888-827-2004 (grants/scholarships) or write to Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance, 1940 North Monroe Street, Suite 70, Tallahassee, FL 32303-4759.

Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) is a student loan guarantee agency for Georgia. GSFC was established in 1965. GSFC also administers Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) and other Georgia state student financial aid programs. For more information, call 1-800-505-GSFC (4732) or 1-770-724-9000, fax 1-770-724-9089, or write to Georgia Student Finance Commission, 2082 East Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30084.

Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., also known as the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation, is a guarantor and servicer of student loans in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They were established in 1967 and also act as a servicer of student loans. For more information, call 1-800-366-0032 (Loan Applications) or 1-800-236-6600 (Loan Consolidation) or 1-800-236-4300 (Loan Repayment), fax 1-800-375-5288, or write to Great Lakes - Borrower Services, PO Box 7860, Madison, WI 53707.

Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), established 1957, is a national student loan guarantee agency located in Illinois. For more information, call 1-800-899-ISAC (4722), TDD 1-800-526-0844, write to Illinois Student Assistance Commission, 1755 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015-5209, or send email to collegezone@isac.org.

Iowa College Student Aid Commission (ICSAC) is the designated student loan guarantee agency for Iowa. ICSAC also administeres the Iowa Tuition Grant Program, the Iowa Vocational-Technical Tuition Grant Program, and the merit-based State of Iowa Scholarship Program. For more information, call 1-800-383-4222 or 1-515-242-3344, fax 1-515-242-3388, write to Iowa College Student Aid Commission, 200 - 10th Street, 4th Floor, Des Moines, IA 50309-2036, or send email to info@iowacollegeaid.org.

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), established 1966, is a student loan guarantee agency for Kentucky and Alabama. For more information, call 1-800-928-8926 (schools and lenders should call 1-800-617-2699) or send email to inquiries@kheaa.com.

Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) is a student loan guarantee agency for Louisiana. LOSFA does not charge a default fee for the student loans it guarantees. For customer service, call 1-800-259-5626 or send email to custserv@osfa.state.la.us.

Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority (MHEAA), established 1960, is the student loan guarantee agency for Michigan. For more information, call 1-877-323-2287, write to Bureau of Student Financial Aid, Office of Information and Resources, PO Box 30466, Lansing, MI 48909-7966, or send email to oir@michigan.gov. The Michigan Guaranty Agency can be reached by email at mga@michigan.gov. See also the Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority (MHESLA).

Missouri Student Loan Group administers the Missouri DHE Student Loan Program of the Missouri Department of Higher Education (DHE) and acts as the designated student loan guarantee agency for Missouri. MDHE has waived the default fee on the loans it guarantees since July 1999. For more information, call 1-800-473-6757 or 1-573-751-2361 or 1-573-751-3940, fax 1-573-751-6635, write to Missouri Department of Higher Education, 3515 Amazonas Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109, or send email to info@dhe.mo.gov.

Montana Guaranteed Student Loan Program (MGSLP) is the student loan guarantee agency for Montana. MGSLP is a state agency within the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. For more information, call 1-800-537-7508 or write to MGSLP, PO Box 203101, Helena, MT 59620-3101.

National Student Loan Program (NSLP) is a national student loan guarantee agency. They are the 7th largest student loan guarantee agency. For more information, call 1-800-735-8778 x6300 or 1-402-475-8686, fax 1-402-479-6658, write to PO Box 82507, Lincoln, NE 68501-2507 or 1300 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68508, or send email to nslpcs@nslp.org.

New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF), established 1962, is the designated student loan guarantee agency for New Hampshire. For more information, call 1-800-525-2577 or 1-603-225-6612, fax 1-603-224-2581, write to 4 Barrell Court, PO Box 877, Concord, NH 03302-0877, or send email to info@gsmr.org. Related web sites include Granite State Management & Resources (GSM&R)
and NHHEAF Network.

New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), established 1959, is the state secondary market and student loan guarantee agency for New Jersey. They offer Stafford, PLUS and Consolidation education loans, as well as the NJCLASS (New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students) alternative education loan. HESAA typically waives the 1% default fee for its borrowers. For more information, call 1-800-792-8670, write to PO Box 540, Trenton, NJ 08625.

New Mexico Student Loan Guarantee Corporation (NMSLGC), established 1981, is a secondary market, guarantee agency and lender for New Mexico. They are also known as New Mexico Student Loans (NMSL) and New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation (NMEAF). They offer Stafford, PLUS, Grad PLUS, Consolidation and private education loans. Lenders who sell their student loans to NMEAF (and are guaranteed by NMSLGC) typically offer repayment incentives that include a 0% default and origination fee, a 0.5% interest rate reduction at repayment, a 5% principal reduction after 48 months of on-time payments and a 0.25% interest rate reduction for automatic direct debit of monthly payments. NMSL also offers special incentives for teachers, nurses and doctors working in New Mexico. Their lender code is 822717. For more information, call 1-800-279-5063 or 1-505-345-3371, fax 1-505-345-6381, or write to PO Box 27020, Albuquerque, NM 87125 or 7400 Tiburon NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) [alternate link] is the student loan guarantor for New York State. They also administer the New York Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and other New York grant and scholarship programs. For more information, call 1-888-NYS-HESC (1-888-697-4372) or 1-518-473-1574, TDD 1-800-445-5234, or write to NY HESC, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12255.

North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) is the state student loan guarantee agency for North Carolina. For more information, call 1-919-549-8614, fax 1-919-549-8481, write to NCSEAA, PO Box 14103, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, or send email to information@ncseaa.edu. Related sites include the College Foundation Inc..

Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) is the designated student loan guaranty agency for Washington and Idaho. For customer service, call 1-800-979-4441 or send email to loaninfo@nela.net or repayment@nela.net. For more information, call 1-800-562-3001 or write to NELA, 190 Queen Anne Avenue N, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98109.

Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program (OGSLP), established 1965, is the designated student loan guarantor for Oklahoma. It operates as part of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. For more information, call 1-800-442-8642 or 1-405-234-4300, fax 1-405-234-4390, write to PO Box 3000, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-3000, or send email to info@ogslp.org.

Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) [alternate site] was previously the state student loan guarantee agency for Oregon. They also administer the Oregon Need Grant, Oregon Scholars Program and a variety of privately-funded scholarship programs. For more information, call 1-800-452-8807 or 1-541-687-7400, fax 1-541-687-7419, or write to Oregon Student Assistance Commission, 1500 Valley River Drive, Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401. Related web sites include their student site, GetCollegeFunds.org.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is the state secondary market and guarantor in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. For more information, call 1-800-343-1809 or 1-717-720-3100, or write to 1200 N 7th Street, Harrisburg PA 17102-1444.

Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority (RIHEAA), established 1977, is the state student loan guarantee agency for Rhode Island. For more information, call 1-800-922-9855 or 1-401-736-1100, TDD 1-401-734-9481, fax 1-401-732-3541, write to RIHEAA, 560 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI 02886 or send email to info@riheaa.org or loans@riheaa.org.

South Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, also known as the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation (SCSLC), is a secondary market and guarantor for student loans in South Carolina. SCSLC was established in 1974. They offer Stafford, PLUS, Consolidation and private education loans. For more information, call 1-800-347-2752.

Student Loan Guarantee Foundation of Arkansas (SLGFA), established 1966, is the student loan guarantee agency for Arkansas. For more information, call 1-800-622-3446, fax 1-501-688-7675, write to SLGFA, 219 South Victory Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-1884, or send email to slgfa@slgfa.org.

Student Loans of North Dakota (SLND) is the state student loan guarantee agency for North Dakota. They are administered by the Bank of North Dakota (BND), an education lender. For more information, call 1-800-554-2717 or 1-701-328-5753, fax 1-701-328-5716, TDD 1-800-643-3916, write to SLND, PO Box 5524, Bismarck ND 58506-5524, or send email to bndsl@state.nd.us.

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC), established 1974, is the designated state student loan guarantee agency in Tennessee. For more information, call 1-800-257-6526 (out of state) or 1-800-447-1523 (in state) or 1-615-741-1346, fax 1-615-741-6101, write to TSAC, 404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 1950, Nashville, TN 37243-0820, or send email to TSAC.aidinfo@state.tn.us

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) is a student loan guarantor located in Texas. For customer service, call 1-800-845-6267 or send email to cust.assist@tgslc.org. For more information, call 1-800-TG-LOANS (1-800-252-9743), TDD 1-512-219-4560, or write to TGSLC, PO Box 83100, Round Rock, TX 78683-3100. Related web sites include Adventures in Education, a site that provides information about career planning, school selection, and college funding for students, parents, teachers, counselors, and financial aid administrators.

USA Funds, also known as United Student Aid Funds (USAF), is a national guarantor of student loans and the designated guarantor for Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada and Wyoming. It is the nation's largest education loan guarantor. SMS Hawaii, the student loan secondary market for Hawaii, is an affiliate of USA Funds. For more information, call 1-888-272-5543 or send email to contact@usafunds.org.

Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) is a student loan guarantor and secondary market for Utah. UHEAA is a subsidiary of the Utah State Board of Regents. Lenders who sell their loans to UHEAA typically offer repayment incentives that include a 0% default fee, a 0% origination fee, a 1.25% interest rate reduction for automatic direct debit of monthly payments, and a 2% interest rate reduction after 48 months of on-time payments. For more information, call 1-877-336-7378 or 1-801-321-7200, fax 1-801-321-7299, TDD 1-801-321-7130, write to Board of Regents Building, The Gateway, 60 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284, or send email to uheaa@utahsbr.edu.

Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), established 1965, is a secondary market and guarantee agency for student loans in Vermont. For loan information, call 1-800-798-8722 or 1-802-655-4050. For more information, call 1-800-642-3177 or 1-802-655-9602, fax 1-802-654-3765, TDD 1-802-654-3766, write to PO Box 2000, Winooski VT 05404, or send email to info@vsac.org.

Private Education Loan Guarantee Agencies

The Education Resources Institute (TERI) is a national guarantor of private education loans, established in 1985. For more information, call 1-800-255-TERI (8374) or 1-617-426-0681, fax 1-888-FAX TERI (329-8374), write to PO Box 312, Boston, MA 02117 or 31 St. James Ave, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02116, or send email to custserv@teri.org.

TERI supports the Higher Education Information Center (HEIC), which provides free information and counseling regarding careers, education programs, and financial aid. HEIC is based at the Boston Public Library and operates the Career and Learning Line (CALL) toll-free hotline (1-800-442-1171) for Massachusetts students to find out information about financial aid, college, and careers.

No-cost Student Loan Consolidation

No-cost Student Loan Consolidation
A no-cost student loan consolidation – doesn’t that just sound too good to be true? Think about it. You have just accrued thousands of dollars in debt through student loans after 4 years of college, or possibly even more. Then, a company offers to take all of your loans off of your hands, put them into one central loan, and do it all for free! Well, while it might not be too good to be true, it all depends around your particular situation, which could make this a “free” process, or could still work out to the benefit of the consolidation company that you are working with throughout the process.

How A Student Loan Consolidation Works
Here is how the student loan consolidation works. You have used up thousands of dollars in student loans to pay your way through college, obtain housing throughout college, and pay for other odds-and-ends while attending college. A student loan consolidation then takes all these different loans, pays for each of them, at which time you then pay the student loan consolidation company for the total amount of loans taken out during college.

Example of Student Loan Consolidation
If you were to have outstanding loans of $5000 to one company, $6000 to another, and $9000 to a third, the student loan consolidation allows you to owe $20000 to one company, rather than to three. This can save you money in the long run, as these companies also may be able to offer you a competitive interest rate, which means you will be paying less overall for your student loans in a shorter amount of time and to only one company.

Potential Student Loan Consolidation Problems
Problems can occur with student loan consolidations if you catch a deal that does not work out favorably to your situation. For instance, if you choose a no-cost student loan consolidation that does not offer you a low interest rate, you could actually end up paying them more than you originally would have! It is important that you choose a company not for their “no-cost” approach, but for their willingness to get your student loans paid off with a consolidation that promotes a quick pay-off with minimal interest rates.

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 No-Cost Student Loan Consolidation at www.NextStudent.com .

Student Loan Consolidation – An Effective Way To Reduce Debt By Refinancing

Most students don’t have thousands of dollars to pay every year for college tuition fees. This is why college students obtain educational loans to make it through college in the way of student loans.

Finishing one’s education is not a cheap task today. In fact, in most cases it can place a student into debt before even entering a career.

The idea of refinancing with student loan consolidation is to reduce your monthly total student loan payments. Refinancing your student loans could help you by getting lower interest rates and not having the hassle of several monthly loan payments.

It is best to consider a federal student loan consolidation first, before any other private loans. This way, you can enjoy the benefits of the low interest rate of federal loans.

Student loan consolidation rates will vary depending on your credit history and by how you deal with your current lenders. Refinancing rates of federal student loans adjust while the economy changes.

Every lending facility has different qualifications required for refinancing student loans.

When choosing the most suitable student loan consolidation refinancing program, remember that the interest rate should never exceed the current consolidation rate of your current loans.

There are many lenders and consolidation centers that offer student loan consolidation refinancing.

Student Loan Consolidation Centers Should Have These Four Common Aspects

1. Offers minimal rates of interest, presently 1.625 percent fixed interest for the period of the student’s federal loan; at present, the rate being offered by the "Department of Education" is a percentage of 3.37.

2. Through consolidation, a student can cut their payment every month by a maximum of 60 percent using student loan consolidation centers.

3. Using auto debit, one can get an added 0.25 percent rate discount with student loan consolidation centers.

4. Student loan consolidation centers have payment options that are flexible.

Three Student Loan Consolidation Facts You Should Consider

1. Students must only consolidate loans which are variable or changing rates, such as the Stafford Loans, and never fixed-rate loans such as Perkins loans, since Perkins loans are set at a fixed rate, therefore there is no benefit financially and you are unable to acquire loan forgiveness provisions services like nursing or teaching.

2. Student loan consolidation programs are never identical between lenders having fluctuating grace periods, interest rates, late payments penalties, and loan repayment period. As student loan consolidation will lower your monthly payments, but you should note that extra interest will accumulate over the span of the loan and will drastically raise the total cost of the loan.

3. To lower your student loan cost and its interest rate, you can opt not to consolidate all your available student loans; you can decide to include unsubsidized loans only or leave out loans with high interest with a low loan balance.

It’s best to take some time to consult and seek advice from a lender with a student loan consolidation center on which loan options are best and right for your financial situation before you consolidate.

Dean Shainin is a consultant specializing in student loan consolidation. Get valuable resources, tools, information and more articles on student loan consolidation, visit this site: http://www.studentloanconsolidationtips.com

Get free valuable online tips for debt consolidation from his: Student Loan Consolidation Center website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dean_Shainin

Consolidation Loan Discounts

The following is a list of lenders that provide Consolidation Loans. It includes a basic comparison chart that highlights the loan discounts offered by each lender. Only consolidators that offer loan discounts are included in this list. More information about consolidation loans can be found in the consolidation loan and private consolidation loan sections of FinAid.

The lenders are listed in alphabetical order. No significance should be inferred from the order in which the lenders are listed.

Many lenders offer loan discounts to encourage borrowers to consolidate their loans with them. With the repeal of the single holder rule, borrowers now have a choice of consolidation lenders.

The most common loan discounts include a 0.25% interest rate reduction for having your monthly loan payments direct debited from your bank account and a 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months of on-time monthly payments for as long as you continue making on-time payments. (However, with the changes in lender subsidies introduced by College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, many lenders are eliminating the 1% rate reduction after 36 months on new loans originated on or after October 1, 2007.)

Note, however, that if you are late with a single monthly payment or obtain a deferment or forbearance, you lose the interest rate reduction permanently. Less than 10% of borrowers succeed in obtaining the full benefit of an on-time payment discount. (Even borrowers who sign up for automatic direct debit of the monthly payments can miss a payment if they have insufficient funds in their account.)

We recommend focusing on the discounts that you can't lose, such as discounts for signing up for direct debit of the monthly payments. Next look for discounts that are more immediate in nature, such as those that offer a reduction in principal or a rebate of the loan fees. When a repayment incentive requires on-time payments, prefer those that involve a shorter time period before you can qualify for the discount. A discount that is suspended for a short time period after you are late with a payment is better than one that terminates after a single late payment.

Be sure to ask the lender whether there is a minimum balance to obtain the discounts. Often the discounts require a loan balance that is higher than the minimum balance required to consolidate. Also ask what is considered an "on-time" payment; usually this is within 10-15 days of the due date.

These lenders all reserve the right to change or discontinue their loan discount programs at any time without notice. You should always check the lender's web site for the latest information on their borrower benefit programs.

See Student Loan Discounts for other important caveats on the hidden gotchas of loan discount programs and tips on identifying the best loan discount programs.


Lender Direct Debit (ACH/EFT) Discounts On-time Payment Discounts Other Discounts, Notes
Collegiate Risk Management Inc. (CRM) 0.25% interest rate reduction 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months $7,500 minimum
EduCare Financial 0.25% interest rate reduction 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months
Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) 0.50% interest rate reduction $3,500 minimum
GradLoans.com 0.50% interest rate reduction ($40,000 minimum); 0.25% otherwise 1.0% interest rate reduction after 24 months ($40,000 minimum); 1.0% rate reduction after 36 months otherwise $7,500
SunTrust Education Loans 0.25% interest rate reduction 1% interest rate reduction after 24 months $10,000 minimum
U.S. Bank
Effective 6/1/08 $100,000 minimum
U.S. Department of Education
Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program 0.25% interest rate reduction
VFI (Vista Financial Inc.) 0.25% interest rate reduction 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months $10,000 minimum

Looking at Student Loan Debt Consolidations

Many students have had to take out loans to help pay for school, and almost just as many are having a difficult time paying off those loans now that they are out of school. For some of them, even their parents are working to pay off some of these loans. Many of the people in this situation are often wondering if what their options are for paying these off faster and easier.

Student loan consolidation is often the answer to the problems. With student loan consolidations, the numerous and hard to pay bills are turned into one low, monthly payment to help make living easier. Thanks to these low payments, it is often easier for people to pay for their other living expenses, like groceries, and even the occasional movie ticket.

When undergoing a student loan consolidations there are several different things that people must consider. The first and maybe biggest thing is grouping. Many students have both federal student loans and private student loans. It is very important to keep these two types of student loans separated when undergoing student loan consolidation because the federal student loans offer a few important things that you can no longer get if they are consolidated with private student loans.

One of these wonderful things is tax breaks on the interest rates. As you all know, tax breaks can be really nice to have. If you try to combine federal student loans with private student loans though, you will lose this because it is impossible on the private loans.

Another thing that you can look forward to with federal student loans, that is impossible when your student loan consolidation combines both federal and private student loans, is the possible pardons on specific loans that you can get.

When you are looking at the interest rates offered, you may be told that your interest rate is lower than the rates you currently pay. This will pretty much never be true. Your rate will always land somewhere between what your highest and lowest rates are.

If you find a student loan consolidation program that requires an upfront fee, then there is a very good chance that you have stumbled onto a scam. Scams are something that you defiantly want to watch out for when you are looking for a student loan debt consolidation program.

School loan consolidation doesn't have to be a major headache. By doing research on the Internet and using free student loan debt consolidation resources you'll be able to find a program that will save you money and headaches!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hassan_Zaka

Student Loan Consolidation - What You Should Know

Gone are the days when education was very cheap. In the modern world, the expense on education has increased like never before, which has compelled everyone to undertake a student loan. Hence, after graduation most of us carry a huge financial burden of repaying this loan. Now think what will happen, if this loan gets added with other responsibilities like mortgage, car payments, and rent and, may be some obligations?

Examining and researching alternatives that could help you out with this financial burden has been considered the best idea by many experts. They believe that the best place to start this is your student loan.

Universities and colleges use several of the sources to secure loan for the student. Usually, one bank does not issue long period loans, like a four year loan or one year loan. Basically, multiple funds from several lending institutes are required to get through his college. That is the reason why to repay the loans you end up in writing multiple checks per month. No doubt, they carry different billing cycles and at the same time different interest rates.

Few months in the beginning it would go all fine but a time will come when everything would go haywire. So, to keep yourself out of such situation, make sure that you have taken the help of student loan consolidation. However, if you are taking help of this system it does not mean that you need to be in financial crisis. It is just smart and neat money management.

Actually, when you consolidate student loans you get a new loan, with the help of which you can pay off other multiple loans. The benefit of this is that you need to pay one bill instead of so many. In short, your life will get simplified to large extent.

Advantages

Apart from helping you out of multiple checks, there are also other advantages of student loan consolidation.

• If your consolidation interest loan rate student is less than the average of your multiple loans taken together, you will be able to pay a lower monthly installment to the lender. This saved money can be invested somewhere.

• Might be you could avail some more features like free last month, rebates and other attractive incentives from the new lending institution.

• Consolidation loan student also helps you avoid bad mark in your credit report as here you would be paying all your loans on time.

Disadvantages

There are also some drawbacks of student loan consolidation that you should consider before you speak to a smooth-talking consolidation counselor.

• Lower monthly payment does not always means that you would be able to save money. In certain cases, you do get a lower monthly repayment but at the stake of longer repayment duration. Longer repayment period means higher loan cost.

• There might be attached some hidden clauses with the student loan consolidation.

A best consolidation loan student can save you a lot of money and at the same time ease your financial burden. However, always remember to shop for your student loan consolidation and compare price just like you do with while buying some financial products.

Daisy Wilson is a bank manager in a reputed bank. Whenever she gets some time out of his busy schedule, she writes content and articles for blogs and web sites

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daisy_Wilson

Student Loan Consolidation – How Does It Work?

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.

Types of Loans That Can be Part of Student Loan Consolidation Plans

As you are aware there can be several types of student loan consolidation for you. Broadly however there can be two categories. These are Federal Student Loan Consolidation Plan and Private Student Loan Consolidation plan for you. Consolidation is made applicable to both types of loans.

Stafford loans, private and federal, subsidized or not are prime subjects for such student loan consolidation. You can also consolidate the HEAL, HPSL and Parent PLUS loans availed. The PLUS loan includes the federal direct loans, consolidation loans, and direct loans. Other loans that could be consolidated are Perkins Loans and Nursing Schools Loans.

About the federal and private loan consolidation processes

Federal loans as well as the direct consolidated loans cannot be consolidated once again without obtaining or including additional loans. If you have already effected the student loan consolidation in respect of your undergraduate loans you can also add the graduation loans at later dates. Since these are additional loans such loan consolidation shall be permissible.

You may also like to consolidate the private loans you had obtained as student. Never ever try to consolidate federal with private loans that results in private consolidated student loans. Such consolidation will deprive you of many benefits you could obtain with federal loan consolidation process.

Drawbacks of consolidating federal with private loans

Several drawbacks occur when you try to consolidate federal loans with the private loans. Some of them are –

• With federal loan consolidation you can defer payments if you wish to resume your academic career. No such facilities are available under private loan consolidation plans.

• Forbearance despite all economic hardship is not possible in case of private loan consolidation though permissible in case of federal loan consolidation.

• No income tax deductions as in case of the federal loan consolidation interests are available in private consolidation plans.

• You have chances to be forgiven in case of federal loan consolidation that is not permissible under private loan consolidation plans.

• Like federal loan consolidation the military services, working as trainer in the economic development zones etc may not render you for any relaxation under private plans.

• Private loans do not die a natural death in case of your untimely demise. Your heirs and successors in interests would be responsible for repayment.

• Private loan consolidation rates are variable while the federal loan rates are firm and often better.

Federal student loan consolidation should be your first priority

If you are going for college loan consolidation your best bet would be to consolidate your federal loans first. The federal loan consolidation carries the best student loan consolidation rate and will be highly beneficial in financial terms compared to the private loan consolidations. Once you carry out your federal loan consolidation successfully it will boost your credit rating. In result you will become eligible for much better terms and conditions going for the private loan consolidation at a later stage.

Frequently Asked Questions About Student Loan Consolidation

A person who goes for the student loan consolidation may have a few questions in mind to ask about such consolidation process. You may be concerned about the student loan consolidation interest rates so that you can pick up the best among them. Conversely you may be concerned with the payments you make while your loan consolidation is in process.

The first question that comes to your mind always is why consolidate. The answer is that you consolidate your student loans to reduce the monthly premiums, get the principal reduced, enhance your savings so that you could use the extra money fruitfully or repay the loans much earlier than the scheduled dates.

Best time to go for consolidation student loans

If you can consolidate your student loans immediately after your graduation within the grace period you are likely to derive the maximum advantages out of such consolidation. The basic advantage of consolidating loans in the grace period is that you can lock down the lowest interest rates payable. Such consolidation is one of the best options when you try to improve your monthly cash flow or extend the repayment time span. The best part of it is that you can easily get some additional discount financially benefiting you in the process.

You will however have to pay on your loan dues while your loan consolidation is in process. Normally the process of student loan consolidation can take time in the range of 30-90 days. It is extremely important that you do not become a defaulter during this period which will render you ineligible for such loan consolidation.

Effects of the time taken for student loan consolidation

Since your consolidator will keep up to date track of your loan transactions the consolidation will be accordingly revised basing on the payments you have made since you submitted your application. The time span could be faster at 30-40 days or a bit delayed at 80-90 days.

Normally the period taken for processing and approval of your student loan consolidation application is dependent on the payoff statements and the response of your lenders. The Loan Verification Certificates, also called the LVCs may take some time to come from these lenders. However they will come and you will have your loan consolidated and previous accounts closed.

There could even be some circumstances, though rare, where you could sell your loans to others.

What do you do in case you are ineligible for student loan consolidation?

Under certain circumstances you may become ineligible for student loan consolidation. Such situations are -

• When you have already consolidated your loans earlier.

• If your loan amount is less than $20,000.

• When you owe repayment to only one lender.

If you are perturbed about the steps to be taken in such cases you may try one of the following options -

• You may consider some private student loan consolidation plan.

• You could refinance your home or some other properties to pay off the loan amount.

• Best student loan consolidation rate can give you income tax exemptions.

• You may obtain a personal loan from a bank or credit union.

Albert William to day is considered to be a master of student loan consolidation for long. Presently he is the professor of economics in a leading American University and has been the chief speaker in a series of seminars and meetings on the best student loan consolidation rates.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Albert_William

Student Loan Consolidation: What Do the Numbers Mean?

Student loan consolidation is when you work with a lender to combine two or more student loans together so that you only have to make one lower payment each month instead of the multiple payments you would normally make.

Should decide to consolidate your loans you will find that there are many student loan consolidation programs to help you.

Before you decide on your student loan consolidation help you should think about how to group the loans.

If you are one of those people looking for federal student loan consolidation you will want to keep them separate from private student loans. The reason for this is that you can get breaks on federal student loans that are not offered with private student loans, and if you just clump them all together then those offers are no longer available.

The very next thing that you will want to look at, before you even pick a place to use, is the student loan consolidation rates available. Remember you want to work to reduce your payments, not increase them.

When you look at the interest rates available you want to remember that the rates for your consolidation are your weighted average of your current rates of your current interest rates. It is usually rounded up to the closest eighth (1/8) of a percent, and finally topped at about 8.25 percent.

If all of your interest rates are different then the interest rate for your student loan consolidations will be in between them. This by multiplying each amount of the loans with their corresponding interest rate, then adding the total of each of those together, and finally dividing that total by the sum of each of the original loans (without the rate included) together. For example, loan one was $10,000 at 5% interest rate, sum two was $5,000 at 6.25% interest rate, and loan three was another $5,000 at 5.75% interest rate. You would first multiply the loans and interest rates: 10,000*.05= 500; $5,000*.0625= 312.5; $5,000*.0575=287.5. Next you add the totals together: 500+312.5+287.5=1100. Now you add just the totals of the original loans together: $10,000+$5,000+$5,000=$20,000. And finally you divide the two totals together: 1,100/20,000=.055. This means that in this case the interest rate for the consolidated loans would be 5.5%.

If somebody promises that your interest rate will be lower than what you pay now, they are lying. It will be lower than your highest rate, but it will also be higher than your lowest rate. During this process you should always keep in mind that the amount of interest you end up paying will be kept the same throughout the entire time that you are paying off your loan.

When you go for a student loan consolidation, you will find that there are no fees or anything to pay. It is just a slight increase in your interest rates. For those few that do require fees, they will never require them up front, if they do, it is a scam.

Federal Student Loan Interest Rates

As you decide to go for one of those Federal Student Loan Consolidation plans you may be concerned about the interest rates you have to pay. Although the plan as well as the interest rates are largely regulated by the federal laws in force, you may also have a close look and make an in depth study of the plan you have opted for.

Student loan interest rates under the Federal plans are ordinarily determined on the basis of the average of all student loan interest rates taken together. The rate of also fluctuates periodically. For example the Federal Student Loan Consolidation interest rates during July 1st 2006 to June 30th 2008 were 6.8%. The current rate is lower at 6% only.

Variable student loan interest rates

Student loans that were disbursed before the first day of July 2006 carry variable interest rates. Such rates could be converted into static one with loan consolidation. On consolidation these loans are readjusted on the first day of July every corresponding year.

Rates of interest have undergone changes with effect from 01.07.2008. Stafford loans that are in grace period have been reduced to 3.6% against the existing 6.6%. Such loans in repayment now carry interest rates of 4.21% reduced from prevailing 7.22%. Similarly the PLUS loan rates have also been reduced to 5.01% from the existing 8.02%.

For instant information you can log on to any of the numerous websites that provides such information on student loan consolidation interest rates. However it would be better to make some research about the credibility of the provider before accepting the information or advice provided.

Basics of the student loan consolidation interest

Interest rates for the Stafford loans both subsidized and unsubsidized ones fluctuate periodically though they never go beyond 8.25%. However when you consolidate your loans the weighted average of all the prevailing interest rates of your existing loans are taken in to consideration to calculate the applicable interest rate.

Till July 2008 various types of federal loans had interest rates in the range of 4.125% to 8.02% with perking loans having the minimum and PLUS loans the maximum interest rates. The ratio of the previous consolidations and existing consolidations are taken into consideration in such cases.

Consolidation during grace period could be beneficial

Though ordinarily the consolidator cannot guarantee you any specific rate or reduction before the consolidation process is over it could be better to go for such consolidation in the grace period. For example, if you have taken a student loan prior to the first day of July 2006 you might be having a variable interest rate applicable.

In such cases it could be beneficial for you to have your college loan consolidation during the grace period to have the best student loan consolidation rates. The only point to look after is that your application should reach the consolidator before the grace period is over. On receipt the consolidator will include the end date of your grace period and will complete the consolidation process on expiry of the grace period and consolidate student loans giving you a reduced rate.

Albert William is one of the well known exponents of methods for college loan consolidation. Presently he is the professor of economics in a leading American University and has been writing articles on how to consolidate student loans in a popular newspaper as their columnist.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Albert_William

Student Loan Consolidation

The best course of action to take sometimes isn't clear until you've listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Tired from paying interest on student loans every month, afraid of the deadline of paying back loans, there is a solution of your tensions, STUDENT LOAN Consolidation. In student loan consolidation, a student may enjoy many benefits; some of them are following below.

1.lower monthly payments

2.only one monthly payment rather than paying separately

3.Student loan consolidation rates are very low, fixed interest rate cannot exceed 8.25% at any time, coupled with national interest rates at a 40-year low.

4.For the application of student loan consolidation, you don’t have to offer any credit card check or processing fees.

5.the terms and payment plans of student loan consolidation are very flexible, the provider can mode them according to your financial needs

6.While you don't need to consolidate in order to take advantage of this one, you can knock an additional .25% off your rate by making your monthly payment electronically. This electronic debit option does more than save you money - it decreases your chances of forgetting a payment.

7.The option to prepay your loan at any time without incurring a penalty

Sometimes a student got confused about the qualification of applying for student loan consolidation. But now government clears that students who are still in their grace period or cannot re pay their owe money on a student loans can qualify to get student loan consolidation or those who are still in school may consolidate their government-guaranteed loans

Today in the market, there are many companies offering student loans to the college students, but when it comes to their interest rates, they are charging very high. A student has to pay interest on their loans, every month, which is quite impossible for some due to lack of money and time. When it comes time to pay back their student loans, it can be a real burden and a distraction from their career. For those, student loan consolidation is a best deal and step to follow. In this, you don’t even get low interest rates, but can enjoy other facilities including grace period of six to nine months, only one monthly payments, tension-free mind etc.

Due to existence of government sector, a student has an opportunity to enjoy the offers given by the government as they are quite competitive than private. Student loan consolidation rates is fixed and cant be changed after signing the contracts and whenever student has graduated or ceased to be a full time student, he can also enjoy the benefit of grace period of six to nine months which allows him to get employed and repay their loans easily.

That's the latest from the Loan Consolidation authorities. Once you're familiar with these ideas, you'll be ready to move to the next level.

7 Compelling Reasons to Get Federal Student Loan Consolidation

Fast Track to Student Loan Consolidation

Consolidation isn't a foreign word and it's not too big of a word to understand. Consolidation is easy. It combines all of a student's loans into one payment. It's that simple. It's easy as pie and will let you breathe easier too. Student loan consolidation is convenient and allows you to combine all your loans. In addition, consolidation is no longer only geared toward federal loans. Now students also can consolidate their private loans.

Student loan consolidation
Tired from paying interest on student loans every month, afraid of the deadline of paying back loans, there is a solution of your tensions, STUDENT LOAN Consolidation. In student loan consolidation, a student may enjoy many benefits; some of them are following below.

1.lower monthly payments
2.only one monthly payment rather than paying separately
3.Student loan consolidation rates are very low, fixed interest rate cannot exceed 8.25% at any time, coupled with national interest rates at a 40-year low.
4.For the application of student loan consolidation, you don't have to offer any credit card check or processing fees.
5.the terms and payment plans of student loan consolidation are very flexible, the provider can mode them according to your financial needs
6.While you don't need to consolidate in order to take advantage of this one, you can knock an additional .25% off your rate by making your monthly payment electronically. This electronic debit option does more than save you money - it decreases your chances of forgetting a payment.
7.The option to prepay your loan at any time without incurring a penalty
Sometimes a student got confused about the qualification of applying for student loan consolidation. But now government clears that students who are still in their grace period or cannot re pay their owe money on a student loans can qualify to get student loan consolidation or those who are still in school may consolidate their government-guaranteed loans

Now Is the Right Time to Consolidate Student Loans

Students graduate from college with that prize possession: the much-anticipated college degree. Then there are those students who graduate college with that added bonus: a stack of student loans. While searching for the ultimate job, the last thing a student needs is worrying about how to pay off a ton of student loans.

Today in the market, there are many companies offering student loans to the college students, but when it comes to their interest rates, they are charging very high. A student has to pay interest on their loans, every month, which is quite impossible for some due to lack of money and time. When it comes time to pay back their student loans, it can be a real burden and a distraction from their career. For those, student loan consolidation is a best deal and step to follow. In this, you don't even get low interest rates, but can enjoy other facilities including grace period of six to nine months, only one monthly payments, tension-free mind etc.

Due to existence of government sector, a student has an opportunity to enjoy the offers given by the government as they are quite competitive than private. Student loan consolidation rates is fixed and cant be changed after signing the contracts and whenever student has graduated or ceased to be a full time student, he can also enjoy the benefit of grace period of six to nine months which allows him to get employed and repay their loans easily.

With federal student loan consolidation, rates are fixed. Students also can take advantage of deferment, forbearance and cancellation options.

Another highlight of student loan consolidation is the extension of payments. Many students find they can extend a 10-year repayment plan to as long as 30 years. This depends on a borrower's balance, so it's important to check out the options. Student loan consolidation offers students the same interest rate on the same amount, but for a longer term, hence better affordability.

Student Loan Consolidation With a Low Interest Rate Loan

Every year, millions of high school seniors anticipate going to college. They apply for their student loans and choose their courses and look forward to the day when they graduate. However that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare when they are hit with the sudden realization that they are so far in debt that it will takes many years to see the light of day.


Some panic when they realize just how far in student loan debt that they are. Fortunately, there is a way to minimize the payments you will make each month and still maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Student loan consolidation is a process where all of the student loans and consolidate them into one. This can be very useful especially when the student has multiple loans with different interest rates. There are many benefits to student loan consolidation:


You will only have to make one payment each month and it will be the same amount each month
The interest rate will only reflect the consolidation loan amount
Builds your credit up back up to a good level because it will show that all of your loans are paid off and that the consolidation loan payment is on time each month
The previous loans will be paid in full, however you will still need to pay the consolidation loan
The interest rate will be less than you would have if you had several loans out

When you decide to apply, you must first decide if you want to use a private lender or a federal student loan consolidation.

A federal loan requires you to be at least ten thousand dollars in debt and you must be a graduate, and also you cannot have any defaulted federal loans. The major disadvantage to a student consolidation loan is that once you consolidate, it is a done deal. If the federal interest rates fall, your rate will stay the same.

Student consolidation loans are not difficult to find, there are many lenders who will work with you to set up a payment plan that allows to maintain a good lifestyle. It is however critical that you find a lender with the lowest interest rates. This can be done very quickly by using the Internet. You just need to research any lender you find thoroughly -- not only to ensure that it is a reputable company, but also to find the lowest rates.

Paul Sarwana offers student loan consolidation information to help debtors build confidence in improving their financial situation. He runs an informational website that provides tips on finding debt consolidation lenders. Get more student loan consolidation information at http://www.debtfirms.com.

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