Consolidating your student loans is a good idea. You will save plenty of money if you do so. For someone who has several loans going out to several places (like me), consolidation can mean a reduction in stress as well. It can be quite frustrating going through your list of lenders and getting several loan bills every month. It’s not very fun to have to look through a pile of these every month. Consolidating student loans means that you get one bill for all your loans every month — one piece of paper to have to deal with.
By consolidating your student loans, you greatly simplify things. Each loan you have has a different interest rate. You pay each one separately. They have different due dates and different ending dates. It can all get quite confusing. You might think you paid all your loans for the month, then you’re zapped with another one you forgot about. It is a lot of paper work to keep track of. I had eight different loans I had to keep track of. When I had enough, I became interested in consolidating my student loans.
By consolidating student loans, you can lock in one interest rate. Last summer (2003) the interest rates on Stafford federal student loans dispersed since 1998 dropped. With the lower interest rates, you can save thousands over the course of several years. This could mean saving hundreds of dollars every month in your repayment of these loans. My loan payments dropped by half after consolidating my loans.
Sometimes the companies who consolidate student loans have deals they offer if you go with their company. Some, for instance, might offer you a savings if you pay on time for so many consecutive months.
In short, consolidating student loans means that a company takes all of your original loans and pays them off; in return, you have a new loan combining your balances. Normally your new loan’s lower interest rate is fixed, and you do not have to worry about fluctuating rates. One side note to consider: if you are almost paid up on your loans, consolidation probably wouldn’t be worth the trouble. This is for those who see a long road ahead for their payments.
Check out Collegiate Funding at www.collegiatefunding.com to find a company who can help you with consolidating student loans. Collegiatefunding.com is a free resource for you. They will provide you with guidance on the financial aid process and they will help you get free college funding information. They have several good links on their site to help you out in different aspects of the financial aid process. Click on the “Consolidation” link to find out about getting lower interest rates and saving money.
By going here, they will help you to lower your monthly payments by up to 53 percent. The qualifications are explained online. It is nice to note that there are no fees or credit checks in order to receive federal loan consolidation. Fill out an online form, and submit your query. Consolidation is a good idea.
By Laura Hogg