Are you a May graduate with student loans looking at six-month grace periods that are ending sometime this month? If you’ve got multiple student loans going out of grace and into repayment, you’ll soon be faced with trying to juggle multiple bills, multiple due dates, and multiple monthly payments.
But you could eliminate the hassle of multiple student loan payments and help make your student loan repayment easier to manage by consolidating your eligible federal student loans with a Federal Consolidation Loan from NextStudent, a leading Phoenix-based education funding company.
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What’s Federal Student Loan Consolidation?
Student loan consolidation allows you to combine your eligible federal student loans into one single consolidated loan with one lender, one monthly bill, and one convenient monthly payment. To be eligible to consolidate your student loans, you can’t currently be enrolled in school more than half time. The student loans you’re looking to consolidate must be in repayment, in a grace period, or in an authorized deferment or forbearance period.
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Consolidating Federal Parent PLUS Loans
Parents with federal parent loans are also eligible to consolidate. Parents can consolidate the PLUS loans they took out to help you pay for school as soon as the PLUS loans have been fully disbursed and have entered repayment, even if you’re still in school full time. Although your parents can consolidate their PLUS loans, you won’t be able to consolidate your own student loans with your parents’ PLUS loans.
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Take Advantage of All the Benefits of Federal Student Loan Consolidation
No fees
No cost to apply
No credit checks
No co-signers required
No prepayment penalties
Fixed interest rate
Repayment terms up to 30 years
One single monthly payment for all your eligible federal student loans
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There are never any charges or credit checks to apply for a Federal Consolidation Loan with NextStudent. And there are no prepayment penalties, so you’ll never be charged extra fees just for paying more than the minimum each month or for paying off your student loan consolidation early.
Student loan consolidation lets you lock in a monthly payment with a fixed interest rate. You may also be able to cut your monthly student loan payments by as much as 50 percent when you consolidate your federal student loans with NextStudent. A federal student loan consolidation could extend the repayment term on your student loans by up to 20 years; by extending your payments over a longer repayment term, a consolidation loan could lower the amount you have to pay each month.
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Private Student Loan Consolidation
If you have private student loans in addition to (or instead of) federal student loans, you won’t be able to consolidate your private student loans under the federal student loan consolidation program. But you may be eligible to consolidate your private loans separately with a NextStudent Private Consolidation Loan, which offers the same convenience of a single consolidated loan for your private student loans.
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NextStudent believes 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 simple. Learn more about Student Loans, Private Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation at NextStudent.com.
How to Apply for a Private Loan
Before borrowing a private loan, carefully consider your debt and repayment obligations on all loans. Determine how much you need to borrow by working out a budget for your educational costs and subtracting all of your available resources for those costs.
Remember: Borrow only what you need. Private loans must be repaid in addition to any federal loans you may borrow. You should not, and may not, be permitted to borrow a private loan for more than your cost of attendance for the period of enrollment (usually the school year) minus any other federal, state, and institutional aid you have or will be awarded for that period.
If you've decided to apply for a private loan, here are the general steps to follow to begin the application process.
- Contact your financial aid office to inform them of your interest in a private loan and, in some cases, to obtain the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification Form.
- Check with your lender regarding an online application/promissory note process and whether the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification Form is part of this process or is handled a different way. Ask if the lender needs additional documentation to determine whether you qualify for the loan. If an online promissory note is not available and the lender instead sends you a paper promissory note and a Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification Form, follow directions for completing and returning the forms.
- Your lender will provide you with several loan disclosures before funding your private loan. Read them carefully as they provide you with important information about accepting and cancelling your loan. Upon approval of your loan, you will receive a disclosure from the lender that requires you to accept the terms and conditions of the loan within a specified deadline. At this point, you should continue to carefully consider whether you need a private loan. Prior to disbursement of your loan, you will receive one last disclosure. You will have three business days after this disclosure to make your decision. After the three-day period, if you have not indicated that you want to cancel the loan, the lender will disburse your loan money.
- Contact your lender's customer service center with questions regarding interest rates, loan terms, etc.
- Maintain your application/promissory note and other loan-related records in one file to help you understand your loan obligations. Your promissory note describes your rights and responsibilities associated with your private loan.
- Borrow only what you need. Be an informed borrower. Know the total amount you have borrowed, the interest rate applicable to your loan(s), and your repayment requirements for all loans you borrow.
How to compare private loans?
You should begin researching the various private loans available. Make sure when you consider the loan terms, you compare apples-to-apples so that you can make the most informed decision possible.
For each private loan that you research, find out the following information:
- Interest rates: What is the interest rate on the loan? How often does it vary and how is it calculated? How does obtaining a creditworthy endorser or cosigner affect the interest rate? When does interest begin accruing? If you cannot afford to make payments while attending school, will the lender postpone payments and allow the interest to be capitalized (added to the principal)? if so, how often will capitalization occur?
- Loan fees: What are the loan fees? How are they collected — are they charged on top of the requested loan amount or subtracted from the total loan amount to be disbursed? Will you be charged a fee when you enter repayment? Are there fees associated with prepaying the loan?
- Repayment terms and period: When will you begin repayment on the loan? Can repayment be postponed until after you graduate or leave school? What are your various repayment options and what are their advantages and disadvantages? How long will you have to repay the loan? If you use the maximum or minimum repayment period, what amount of interest will you pay over the life of the loan? What is the charge for a late payment?
- Repayment incentives: Are there any rewards for a certain number of on-time payments in terms of principal reductions, interest rate reductions, or forgiveness of remaining balances below a certain amount?
How to Save Thousands of Dollars by Choosing the Right College
Here is a simple tip how to save thousands of dollars by choosing the right college.
What you need to know about financial aid BEFORE choosing a college.
With the high cost of a college education, no one wants to pay more than they must. Yet thousands of families pay too much for college every year because they don’t understand the basics of financial aid and don’t know the right questions to ask. So let’s learn what questions to ask.
Basics Part I
There are three types of financial aid for college: grants or scholarships, loans and work-study.
Grants and scholarships are free money that you do not need to pay back.
Most grants and scholarships come from the federal and state government or from the individual college.
Loans need to be paid back after college.
There are many loan programs available from the federal and state government. Most of these loans have fairly low interest rates. There are also private loans available although these generally have a higher interest rate.
Work-study is a job offered on the campus of the college.
Basics Part II
Need based aid vs Merit based aid
Need based aid is given by all colleges to students who have need. Anyone who can’t pay the full cost of the college has need.
A form called the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) determines the amount of need for federal grants and scholarships. Many highly selective colleges also require a form known as the Profile form The FAFSA form is filled out after January 1 of the year the student will first attend college.
The FAFSA and Profile forms ask questions about the income of the parents and student using information that you gave on your tax returns. These forms also ask questions about the amount of money you have in savings or investments. The Profile form is more detailed than the FAFSA form. Once these forms are completed the government uses the FAFSA form to determine how much your family can pay for college. This is your expected family contribution or your EFC. Your EFC is the same regardless of the cost of the college. Similarly the individual colleges who use the Profile use that form to determine what your family can pay for college.
Your need is the cost of the college you are looking at minus your EFC. For example, if you are looking at a college that costs $20,000 a year and your EFC is $5,000, your need at that college is $15,000. If you are looking at a college that costs $40,000 a year your EFC is still $5,000. Your need at this college is $35,000.
Merit-based aid includes scholarships typically for students who have good grades or have some other special talent such as athletic or musical talent. Most highly selective colleges offer little or no merit-based aid.
Finally, in looking at colleges you should ignore the cost of the college. Yes, you read that right. Ignore the stated cost of the college when you are first deciding which colleges to investigate further. You will see why later in this article.
So now you know the basics. Now comes the fun part: How to save money by asking the right questions.
Questions to ask the colleges
Question 1- What percent of my need do you meet?
Remember that EFC, or expected family contribution that the FAFSA determined? Some colleges will meet 100% of your need. Need again is defined as the cost of the college minus your EFC. So what does it mean if a college says they will meet 100% of your need? It means that once the FAFSA or Profile form has determined how much you can pay for college, the college will pay 100% of the rest of the bill.
Colleges will typically meet the need you have using a combination of grants, loans and work study. Most colleges will award work study and loans first and if there is a need after that, the remaining need will be supplied by grants. The colleges will typically have a standard loan and work study amount that they award and you should ask about what these numbers are when investigating the college.
Let’s see an example of a financial aid award from a college that provides 100% of need with a student who has an EFC of $5,000.
Total cost of college $40,000
Expected family contribution $ 5,000
Need $35,000
Financial aid award
Work study $ 2,000
Loans $ 4,000
Grants $ 29,000
At a college that meets 100% of your need you pay $5,000.
But what happens if the college doesn’t meet 100% of need?
Many less selective colleges don’t pay the total amount of need that their students have. Let’s use the example of our imaginary college from above only this time assume that the school only provides 90% of need.
Total cost of college $40,000
Families expected contribution $ 5,000
Need $35,000
This college only provides 90% of the $35,000 need or $31,500. Thus, your out of pocket expenses are the $5,000 EFC plus an additional $3,500 for a total cost of $8,500.
This example makes it easy to see why a school that meets 100% of need is often a better financial aid “deal” than a school who doesn’t meet all of the families need.
Many of the most expensive private colleges meet 100% of the students need while cheaper public colleges usually meet less than 100% of the need. This means that for many students it can be cheaper to go to an expensive private college than to attend a cheaper state school. Until you know what percent of need the college meets, don’t eliminate a college from consideration just because it is expensive.
Question 2- Do you have merit based aid?
Many colleges that don’t meet 100% of a students need do offer scholarships for some students. If your student is near the top of the application pool for a less selective college they may get some money if they qualify for merit based aid. Thus, in some cases, if the student is willing to look at a less selective college, they may get a better financial aid package. Here are some questions you should ask if the college provides merit aid.
How many merit awards are available?
What is the value of the merit awards available?
What are the qualifications to receive one of these merit awards?
This works even for families that don’t qualify for need based aid at all. If your student can qualify for a merit based award you won’t need to pay the full stated cost of the college.
Question 3- How is financial aid determined after the first year?
Some colleges have a policy of providing good financial aid for the first year and then substantially reducing the grant aid in the following years while increasing the loans. You should ask the college in which you are interested how they determine financial aid after the first year and what the average loan is after the first year. While it is typical that the amount of loans will increase each year if the increase is substantial you will want to take that into consideration.
Question 4- What is the average loan amount at graduation of those students who have loans?
This question will give you the best indication of the amount of loans that this college requires compared to other colleges in which you may be interested. Although most students will have some loans when they graduate, you don’t want this amount to be any more than necessary.
Question 5- What is your policy regarding outside scholarships?
Most colleges will subtract money earned in outside scholarships from your financial aid package. Some colleges will reduce the loan burden by the amount of the scholarship, but other colleges will reduce your grant money. If the college reduces the amount of loans you have to take out that is a benefit to you. There is no benefit to you if the college reduces the grant aid.
Question 6- What is your packaging policy?
Most colleges give a financial aid package that includes grant money, loans and work study. But each college combines this money differently. Specifically you want to know:
What percentage of an aid package from your college is grant vs. self-help (loans, work study)?
The greater amount of grants versus loans and work study the better for the student.
Do you have a preferential packaging policy?
Preferential packaging occurs when a college gives a better financial aid package to a student with a stronger academic background than to another student with the same financial need but with a weaker academic background..
Question 7- What is your four year graduation rate?
What difference does a college’s four year graduation rate make? This is an important question that many people never consider. Another way to phrase this is, How many years of college am I going to have to pay for? If the college has a high four year graduation rate, you will most likely only have to pay for four years of college. However, if the college graduates most students in six years then you can plan on paying for six years of college, not four.
Conclusion
Now that you know something about financial aid, including the questions to ask each college you are considering, you can make an informed decision in paying for a college education and hopefully also save some money.
With the high cost of a college education, no one wants to pay more than they must. Yet thousands of families pay too much for college every year because they don’t understand the basics of financial aid and don’t know the right questions to ask. So let’s learn what questions to ask.
Basics Part I
There are three types of financial aid for college: grants or scholarships, loans and work-study.
Grants and scholarships are free money that you do not need to pay back.
Most grants and scholarships come from the federal and state government or from the individual college.
Loans need to be paid back after college.
There are many loan programs available from the federal and state government. Most of these loans have fairly low interest rates. There are also private loans available although these generally have a higher interest rate.
Work-study is a job offered on the campus of the college.
Basics Part II
Need based aid vs Merit based aid
Need based aid is given by all colleges to students who have need. Anyone who can’t pay the full cost of the college has need.
A form called the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) determines the amount of need for federal grants and scholarships. Many highly selective colleges also require a form known as the Profile form The FAFSA form is filled out after January 1 of the year the student will first attend college.
The FAFSA and Profile forms ask questions about the income of the parents and student using information that you gave on your tax returns. These forms also ask questions about the amount of money you have in savings or investments. The Profile form is more detailed than the FAFSA form. Once these forms are completed the government uses the FAFSA form to determine how much your family can pay for college. This is your expected family contribution or your EFC. Your EFC is the same regardless of the cost of the college. Similarly the individual colleges who use the Profile use that form to determine what your family can pay for college.
Your need is the cost of the college you are looking at minus your EFC. For example, if you are looking at a college that costs $20,000 a year and your EFC is $5,000, your need at that college is $15,000. If you are looking at a college that costs $40,000 a year your EFC is still $5,000. Your need at this college is $35,000.
Merit-based aid includes scholarships typically for students who have good grades or have some other special talent such as athletic or musical talent. Most highly selective colleges offer little or no merit-based aid.
Finally, in looking at colleges you should ignore the cost of the college. Yes, you read that right. Ignore the stated cost of the college when you are first deciding which colleges to investigate further. You will see why later in this article.
So now you know the basics. Now comes the fun part: How to save money by asking the right questions.
Questions to ask the colleges
Question 1- What percent of my need do you meet?
Remember that EFC, or expected family contribution that the FAFSA determined? Some colleges will meet 100% of your need. Need again is defined as the cost of the college minus your EFC. So what does it mean if a college says they will meet 100% of your need? It means that once the FAFSA or Profile form has determined how much you can pay for college, the college will pay 100% of the rest of the bill.
Colleges will typically meet the need you have using a combination of grants, loans and work study. Most colleges will award work study and loans first and if there is a need after that, the remaining need will be supplied by grants. The colleges will typically have a standard loan and work study amount that they award and you should ask about what these numbers are when investigating the college.
Let’s see an example of a financial aid award from a college that provides 100% of need with a student who has an EFC of $5,000.
Total cost of college $40,000
Expected family contribution $ 5,000
Need $35,000
Financial aid award
Work study $ 2,000
Loans $ 4,000
Grants $ 29,000
At a college that meets 100% of your need you pay $5,000.
But what happens if the college doesn’t meet 100% of need?
Many less selective colleges don’t pay the total amount of need that their students have. Let’s use the example of our imaginary college from above only this time assume that the school only provides 90% of need.
Total cost of college $40,000
Families expected contribution $ 5,000
Need $35,000
This college only provides 90% of the $35,000 need or $31,500. Thus, your out of pocket expenses are the $5,000 EFC plus an additional $3,500 for a total cost of $8,500.
This example makes it easy to see why a school that meets 100% of need is often a better financial aid “deal” than a school who doesn’t meet all of the families need.
Many of the most expensive private colleges meet 100% of the students need while cheaper public colleges usually meet less than 100% of the need. This means that for many students it can be cheaper to go to an expensive private college than to attend a cheaper state school. Until you know what percent of need the college meets, don’t eliminate a college from consideration just because it is expensive.
Question 2- Do you have merit based aid?
Many colleges that don’t meet 100% of a students need do offer scholarships for some students. If your student is near the top of the application pool for a less selective college they may get some money if they qualify for merit based aid. Thus, in some cases, if the student is willing to look at a less selective college, they may get a better financial aid package. Here are some questions you should ask if the college provides merit aid.
How many merit awards are available?
What is the value of the merit awards available?
What are the qualifications to receive one of these merit awards?
This works even for families that don’t qualify for need based aid at all. If your student can qualify for a merit based award you won’t need to pay the full stated cost of the college.
Question 3- How is financial aid determined after the first year?
Some colleges have a policy of providing good financial aid for the first year and then substantially reducing the grant aid in the following years while increasing the loans. You should ask the college in which you are interested how they determine financial aid after the first year and what the average loan is after the first year. While it is typical that the amount of loans will increase each year if the increase is substantial you will want to take that into consideration.
Question 4- What is the average loan amount at graduation of those students who have loans?
This question will give you the best indication of the amount of loans that this college requires compared to other colleges in which you may be interested. Although most students will have some loans when they graduate, you don’t want this amount to be any more than necessary.
Question 5- What is your policy regarding outside scholarships?
Most colleges will subtract money earned in outside scholarships from your financial aid package. Some colleges will reduce the loan burden by the amount of the scholarship, but other colleges will reduce your grant money. If the college reduces the amount of loans you have to take out that is a benefit to you. There is no benefit to you if the college reduces the grant aid.
Question 6- What is your packaging policy?
Most colleges give a financial aid package that includes grant money, loans and work study. But each college combines this money differently. Specifically you want to know:
What percentage of an aid package from your college is grant vs. self-help (loans, work study)?
The greater amount of grants versus loans and work study the better for the student.
Do you have a preferential packaging policy?
Preferential packaging occurs when a college gives a better financial aid package to a student with a stronger academic background than to another student with the same financial need but with a weaker academic background..
Question 7- What is your four year graduation rate?
What difference does a college’s four year graduation rate make? This is an important question that many people never consider. Another way to phrase this is, How many years of college am I going to have to pay for? If the college has a high four year graduation rate, you will most likely only have to pay for four years of college. However, if the college graduates most students in six years then you can plan on paying for six years of college, not four.
Conclusion
Now that you know something about financial aid, including the questions to ask each college you are considering, you can make an informed decision in paying for a college education and hopefully also save some money.
Student Loan Consolidation ? Help For Students In Crisis
Are you a student or recent graduate from college that is bogged down by a huge student loan debt? Student loan consolidation may be the answer to your troubles. Many students graduate college and find that repayment of their mountains of student loan debt is upon them too fast. Most student loans must be paid on in as little as six months after graduating or dropping below half time. Many students have scarcely had a chance to get their foot in the door on the way to their new careers when due bills begin to accumulate in the mailbox. Making many payments to the various lenders that have serviced your student loans over the years can become time consumptive and expensive. Consolidation can remedy a bad financial situation and allow you to pay your student loans off with ease.
Student loan consolidation works in the following manner. You gather all of the information regarding your multiple student loans together and contact a student loan consolidation company. They will pay off all of the lenders that have serviced your loans throughout the years, and you will make a single monthly payment for an agreed upon number of years that is based on the amount of money that you owe altogether.
Student Loan Consolidation Beneficial
Student loan consolidation is not just for recent graduates and students who were able to complete their degrees. If you are a former student who has dropped below half time enrollment, you are eligible for student loan consolidation as well. If you are a student who is planning to return to school eventually, you can consolidate your student loans now and your loan payments can be deferred when you return to school either half or full time. It is a simple process that can really benefit the majority of borrowers.
Once you have undergone student loan consolidation, you will realize what a blessing it can be. By consolidating your loans, you can arrange for a lower monthly payment that is representative of all of the student debt you owe. This new payment can be set up based on your current income and budget so that it is not a hardship to pay the payment each month. You can also receive a lowered interest rate that is more in line with what you want to pay. The less you pay in interest, the more you pay on the loan principle and the faster your student loan debt is taken care of for good.
Risks Of Failing To Pay Student Loans
Some students simply feel overwhelmed and want to escape from their student loan debt. But there is no escape. You cannot file bankruptcy to rid yourself of student loan debt (government loans) nor can you avoid payment without being penalized. The government has lots of remedies for borrowers who fail to honor their student loan obligations, including garnishment of your wages, offsets of government refunds, and liens upon your property. That is not to mention the ill effects that student loan default can have on your credit ranking – affecting your ability to borrow money or even get a good job. Do not risk it. Manage your student loans today with student loan consolidation.
Some Facts about Online Student Loan Consolidations
There are many student loan consolidation services that can support you assemble your loans into a single one without consideration of your possessing federal student loans, such as Stafford, plus, of Federal Perkins loans or personal ones. Consequently, student loan consolidation services can result in smaller interest rates, lower monthly payment, and less tension on financial affairs.
Lots of consolidation services propose fixed interest rates for the existence of loan. This is so advantageous that consolidation loans typically have longer terms than other loans, normally from 10 up to 23, even 30 years.
The advantages of consolidating such loans are apparently realized; yet, there are so many services available to aid you in this operation. While some offer federal student loan consolidation, others assist you to consolidate both federal and private student loans. Thus, it is fundamental to ensure that the student loan consolidation service online that you take fits your student loan consolidation needs.
There are some facts that you should pay attention to in order that you make the appropriate decision on implementing student loan consolidation online.
There are some facts that you should pay attention to in order that you make the appropriate decision on implementing student loan consolidation online.
In fact, it is likely a distraction for students who pay so much time and attention to so many installment paid every month, thence they might not centre on education.
They would be using a adequate number of hours on examining the different installments and writing checks. Fortunately, student loan consolidation turns to be a good way to take all the loans together and places them under one single loan which gets repayment process more convenient.
Usually, in order to get the best student loan consolidation rates, students have to have good credit rate. The chances of getting a student loan consolidation are really high when the credit score is commonly above 660. You will no more have to worry about this since the internet can help a lot in finding the best student loan consolidation program and aids in calculating the credit rate of a student as well.
Basically, the student loan consolidation rates are based on the financial condition of the student, and the other manner of taking a student loan consolidation is by refinancing, home mortgage, and home equity loan.
It is now possible to consolidate student loan online and it offers the benefits of doing researches and checking the best student loan consolidation rates among all programs. Just at notice of the fact that s student loan should be consolidated only if it lower than the current interest rate.
Then how could the student apply and complete a student loan consolidation online? It is simple to apply online, e-sign or complete a matter promissory note for your student loan. If you are ready to accomplish your application, you can select your loan type in the following ones, including Federal Stafford loan, Federal parent plus loan, Federal Graduate plus loan, Alternative or private student loan, and student loan consolidation.
For example, Federal Stafford Loans are low-interest loans for students enrolled at least haft time as an undergraduate or graduate student in eligible institution. Students and families of all income levels have approach to federally guaranteed loans for college. Click the link for e-sign to practice online, or click print to print a paper copy of the Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note.
Federal Parent PLUS Loans are also open for your educational costs if you are recruited at least half-time at an eligible institution, but the loan is made to parents. Eligibility is not settled on need or income, but parents must not have an adverse credit history. Click Apply Online for a quick and easy pre-approval decision from an Edfinancial Services Lender.
To find more about other 3 online student loan consolidation types stated above, see Student loan consolidation rates. You will happily find out more details about this subject or other ones connecting to Online Student Loan Consolidation.
Guide to Consolidate Student Loans – Federal Versus Private Loan Consolidation
Student loan consolidation can be used by student or parent borrowers to combine their multiple education loans into one loan with one monthly payment. As any student can take either federal or private student loans, he or she can also take a federal or private consolidation loan to make the education debt more manageable.
Both federal and private student loans offer significant benefits, but federal loans offer borrowers many benefits that don’t come with private loans; for instance: low fixed interest rates, income-based repayment plans, loan forgiveness and deferment options. While some private lenders may offer them too, it usually is associated with some strings attached.
For those reasons, every borrower should always exhaust federal student loans options before considering a private loan. The same advice applies to consolidating student loans – always look at federal consolidation loan first and only if you don’t qualify for a federal loan of it is not the right choice for any reason, and then seek a private consolidation loan.
It is important to remember that a federal student consolidation loan can’t include any private loan. Moreover, if you consolidate your federal student loan into a private consolidation loan, you will lose your federal borrower benefits mentioned above (unless you private lender tries hard to get your business and includes them in the offer).
There are important differences between federal and private student loan consolidation.
First of all, with federal student loan consolidation, you will have a fixed interest rate, while private student loan consolidations are credit-based, which means that your consolidation loan rate will not be locked – it will be variable. So, while you will not have to go through credit check in order to apply for a federal consolidation loan, you will need it to secure a private consolidation loan.
Student loan consolidation rates are determined differently for federal and private consolidations. The interest rates for federal loans are set according to a formula established by federal statue. It’s a fixed rate, based on the weighted average of the interest rates on each of your loans at the time you consolidate, rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of a percent and capped at 8.25%.
As private student loans are not funded by the federal government, they are subject to the terms determined by each individual lender (bank, credit union, other financial institution) and the market competition. In private student consolidation loans a borrower’s credit is the primary factor in the variable interest rate offered to the borrower. As the base for setting the consolidation loan interest rate, the private lenders most often use the Prime rate or the 3-month LIBOR Rate, to which they add a margin. That margin varies from lender to lender and is applied according to the borrower’s credit rating.
With regards to the interest rate on the consolidation loan, it’s typical for both federal and private consolidation loan to include 0.25% rate reduction for automated debit payments.
Repayment of federal student consolidation loans begins within 60 days of the disbursement of the loan, with the payback term ranging from 10 to 30 years, depending on the amount of education debt being repaid and on other debts owned, as well as on the repayment option chosen by the borrower. Private student consolidation loans can also have repayment terms of up to 30 years, although they have fewer repayment options. Usually, repayment begins 30 days from the time your private student consolidation loan is funded.
While the most important factors looked at when deciding about how to consolidate student loans are the interest rates, borrower benefits and the terms of repayment, there are also other significant factors, such as: fees or cost to consolidate, prepayment penalties, loan amount limits, customer service, etc.
There are no fees or application costs whatsoever for processing and providing a federal student consolidation loan. It’s against the law to ask for advance (up-front) fees for arranging a federal education loan or consolidating federal education loans. However, some federal education loans (e.g. the Stafford and PLUS Loans) may require some fees, but they are always deducted from the disbursement check. On the other hand, private lenders may charge fees for application and processing private consolidation loans. Some private lenders charge fees as high as 4% of the principal you owe.
Federal consolidation loan programs don’t require a minimum balance to consolidate student loans; some private lenders require a minimum balance before they consider a borrower’s application for consolidation. That amount varies from lender to lender, but usually is between $5,000-$7,500 in US-issued private education loans.
With both federal private consolidations, there are no penalties for prepayment – all payments in excess of scheduled payments will go directly to principal and that will help to repay your consolidation loan faster.
The application process for consolidation of private student loans differs from the federal consolidation. Sometimes applications for private consolidation loans may be easier to complete (often done online or over the phone). However, it’s worth remembering that federal loans usually have lower interest rates, borrower benefits and better repayment terms than private student loans. Moreover, federal applications for both original loans and consolidation loans require FAFSA, so with the federal consolidation, your application is already partly completed.
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