Student Loan Consolidation ? Lower Your Payments

Often times it makes good economic sense to consolidate your all of your student loans upon graduating. Each of the loans that you applied for and received each year or semester of school is considered a separate loan. The average student graduating from a four-year private school leaves college with about ,000 in student loan debt. After you graduate, you will get offers from lenders to consolidate these loans.

Student loan consolidation is big business. A huge profit margin exists for any loan consolidator that can capture you as a client. Virtually all of the risk is assumed by the taxpayers and all of the profit goes to whoever can talk you into letting them consolidate and service your loan. Consolidating your student loans means bundling all of your loans into one big loan with a single lender and a single payment plan. This will almost always lower your total monthly payment. Despite a possible lengthened repayment period, loan consolidation is usually a wise move.

There is practically no way to get out of paying off student loans. The notable exceptions to this rule include joining the Peace Corps, the AmeriCorps and some selective teaching gigs. You cannot declare personal bankruptcy and be relieved of student loan debt. Bankruptcy laws make an exception for student loan debt. It cannot be erased.

Assuming you have decided to pay off the loans, understanding the details of student loans will make the repayment process easier to cope with. For all three major types of federal loans there is a six-month grace period after graduating during which you do not have to begin to repay. The Federal Perkins Loans, the Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans, and the Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loans all give this initial grace period.

Interest rates are set for each type of student loan once per year. Current federal student loan interest rates for all of the types of student loans are fairly low compared to five or ten years ago. Interest rates you can expect to see when consolidating your student loans are also comparitively quite low historically speaking. Some variation in your interest rate can be expected based upon your credit worthiness and credit rating. One common solution for borrowers with poor credit ratings would be to use a cosigner who has better credit than you.

You should also not be afraid to negotiate with your lending institution for a lower rate. For example, you might offer to have the payment automatically deducted from your bank account or other automatic payment method. If your lender will not make a sincere effort to lower your interest rate, you should be prepared to take your business to the next financial institution down the street. They are in competition for your business. Don’t let the bank make you feel like they are doing you a favor. You are the customer. Make the bank earn your business.

With your student loans consolidated you should see a low enough monthly payment to get through your initial period of employment after school. As your income increases over time you can expect your payments to be less of a burden on your budget with each passing year.

Ethan Steiner – About the Author:

Main Interests: Internet and Tech.  I have a little website on the internet dedicated to helping students and families find financing for higher education.  Stop by and check it out sometime at Money-For-School.org.  Along with the usual federal grants and student loans we include other creative tools sources for college financial assistance.  Other Hobbies:I like to play baseball and hang out with friends.

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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 deductable. 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.

Community Colleges and the Dangers of Student Loan Debt

For high school students who are on the hunt for ways to reduce the cost of a college education, your local community college may look like a way to keep your expenses down and avoid the crush of debt from school loans.

In fact, many financial advisers recommend that, if you’re a cost-conscious student, you complete your first two years at a community college before transferring to a four-year university to receive your degree, as a way of cutting college costs by as much as half and minimizing your need for college loans.

Community colleges almost universally have annual tuition rates well below those of four-year colleges and universities, so at first blush, the two-year route may seem like a natural choice in terms of cost management and college loan debt relief.

As it turns out however, community college students are among those students most likely to struggle with college loan debt and to default on their federal student loans.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education, 10.1 percent of community college students who are carrying federal education loans end up defaulting on their loans within the first two years of repayment — more than twice as much as the 4.4 percent of borrowing students at public four-year universities and 3.8 percent of borrowing students at private four-year universities.

Broadening the scope to look at student loan delinquencies in addition to defaults — since late payments, and not just a complete absence of payments, also indicate a struggle with the repayment of debt — the potential for trouble among community college borrowers is even higher: A whopping 60 percent of community college students will either default or become delinquent (without defaulting) on their college loans, according to a new report released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

In comparison, among student borrowers at public four-year universities, 34 percent will either fall behind or default on their school loans. At private four-year universities, 28 percent will.

Minimizing, and Managing, Student Debt at Community College

So what do these default and delinquency rates mean for college-bound adults who are looking to find a quick route into the working population or for high school graduates who want to minimize the cost of a four-year college education by transferring credits from a community college?

For many students, attending community college is still an effective method to significantly reduce the total amount spent on a college education, but there are a few hazards to look out for to avoid taking on more student loan debt than you’ll be able to handle later:

1) Keep your non-tuition expenses low.

A full 52 percent of students pursuing an associate’s degree and 37 percent of students in certificate programs don’t take out any school loans at all, according to the College Board.

These students make their community college experience work by managing their living expenses at the same time they’re keeping their college costs low. Most community college students are commuter students, living at home, which cuts back on room-and-board costs.

Managing or reducing your living expenses may mean living at home with your parents, brown-bagging your lunch instead of eating on campus, or working part- or full-time while you go to school.

2) Seek out scholarships and grants.

You can cut your college costs even further by seeking out scholarships and grants, which provide you with financial aid that, unlike a college loan, doesn’t need to be paid back.

If you’re a working student, check with the human resources department at your place of work. Some employers offer tuition reimbursement programs or professional development benefits that can help you defray the cost of higher education.

3) Finish your degree.

For those college students who do need to rely on student loans to get through school, the single best predictor of successful repayment is graduation. Students who complete their degree, above and beyond, are the most likely to repay their school loans without defaulting or becoming delinquent.

Just 15 percent of community college graduates default on their college loans, compared with 27 percent of community college dropouts, according to the Institute for Higher Education Policy. When looking at student borrowers who fall behind on their loan payments without defaulting, 27 percent of community college graduates experience this kind of delinquency, versus 39 percent of community college students who didn’t complete their degree.

Students who spend one year or less in school are the most likely to run into repayment problems on their college debt, often because either they can’t find a job or the job they do find doesn’t pay enough to enable them to make their student loan payments.

4) Borrow only what you need.

Overborrowing can be particularly problematic for community college students because the federal education loan program offers the same maximum loan amount regardless of what type of school you attend.

The maximum undergraduate federal loan is ,500 for first-year students and ,500 for second-year students (,500 and ,500, respectively, if you’re an independent student, no longer financially dependent on your parents).

The maximum federal undergraduate loan, in other words, will, unlike at a four-year college or university, typically cover the cost of all tuition and fees at a community college, leaving a few thousand dollars still available for books, transportation, and living expenses.

That extra money can be tempting. Living expenses can pose a major challenge for many college students, regardless of the type of school you attend. How you pay for your living expenses while in college can mean the difference between manageable and unmanageable debt levels when you graduate.

Having a plan to pay for your living expenses without resorting to maxing out your student loans will significantly reduce the amount of money you need in order to complete your degree. And the less student loan debt you have when you graduate, the lower — and thus more manageable — your monthly payments will be and the faster you’ll be able to pay those loans off.

Consolidating Your Federal Student Loan

Consolidating Your Federal Student Loan

 rudimentary enlightenment On Private Student Loans

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Private Student Loans – What You Should Know About Using This Loan For College

Private Student Loans – What You Should Know About Using This Loan For College

Key Facts On Private Student Loans

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