Student loan consolidation? what advice do u have?
What can you tell me about student loan consolidation? any advice? I have about $22, 000 so far but will probably be going back to school still. If I get any other loans how will that affect my consolidation?? HELP!!
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Darwin said,
February 28, 2010 @ 4:09 am
When you consolidate your loans you are basically rolling them into one loan. I used to work for a student loan consolidation company back when the rates were at 2.8%. If you consolidate during your grace period it will waive your grace period and put you directly in to repayment. If you go back to school after you consolidate, you will need to put your loans in deferment or forbearance. If you do not do this, you will continue to get billed. If you take out more loans you can re-consolidate again later. I consolidated mine with the Department of Education directly. There are a whole bunch of companies willing to consolidate your loans but be careful. Some of them are telemarketing companies that are hired by major companies who will guarantee and service the loans. It is far better to use a company directly instead of going through a third party.
Also, make sure that if you have a Perkins loan that you DO NOT include it in your consolidation. They already have a fixed interest rate of 5% anyway. Perkins loans have certian forgiveness rights for people who are in the education field and the Peace Corps. If you consolidate a Perkins loan, you lose those rights.
payingcollege said,
February 28, 2010 @ 4:40 am
If you consolidate now and go back to school, you can still defer the consolidation loan (so you don’t pay while you’re going to school). You can then re-consolidate with your new loans, if it makes sense to do so. (Your interest rate is the weighted average of your existing loans so it may or may not make sense to re-consolidate.)
Sallie Mae’s website has lots of info on consolidation, including an FAQ and a calculator so you can see what your payments will be, depending on which repayment plan you choose.
http://www.salliemae.com/after_graduation/manage_your_loans/consolidate_student_loans/student_loan_consolidation.htm