Federal student loan consolidation is a free federal program that allows anyone with outstanding federal student loan debt to combine their loans, extend their repayment term, and lock in their interest rate. The terms and conditions on all federal student loan consolidations are set by the U.S. Department of Education, meaning that all federal student loan consolidations are, at least initially, created equal. There are no prepayment penalties or fees, and every lender has to offer the same federal forbearance and deferment options and the same initial consolidated interest rate.

This rate is based on a weighted average of the interest rates of all the outstanding student loans rounded to the nearest 1/8th percent.

So, if every lender is offering the same federal terms and conditions, and every consolidated loan will have the same initial rate, what’s the difference between consolidation lenders? The difference between lenders is in the borrower benefits that are offered. These differences can be pretty substantial, and by asking the right questions, smart borrowers can get the best deal on their federal student consolidation loan.

Interest Rate Reductions

The most common benefit offered on a federal student loan consolidation is an interest rate reduction. This benefit is usually offered in two parts: a .25% reduction for auto debit and a 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months of on-time payments. This is a great benefit that can greatly reduce the total amount of interest paid on the consolidated loan. On a $30,000 loan, this benefit alone can save a borrower over $6,500 in interest! Although this is an attractive benefit, there are a couple things to ask your consolidation lender before proceeding with the loan: (more…)

Bankruptcy is in the news these days, as Congress has finally overhauled the Federal bankruptcy law after years of talking about it. The credit card companies, rightly or wrongly, have been pressuring members of Congress to tighten the bankruptcy statutes, saying that too many people were willfully spending money they couldn’t repay with the intention of avoiding paying the money back by filing for bankruptcy. That will soon change, and those with student loans may pay a heavy price.

Most everyone knows that consumers with problem debt who are unable to pay their debts may file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Federal bankruptcy code. This allows for the court to basically wipe away all of the debtor’s bills and allows them to start over. It’s not entirely free; the bankruptcy filing stays on the debtor’s credit report for the next ten years and may affect their ability to buy a home, borrow money or obtain employment. What many people fail to realize is that while installment loan debt or credit card debt can be wiped out through filing for bankruptcy, most student loans cannot. In fact, thanks to legislation enacted several years ago, most any loans acquired for education, including those issued by for-profit agencies, may not be eliminated through filing for bankruptcy. (more…)

	If you are having trouble paying for your education, waiting it out is not an option. There is no statute of limitations on government-guaranteed student loans, giving Uncle Sam unlimited time to collect. Fortunately, there are some options.
-Consolidation. You may be able to consolidate several loans into one. Many consolidation loans offer students the opportunity to repay their loans over a 30-year period at a favorable interest rate. While consolidating your loans may decrease your monthly payments, keep in mind that increasing the length of time it takes you to repay may increase the total cost of repaying your loans.

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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. (more…)

Many of us dream of obtaining a higher education in order to fulfill our dreams; however the financial reality is that obtaining a college education can be difficult. While there are myths commonly circulating that there are a number of scholarships available to help defray the costs of college, the truth is that while you may be eligible for one or more scholarships these generally won’t cover the entire cost of your education. Even in the event that you obtain a full ride scholarship covering the duration of your college there are other expenses that won’t be covered. Therefore, it is imperative to look at all the ways you can utilize to fund your college education.

It’s always a good idea to begin exploring financial aid as quickly as possible. Depending on your parent’s income you may or may not be eligible for federal financial aid; however, you never know unless you try. As soon as your parents have their income tax return information it is important to go ahead and fill out your FAFSA application and get it into the system. If you are eligible for financial aid you may qualify for grants, which do not have to be repaid once you graduate.

You should also begin exploring various scholarships for which you might qualify and start getting the applications filled out. Ideally, you should start this as soon as you begin your senior year because some deadlines may arrive sooner than others. (more…)

Consumers today are getting wiser by the day. They are educated and enlightened. They know what they want. A change in their needs and demands has led to a complete reworking of the market today. This changing trend has led to some innovations in the loan market itself. One of them is the online process of loan borrowing. This has made loan market extremely competitive and customer oriented.

One of the biggest financial drain – credit cards – led to huge debt problems for consumers. Average Credit card debt rose from £1879 to £2748 in the last two years. With such an increase in the debt – the only logical subsequent step will be online debt consolidation.

Debt consolidation consolidates all your pending bills like credit card bills, utility bills, medical bills, student loans or any other outstanding debt. This is the most reconstructive step towards getting debt free. Paying each month the interest rates on various loan types is an obvious stress on your budget. Online debt consolidation allows you to make one lower monthly payment for all the bills. (more…)

It’s not unheard of, surely. But let’s get to the basics. There are two student loan types that are made available to financially struggling students. The federal student loan is a loan given by the government, particularly the country’s Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid program. If you have a federal student loan, this is easier to get debt consolidation for. The second type would be a private student loan.

You get this loan from non-government lending institutions. Usually, they charge higher rates compared to those with the federal student loan type so it’s harder for debt consolidation specialists to take care of. In this article, we won’t bother discussing about how to get a student loan because that’s another topic entirely.

So anyway, now you’ve got your student loan, as well as other bills and you lack enough money to pay things off. Again, that’s where debt consolidation comes in. Debt consolidation is also known as bill consolidation, debt negotiation and debt settlement. Usually, the two latter terms somehow end up being connected with illegal means so it’s best to stick with debt consolidation for the moment. Debt consolidation is the process of totaling the amount of all your loans and bills put together and asking the help of a debt consolidation specialist to negotiate with your creditors in your behalf. (more…)

The Federal student loan program has benefited thousands of college students in the forty years since it was introduced. Interest rates for the program have historically been quite competitive, and the program has allowed many people to acquire a college education who otherwise might not have been able to afford one.

At the moment, interest rates on Federal student loans are the lowest in history, but that is about to change. On July 1, 2005, the interest rates on Federal student loans will rise, due to an increase in the price of Treasury, bills, to which the interest rates on student loans are tied.

While an increase in interest rates is seldom viewed as a good thing, knowing about it ahead of can be helpful. Between now and June 30, new graduates or those who have been repaying existing loans can consolidate their student loans at current rates. The rates currently vary, with fixed rates being slightly higher than adjustable rates. Those considering consolidation might wish to convert their loan to a fixed rate. Depending on the amount of the loan, borrowers may extend their loan terms to as long as 30 years. (more…)