Finding The Best Student Loan Consolidation Programs

By Trinity Tolbert

After four years or more of college, you probably have several different loans. If you are like most people, you had to apply for loans each year, or even semester. This can leave people finishing college with quite a few different loan payments, often to several different lenders. You can save yourself some money and time by consolidating your loans.

There are a few advantages to consolidating your loans. It will save you money because instead of having several loan payments, you will have one payment monthly that is lower. You will most likely also be able to lock in a lower interest rate overall by consolidating. It will save you time because you will have fewer bills to pay monthly and less paperwork.

When consolidating your loans, be sure to ask questions and pay attention to make sure the consolidation leaves you with a better deal than your previous repayment situation. Sometimes, you might have a loan with a really low interest rate in comparison to your other loans. If this is the case, you might choose to not consolidate that loan in with the rest. Be aware that if the interest rate is a variable interest, then it probably won't stay low for long so it might be wise to consolidate the loan after all. It really just depends on your loans. Most of the time, loan officers will help you interpret the best consolidation program for your situation.

If you have government loans, watch to make sure that the interest rate you are offered for consolidation is actually lower than the interest rate on each loan. On occasion, loans issued by the government can have really low interest rates, especially those offered based on need. If you have a loan that is at a lower interest rate than the consolidation interest rate, you will probably want to leave that loan out of the consolidation to save yourself money. There are four main refinancing options usually available when you consolidate loans. The first option is the standard repayment plan where you make monthly payment plans on a fixed interest rate over a period of ten years to thirty years, depending of the type of consolidation refinance program and lender you choose. The second option is the extended repayment plan where your payments are less than payments under the Standard Repayment Plan, with repayment periods ranging from twelve to thirty years, depending on the total amount that you have borrowed.

The third option is the graduated repayment plan where your monthly payments increase every two years. Under this plan your repayment period varies from twelve to thirty years, depending on the total loan amount that is borrowed. And the fourth option is the income contingent repayment plan where your repayment plan is based on your annual income, family size, and total amount of loan debt. Under this plan your payments are spread over twenty five years.

Depending on your financial situation, there are different student loan consolidation programs that will work for you. Deciding on the best student loan consolidation program really depends on what you think is best. No matter which one you choose, consolidating your student loans is usually a smart financial move.

About the Author:

Trinity helps people to learn about student loan consolidation, how to find federal bad credit student loans, and about bad credit private student loan.