If you've financed your education with a variety of student loans and are now facing a barrage of monthly payments, you may find that a student loan consolidation will work to your advantage. But if your loans are courtesy of the Federal government, you may not be surprised to learn that there is a plethora of regulations for you to follow in applying for student loan consolidation.
FFEL And Direct Consolidation Loans
The US Federal government offers two school loan consolidation options, the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFEL, and the Direct Consolidation Loan program. It's up to you to understand how they differ.
If you have existing school loan consolidations which you wish to combine, the Direct Consolidation Loan Program must be willing to accept them. While some FFEL lenders may accept all eligible all for consolidation, others lenders may accept only FFEL loans. But if an FFEL lender refuses to include your non-FFEL loans in a school loan consolidation, it may offer you an alternative way to consolidate them.
Repayment Options
FFEL school loans consolidations are available with a variety of repayment options. They include the standard, graduated, extended, and income-sensitive repayment plans, and while every FFEL lender offers them, the details of each is different. The income-sensitive option, for example, factors the total student loan debt into the amount of the monthly repayments.
The Direct Consolidation Loan Program, on the other hand, has the standard, extended, graduated, and income-contingent repayment options. The income-contingent repayment option is based on factors including the borrower's adjusted gross income, family size, and amount of school loan debt.
Even those who have defaulted on an FFEL consolidation loan may be considered for consolidation of their default into a second consolidation, but if you are in this situation you may have to hunt for a lender to accommodate you. The Direct Consolidation Loan Program will also permit the consolidation of defaults, and if you can find a lender who will do it, you will have your eligibility for Federal student loans restored. For more info see http://www.schoolloanshelp.com/Articles/Nursing_School_Loan.php on Nursing School Loan.
The Direct Consolidating Loans Program will permit you to consolidate your loans while you are enrolled as a student, and if you qualify, will give you a six-moth grace period before you must begin your monthly loan payments; applying for consolidation while you are a student may also earn you a lower interest rate. The FFEL, on the other hand, only allows school loan consolidation when you have left school when all your loans have reached their grace or active repayment periods.
Federal School Loan Consolidation
If you are drowning in student loan debt from college, a school loan consolidation may be just what you need. With the prices of going to college constantly going up, most students have no other option but than to take out student loans, and after the years you spend in college, these loans can start racking up big time. Although you don't have to pay them back while you are still going to school, once you graduate, suddenly you are left with a whole pile of loans that you owe from your college days.
So, you may be wondering what you can do about all of these loans that you have that are now coming due. Well, your best option is going to be to find a good school loan consolidation option that will offer you the ability to pay off your student loans in a way that you can easily handle. You see, dealing with all those payments can be a huge hassle and might even be more than your current income, but when you consolidate the loans that you have, you will only need to worry about paying one payment each month which is almost always lower. Many times you can even find a good consolidation loan that will offer you a much lower interest rate as well, so this will help you to save even more money.
Unfortunately, instead of going with a school loan consolidation, some graduates decide to get a personal loan to try to consolidate all of their student loans from college. This is really a bad idea, since consolidation loans from a good consolidation company have so much more to offer new graduates. Personal loans will almost always have much higher interest rates, especially if you have not established any credit yet. You may even have to get a parent to cosign the personal loan for you as well. You have enough headaches with your recent graduation, finding a job, and getting started in the world, and having a huge pile of student debt hanging over your head is one headache that you can do without.
However, when you decide to go with a school loan consolidation, you'll almost certainly be able to get the program you need, even if you haven't already established any credit while you were going to college. Since it is different from a traditional personal loan, you'll also have better access to low interest rates, which are important as well. Also, there are more options when you go with a school consolidation loan. Many consolidation loans will allow you to defer your payments for five to six months after graduation and if you go back to school you can defer payments again. You won't find these options when you go with personal loans, and this is a much better option than filing for bankruptcy, which is a really bad way to start your new life after graduation.
So, if you have recently graduated and you're really feeling overwhelmed with all the loans that you have hanging over your head, it's really time to consider a school loan consolidation. You'll be able to find a program that will meet your specific needs so you can get started in life with only one loan to worry about paying each month.
Both Wade Robins & Jay Anderson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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