If you've had previous or new student loans then you'll most likely been receiving a fair share of mail about how you can consolidate your student loans. At first the loan application process will seem difficult particularly if you've had more than one loan with a few different lenders. However it's a simple process and here's a few tips on what to expect when you decide to consolidate your student loans.



Consolidate Student Loans Step 1

Select a good lender with a well established financial institute. You can tell if they are well established because the have a verity of student loans plans and discount schemes. If you consolidate your student loans with a good lender they will be less likely to sell your loan to another lender in the future.

You should not have to pay a fee or any charges when you consolidate your student loans and there is no need for a credit check because ?Federal Student Loans? are guaranteed by the American government.

Step 2

You'll need to fill out your application form and make sure you have all necessary information about any of your student loans. The application form requires a personal reference so make sure you have one. Last but not leat you'll have to sign the form but before you do read the fine print (terms & conditions) and ask about the incentives and discounts that come with the loan. Most lenders who consolidate student loans will have a calculator so you know what your repayments will be.

Step 3

Once you've sign and posted your consolidate student loan application your new lender will send all your previous lenders a ?Loan Verification Certificate? to verify the total amount of your previous student loan. It should take around 30 days to return the loan verification certificates. Interest rates will be finalised along with the disclosure statements.

Then each lender will receive a check of the amount you owe to as a pay out. Once all your previous lenders are paid off you have successfully completed your student loan consolidation.

This entire process can take anywhere between 30 days to 180 days and if you have not filled out your application correctly or you have missing information it will take even longer to consolidate your student loans.

Remember to keep paying off your current loans until your new lender and completed the process. A good lender will have customer representatives that will be in contact with you with any updates.

Now before you go off and start consolidating your student loans you should know that new interest rates are calculated every year on the 1st of July. You can easily find good lenders to consolidate your student loans by doing a quick search in Google or MSN. There're plenty of good lenders out there but make sure you have a check list of what you are looking for. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the rest of your studies with little financial worries.