By consolidating, monthly payments can be reduced up to 54 percent considering your repayment plan is extended. This saves you time and money because it enables you to reach a more auspicious interest rate on your debt. There is a deferment clause you can bring into play and thus start your repayment after you graduate. A little sacrifice will not kill you, the earlier you consolidate your college loans the better. We live in a society trained to receive the best in the competitive market. It is also equally or more important to ensure you are not paying too high a price for an unnecessary level of luxurious living immediately after starting employment by reducing the monthly installment to an unnecessarily low figure at the cost of incurring additional interest by lengthening the period of repayment. Remember that the more you apply for the higher the interest rate will be at stake. A diploma with your name engraved under a prestigious college is the most valued credential. By consolidating, monthly payments can be reduced up to 54 percent considering your repayment plan is extended. That report also states that 52 percent of undergraduate students financial aid came in loans in the 2005-2006 school years, as opposed to 46 percent in the 2000-2001 school year. Hence, you should all along have a clear and unwavering ambition as to your chosen profession and also what salary or income level you are driving at. However, if you consolidate now, you will be locked in at the current rate regardless of the state of the economy. Generally a consolidation takes 4-6 weeks so you should have your company picked out and an application underway by about 4 months after graduation.. Remember that the more you apply for the higher the interest rate will be at stake. You can consolidate your existing college loans while in school to secure low rates for at least part of your student loan portfolio. Eligibility doesnt start until you have taught for 5 years, and there are other requirements such as You must not have had active student loans on Oct 1, 1998. Remember that the more you apply for the higher the interest rate will be at stake. Therefore, once you have your figures and options straightened out and clear, you can do the final balancing trick according to your wishes with the confidence that you are not making a mess of your life by undertaking commitments that you will be very hard pressed to meet. When taking more and more loans annually over the period of your graduation to meet more and more new educational expenses you must try to take the loans in a more organized manner instead of in a haphazard manner bearing in mind that when you start repaying, the monthly outgoing on these loans should not cause an undue strain on your estimated income at that future date. Recommended: College Loan Consolidation Success for the best college loan consolidations of all times. A college loan consolidation may also benefit you in the form of lower interest payments, so that you pay down the principal more quickly than you would have if you continued paying off your student loans individually. With the Stafford Loan Forgiveness program you could be eligible for up to $5000.00 in forgiveness and up to $17,500.00 if you meet certain requirements such as teaching math, science or special ed to low income students. Sometimes the pressure of working long hours and not having sufficient time to sleep and study can result in second rate test scores and dropping out of college. What Benefits await with Loan Consolidation? Consolidated loans have accessible repayment plans and dont require credit checks or cosigners. While student loans may clear the path to a college degree for you, you will eventually come to the end of that path and have to start repaying the loans. Due to this limitation in federal loans, college students turn to Private Loans (that carry a higher rate of interest) as a supplement to the federal loans that do not cover the total costs of education as already stated above. Due to this limitation in federal loans, college students turn to Private Loans (that carry a higher rate of interest) as a supplement to the federal loans that do not cover the total costs of education as already stated above. Federal government has thought it fit to assume responsibility for this precarious situation and moved in with a series of low interest bearing students loan packages with affordable repayment programs in addition to options for further deferments if need be. However, to consolidate a college loan while in school does not mean that you must begin repayment immediately. A special characteristic of the Subsidized Stafford Loan which is the most economical out all federal loans next to a scarce Perkins Loan (as distinct from the Unsubsidized Stafford Loan) is that the government pays the interest on the loan until the student graduates.