What is student debt consolidation or student loan consolidation?

Student loan consolidation is a system where the students are offered a student debt consolidation program for their education loans. This is system where the students and their parents/guardians are benefited. Not only does it make loan repayment easier in the form of a single payment every month, it also reduces what the students have to shell out every month if they had to pay each loan separately.

Federal Loan Consolidation is only for those loans that are approved by the U.S. Education Department. Such loans such as Federal Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans and PLUS Loans are called Federal loans. You cannot group non-federal loans and federal loans together. By non-federal loans, we mean those loans that have been taken from private banks, relatives, or friends. You need to look for a separate debt consolidation program for these loans.

Advantages

Student debt consolidation has two big advantages. One, the parents, or the students do not have to keep a track of all the installments and the due dates every month. They just need to remember one. Second, the monthly installment that the borrower has to pay is lesser than what he or she would have had to pay if they were paying for each loan individually. In some cases, the savings can go up to 45% per month. Therefore, the borrower is actually saving money from student loan debt consolidation.

Other than these advantages, there are some plus points that are in most cases not evident immediately. By opting for a student debt consolidation, a student, and his family is actually protecting themselves from a poor credit rating. Yes, since you do not have to remember numerous installment dates, you are more likely to repay your loan on time. Besides, with more money in hand, you are actually reducing the chances of bad debts in other areas of your life!

The Other Side of the Coin

However, things are easier said that done. Before opting for student loan consolidation, conduct an expensive market research on the debt consolidation companies. Look for the best debt consolidation program and the best debt consolidation quote. Just because, a company is offering a great interest rate, it does not mean that you are saving a lot in the end. Look at the loan tenure; it is also likely that the duration of the loan is longer than expected! Ok, if the student is confident that he can pay back before the tenure ends, he should keep an eye out for early repayment fines!

Now, just because a debt consolidation company is charging a high rate of interest or a low rate combined with longer tenure, it is not a fraud. The decision primarily lies on the borrower and the choice of student loan consolidation he makes.