How To Find 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.

You might have government loans or private loans or even both. The loans you have will affect the consolidation program you choose. There are different consolidation programs offered for private and government student loans. Even if you have both, you still have the option to consolidate your debt.

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.

I will highlight four of the most popular financing options when consolidating loans. First, there is the standard repayment plan which is probably the most common consolidation program. With this plan, you make a monthly payment with a fixed interest rate with repayment spanning over ten to thirty years. Second, there is the option of the extended repayment plan. With this plan, your payments will be less than with the standard plan. Repayment will span from twelve to thirty years depending on the total amount you owe.

Third, there is the option of the graduated repayment plan. Repayment on this plan is also twelve to thirty years depending on how much you owe, but it is different in that the monthly payment starts out lower and increases every two years.

Finally, there is the option of the income contingent repayment plan. This is an excellent option for people with low income and or large families since the repayment is based on your total debt, annual income, and family size. Your repayment schedule will span over twenty-five years. Whichever student loan consolidation program you decide is best for you, it will most likely help improve your financial situation.

About the Author:

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