If you have a few unsubsidized or subsidized federal Stafford loans, then you may qualify for federal student loan consolidation, which means all of your federal Stafford student loans will be combined into one loan that you’ll pay on every month. Stafford student loan consolidation allows you to refinance your loan in order to get a lower fixed interest rate that’s manageable for your income level. One benefit of having federal Stafford student loan consolidation is that your credit history and score will improve as you make timely payments. Here is how to get started in consolidating your federal Stafford student loans. You’ll need to assemble all of the federal student loans you owe and if you’re not sure who owns your loans, you can visit the website of National Student Loan Data System. After this you should call your lenders and ask if they offer student loan consolidation. If the lenders offer this, request an application and gather any documents that the lenders want in addition to the application. Finally, you read the terms of the consolidation loan and sign the promissory note. The best time to request a consolidation is near the end of the grace period because if your request it during the grace period, you’ll have to make payments immediately after graduation. In order to qualify for federal Stafford student loan consolidation, you must have at least $20,000 in loan debt and you don’t have to be employed in order to qualify. In addition, you don’t need collateral or someone to co-sign on the consolidation loan. One thing you should never do is combine your private and federal student loans because you won’t be able to defer on the private loan if you wish to return to school but the government allows you to defer on their loans for this reason. With private student loans you won’t be able to get forbearance due to hard times while the government gives forbearance. If you’re comparing different loan consolidation companies for student loan consolidation, you want to choose a company that will offer a gradual lowering of your interest rate for being a responsible borrower. For example, a company that gives you a low interest rate for requesting the consolidation after graduation may be a good choice, or a company that shaves off the interest rate a little when you arrange for automatic payments could save you money on the loan. Are you looking for more information on loan consolidation? Visit http://studentloanconsolidations.org/ today!
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