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Federal Student Loan Consolidation Can Save Money On Payments
One of the toughest things many new graduates face when they earn their college degree is paying off their student loans. Graduates who had to continually take out loans during the course of their education can find themselves in deep debt and payments coming due, usually six months after graduation. There may be a glimmer of hope by reducing the monthly payments through federal student loan consolidation to lump all of the loans together and make a lower monthly payment.
For most students, the amount of the monthly payment can be reduced by as much as 53 percent and by applying before beginning paying back the loans, the low interest rate will last for the life of the loan. Additionally, loans accepted in the federal student loan consolidation program during the initial grace period can trim interest rates by .6 percent and there is only one loan payment to make every month. Depending on the agency that provides the federal student loan consolidation, there may not be any credit checks or fees associated with the loan approval.
A Stafford Loan federal student loan consolidation agreement will reduce the aggregate monthly payments by 53 percent and provide a fixed rate for the life of the loan. PLUS loans can also be consolidated into one loan with a lower monthly payment, but the stipulation is the loan total has to be greater than $20,000 to be eligible.
Graduate Students Also Have Consolidation Options
Students who consolidated their loans from their under graduate education and are now facing loans from their graduate education can receive federal student loan consolidation on their Stafford loans and combine them with the previously consolidated loans. This will allow them to make only one payment on the combination of all of their educational loans.
When seeking federal student loan consolidation options, it should be known that under federal rules, interest rates must mirror those offered by the government. However, there may be some allowable discounts from the lenders that drop the price of the loan.
For example, a lender may offer a small discount for automatic payments from a checking account or on a credit card to reduce the over all cost of the federal student loan consolidation.
When looking into the loan rates, be sure you understand what the interest rate will be. Some lenders advertise what the federal student loan consolidation interest will be after all discounts. Since not every applicant will qualify for every discount, the rate received may be higher than the advertised rate.
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