Consolidate Graduate Student Loans - The Smart Choice For Your Student Loans - 0

By gager | January 2, 2009

student loans
Consolidate graduate student loans and lower your monthly payments, lower your interest rate and simplify the process by having only one loan.

For graduate students, consolidating your student loans becomes even more important than for undergraduate students. Because you generally carry significantly higher debt from being in school longer, making it more manageable when it comes time to repay is essential.

Based on the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, graduate students average between $27,000 and $114,000 additional debt on top of their undergraduate debt. Here are 4 benefits that consolidating your graduate student loans provides.

The single most important benefit when you have a large debt is lowering your monthly payments so it is more manageable. When you consolidate graduate student loans, you replace your multiple student loans with one large consolidation loan. The total amount you pay each month with the consolidation loan is significantly less than the total amount paid each month on the multiple loans. This can be done by extending your consolidation loan period up to 30 years.

By consolidating your loans, you simplify the whole process. It’s much easier to keep track of one loan instead of multiple loans with multiple lenders and due dates. Also, the amount of paperwork and other hassles are greatly reduced.

It should be noted that if you have both federal and private student loans, you will want to consolidate these separately. Federal student loans (graduate or not) receive special benefits and conditions which are lost if consolidated with private student loans. So if you have both, you will want to have one consolidation loan for federal student loans and one for private.

The process of consolidating your graduate student loans provides the opportunity to receive lower interest rates. This helps offset the cost of extending your loan period in order to receive lower monthly payments. The lower interest rates on larger loans can help you save a great deal over the life of the loan.

When you consolidate graduate student loans, you essentially pay off your existing student loans with your consolidation loan. By paying off loans on time or early, you improve your credit score.

This can benefit you in the future by providing better rates on your car loan or mortgage. For a mortgage, even a small improvement in interest rate could translate into thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in savings.

If you want to lower your monthly payments to a more manageable level, deal with only one lender, get a lower interest rate and help your credit score, you should consolidate graduate student loans. Make your student loans fit your financial situation – it’s the smart choice.



By: Thomas Erikson

About the Author:

Thomas Erikson is co-founder of http://www.your-debt-consolidation-loan.com which provides student loan consolidation information and solutions.



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Student Loan Consolidation Repayment Plans Available For Your Federal Direct Loans - 0

By gager | January 2, 2009

student loans
Here are 4 student loan consolidation repayment plans that are available to you for your federal direct student loans.

Consolidating your student loans lowers your monthly payments so they fit your budget. You can choose the option from these 4 that best suits your situation so that your student loan repayment doesn’t become a serious financial burden.

The equal payment option allows you to consolidate your federal direct student loans using equal monthly payments. You receive a fixed interest rate on your loan and then make equal payments until your loan is paid off. The main benefit to you is this is the least expensive option since you pay both interest and principal. The consistency of this option helps – you know how much you pay each month and it won’t change.

If you anticipate needing lower monthly payments for the first couple of years, then a graduated repayment plan may be right for you. You begin by paying lower monthly payments (usually interest only). After a specified period of time (usually 2 to 5 years), your monthly payments are increased to include both interest and principal.

This option is more expensive than the equal payment method because the initial period only covers interest so it takes longer for you to pay off the principal. As a result, you get charged interest for a longer period of time.

If you have an equal payment or graduated repayment plan, you can extend your repayment to 15 years if you qualify. In order to qualify, you need to have an FFEL loan that was disbursed on or after October 7, 1998 and the total amount of FFEL debt you have must be greater than $30,000. By extending your loan repayment, you lower your monthly payments so they can better fit your financial situation.

You need to keep in mind that by extending your repayment, it becomes a more expensive option since you get charged interest for a longer period of time.

If your financial situation just can’t handle the repayment requirements of these options, then another of the student loan consolidation repayment plans is called income sensitive repayment. Your monthly payments are adjusted each year based on your gross annual income. It takes into account your total debts and the size of your family. Your lender requires documentation about your income and debts in order to properly assess your monthly payment level.

No matter what your financial situation is, there is an option for you. These 4 student loan consolidation repayment plans provide you with a wide range of options so you can repay your student loans and have those monthly payments fit your budget.



By: Thomas Erikson

About the Author:

Thomas Erikson is co-founder of http://www.your-debt-consolidation-loan.com which provides student loan consolidation information and solutions.



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Topics: Student Loans | Give Your Two Cents »

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