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Students across the country are
jumping on the government student loan
consolidation bandwagon. And for good
reason!
Whether you are still in school, a
graduate, unemployed or comfortably employed you
can save thousands through a government
student loan consolidation by locking in
record low interest rates before they go up.
If you need to reduce your monthly
student loan payments by extending the amount of
time you have to pay your debt, this may be the
solution for you.
If your loans are in default you
may still reap the benefits. Benefits include
protecting your credit rating, saving money by
locking in lower interest rates or lower monthly
payments.
Consolidate
your student loans, as low as
1.625%
Federal Student Loan
Consolidation
For students or parents with
federal loans that have not been consolidated
previously, are out of school and in repayment
of their loans, or will be graduating within six
months, have more than one lender that holds
their loans and are over the $15,000 student
loan amount.
For Federal Stafford (students)
and
Federal PLUS Loans (Parent Loan for
Undergraduate Students).
There are a number of rules that
the government has instituted concerning who is
and who is not eligible for consolidation.
We have 4 questions that must be
answered correctly in order to determine
eligibility:
1) Do you have more than
$15,000 in federal student loan debt?
Answer Must be Yes
2) Do you make more than one monthly payment for
the loans mentioned above?
Answer Must be Yes
3) Are you currently in repayment and out of
school or will you be leaving within the next
six months?
Answer Must be Yes
4) Are you in default on all of your student
loans?
Answer Must be No
If you qualify with the above,
here is your solution:
Cut
your monthly student loan payment by up to
60%
On the other hand, a government
student loan consolidation may not be the
answer for you if you're nearing the end of your
repayment term. There's not a lot of 'cents' in
spending your valuable time rearranging your
loan portfolio, especially if it means extending
the amount of time you have to pay off your
debt. If you can manage your existing monthly
payments stick with it because you will save
money over the long term.
If you have more than one student
loan this will allow you to combine all of them
into one monthly payment while locking in a low
interest rate. Ultimately, your debts will be
easier to manage.
To help make the repayment process
easier and more attractive, there are four
plans for you to choose from.
Standard Plan: The standard
repayment plan offers a fixed-rate plan with
monthly payments of at least $50 for up to ten
years. Borrowers pay less interest under this
plan because the repayment period is
shorter.
Extended Payment Plan: The
difference between this plan and a standard plan
is monthly payments are extended over a period
of 12-30 years. If you have a high debt load
this may help you reduce your monthly payments
but the longer you take to clear the loan, the
more interests you will pay.
Graduated Payment Plan: Under this
plan monthly payments start out low and increase
approximately every two years. The repayment
period can be from 12-30 years depending on your
debt load.
Income Contingent Repayment (ICR)
Plan: Your monthly payments via this plan are
based on your income, family size and loan
amount.
Take the time to compare the cost
of repaying your unconsolidated student loans
against the cost of paying a government
student loan consolidation.
It's in your best interest to
explore your government student loan
consolidation options.
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