A student loan consolidation makes repayment seem more manageable because you only have one loan and one payment. You also have other ways for consolidating student loans such as a direct consolidation loan that offers many repayment options depending on your finances.
You can consolidate your student loan directly with the US Department of Education through a direct consolidation loan. They offer a number of payment options for you to choose.
If you need the flexibility to change your payment plan due to changes in your financial situation, the direct consolidation loan is what you need. It is designed for just his purpose.
Another repayment plan is called the standard repayment plan. With this plan you will settle on a fixed monthly amount until you have paid the balance in full. Your monthly payments can start out as low as $50.00 per month for 30 years depending on the amount you owe.
The extended repayment plan goes up to 25 years but to be eligible you have to have a loan amount that is more than $30,000. You can have a fixed monthly payment of $50 until you have paid off the whole loan or pay the interest first and settle the remaining amount later. For the latter option, your payment will start out very low and will increase every two years.
The income contingent repayment option determines your monthly payment based on your annual income, balance owed and the size of your family. The loan term may be extended for up to 25 years.
The direct consolidation loan does not have specific requirements for you to qualify, and there is no fee. You only have one lender to deal with which is the U.S. Education Department.
You now have all the information you need to know about the direct consolidation loan payment options. This should help you make a more informed decision about the program and let you compare with other consolidation loan programs that are available.
By: Ryan Wilkins
Posts Tagged ‘Consolidating Student Loans’
Consolidating Student Loans – How To Consolidate Safely and Easily
February 3rd, 2010
Student consolidation loans are the easiest and best way to get relief from the burden of accumulating debts especially among students who are not dependent on the money sent by their parents.
Students consider taking a loan as the easiest way to get relief from the debt that they have taken to clear their college dues and face other challenges.
With the constant rise in the prices of college education in conjunction with other necessary expenses, it has become extreme difficult to survive without ample money in hand. This is the main reason for students to depend on more than one loan to fulfill their requirements.
The problem appears when it comes to pay off all the loans with other bills and interest charges levied on these loans. This is really difficult. However, if not paid on time, the financial institutions may take strict actions against students. This may also ruin their future.
This is the point where a student needs help. Here comes the role play of a student consolidation loan. This loan would be of much help to students when it comes to pay off all the debts.
A consolidation loan refers to combining or consolidating all the student loans in to a single loan. With this scheme, you can enjoy a lot of benefits.
First and foremost, this process will help you via making you deal with a single payment on a monthly basis. Another benefit is that you can reduce the rate of interest significantly when pay off the bills and other debts. This loan can also be referred to as an instrument that must be seriously taken in to consideration in case; you want to simplify the complicated process of handling the debt.
Here are some tips on consolidating your student’s loan in a safe and easy way. These tips will help you a lot:
a) Keep yourself away from fraudulent companies. Yes, with a lot of competition in this field, these days you may come across certain fraudulent companies. These companies may squeeze a lot of money out of you without providing you any benefits.
b) Make a thorough research prior to deciding on a particular company providing the facility of students loan consolidation. Try to meet a lot of vendors and hit certain websites and analyze what they sell and how authentic these companies are.
c) Make sure that your credit record is clear prior to going for a loan consolidation scheme.
d) If a vendor is trying to rush you in to signing a contract, stop making a deal immediately.
e) Check the credentials of the company via contracting the Best Business Bureau. Make sure that you find out if there has been any complaint reported against these companies in the past.
f) Ask for some special discounts and schemes from the company.
g) You should try to consolidate your loan within the grace period provided. This way, you can easily save almost half of the interest rate as compared to the current repayment rate.
Following the tips mentioned above will let you enjoy the best benefits of student loan consolidation.
By: Bertil Hjert
Student Loan Consolidation – Don’t Procrastinate
January 18th, 2010
Perhaps you were the student who waited until the last minute to cram for finals or routinely rolled out of bed five minutes before morning classes began. Procrastination is a common part of many students’ college experience. However, putting off consolidating your student loans and locking in the current interest rate won’t harm your grade point average, but it will affect your financial future. If you are thinking about student loan consolidation, you have until the deadline of June 30, to take advantage of the current low interest rates.
With interest rates expected to increase from 4.7% to 6.8% on July 1st, not consolidating your student loans could be a big mistake that will cost you thousands of dollars. For example, if you currently owe $30,000 in Federal Stafford Loans, monthly payments are $314. This amount can drop to $217 if you do a loan consolidation with the current interest rate. If you don’t meet the deadline, you will soon be paying $345 a month. Wouldn’t you prefer to be doing something else with $128 every month? As well, parents who are currently paying on PLUS loans should expect a hefty increase to what they are paying in interest if they don’t lock in the current rate before the deadline.
Besides the annual adjustment to the student loan interest rates, sweeping changes to the terms of financial aid are due to take affect on July 1st as part of the U.S. Congress’ Budget Reconciliation Act, and most of these changes will not benefit borrowers. Among the changes, students in school will not be able to consolidate their loans. As well, loan origination fees for students will be doubling, and the “in school” interest rate that currently gives students attending classes or in their grace period a discount of .6% will be discontinued.
Another reason not to delay in consolidating student loans is that there may not be an amnesty period for borrowers who fill out applications that aren’t processed by the deadline. Last year, a flood of applications were received the day before the rate hike went into affect, and the U.S. Department of Education generously offered amnesty for those who had submitted completed applications prior to the deadline. This year the Department of Education might not be so kind, and applicants who haven’t completed their consolidations before July 1st could be faced with having to pay the higher interest rate. Because student loan applications can take anywhere from one to 4 months to be processed, the time to submit an application is now.
The good news is that if you are considering a student loan debt consolidation, you still have enough time to complete the process and take advantage of the current interest rates and terms. It only takes a matter of minutes to fill out an application, and there is lots of help available. So, go ahead and get started, and pat yourself on the back for taking charge of your financial future.
By: Mike O'Brien