Federal Student Loan Consolidation Eligibility

In order to be eligible for student loan consolidation, a borrower’s federal student loans must be in one of the following:

• Grace period

• Authorized deferment
• Forbearance
• Repayment

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Federal student loans that are delinquent or in default cannot be consolidated through NextStudent.

In addition, students consolidating their own federal student loans can only be attending school less than half time. But, parents: You can consolidate the PLUS loans you took out for your children’s education as soon as they’ve been fully disbursed and have entered repayment, even if your children are still in school.

However, parents’ PLUS loans can’t be consolidated with children’s Stafford loans.

Understanding Your Federal Student Loan Consolidation Rate

The interest rate for your Federal Consolidation Loan will be a fixed rate and will be based on the weighted average of the interest rates on the student loans being consolidated. In a weighted average, the larger the loan being consolidated, the more the interest rate is factored into the average.

The weighted average is then rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, with a maximum interest rate of 8.25%. This will be your fixed interest rate on your Federal Consolidation Loan.

The Benefits of Federal Student Loan Consolidation

The thought of repaying thousands of dollars of student loan debt can be overwhelming, especially when you have multiple student loans with several different lenders or servicers. Besides the convenience of combining all your existing federal education loans into one single loan with one monthly payment, a Federal Consolidation Loan offers several other benefits:

• A fixed interest rate—no more worries about variable interest rates going higher and leaving you guessing about your monthly payment amount
• Interest rate capped at 8.25%
• No prepayment penalties—you won’t be charged for paying off your consolidation loan early
• No credit check and no application fees

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Consolidation loans are also often repaid over longer periods (15–30 years), which may lower your monthly payments by up to 60%.

Rate-Reduction Advantages with NextStudent

Besides all the benefits of federal student loan consolidation, a Federal Consolidation Loan with NextStudent features additional benefits you won’t find with many other lenders:

We’ll reduce your rate by 0.25% right off the bat if you sign up for our automatic payment plan to have your loan payments automatically debited from your savings or checking account. No stamps, no hassle, no having to remember to make your payments every month, AND you lower your monthly payment—make your life more convenient and get rewarded for doing it.

We’ll reduce your rate by 1% after you make 36 on-time payments—and lock that rate reduction for the life of the loan, even if you miss a payment later on down the road.

We know repayment can seem overwhelming now, especially if you’ve just graduated. NextStudent can help. A Federal Consolidation Loan with NextStudent could help you simplify your finances, may lower your total monthly payment, and may give you a little more time to pay back your student loans—the breathing room you need as you navigate that transition between college and the real world.
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NextStudent believes that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and we are dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding simple. Learn more about Student Loans, Private Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation at NextStudent.com.

Federal Stafford Loans

Unlike other student loans, application for a specific Stafford Loan should be preceded by the filing of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA application should be made in the name of the aspiring student.

The process of applying for a Stafford Loan differs in a second way from the application process for other student loans – and application for a Stafford Loan does not require a credit check.

There is no uniform method for the delivery of money from a Stafford Loan. Some students get the money directly from their school; other Loan recipients get the money from a bank or other lender.

Signature Student Loans

In order to get a Signature Loan, a student must attend a four year or two year school on at least a half time basis. That student must also meet certain credit criteria. Like some other student loans, application for the Signature Loan permits the use of a co-signer.

In fact, there is a real advantage to applying for a Signature Loan with a co-signer. That process can lead to a reduction in the interest on the loan. And, if after graduation, the student then makes 24 successive payments, the co-signer is removed from responsibility for covering the loan expenses.

If a students plans to go to a community college, then he or she ought to consider getting a Signature Loan. Unlike other student loans, the Signature Loan rewards student applicants who have a good credit rating. Those applicants can get a lower interest rate or a lower application fee.

Tuition Answer Loans

While the student loans discussed so far have all been Federal Loans, the Tuition Answer Loans involve the loaning of private money. Money from Tuition Answer Loans normally goes to credit-worthy parents or students. The providers of Tuition Answer Loans do not feel that every student at a U.S. college is entitled to such a loan.

So, in order to get a Tuition Answer Loan, both the borrower and the student must have a Social Security number. Both the borrower and the student must be U.S. citizens, or be permanent residents. And finally, both the borrower and the student must have good credit.

Other Private Loans

A student planning to pursue a particular career should study the Career Training Loans. Like the student loans discussed in the above section, Career Training Loans are private and credit-based loans.

They allow a student to get money for either classes at a trade school, or classes taken online. The school attended by the student must, however, have a license from the state in which it operates.

Students who want to go after training in cosmetology or massage therapy do not have to forgo the chance to get a student loan. For them Career Training Loans are perfect. Those loans can also help a student who wants to become an MRI technician.

They are the sort of student loans that are ideal for anyone who wants to study on the job.

Student loan repayments are not made until the student completes his graduation. This facility helps him to concentrate on his studies and earn some little amount of money while he is studying, but repayment has to start once he finishes his education. There is a grace period of six months normally after the graduation, meant to be a cushioning period for the student to get into a job and start earning. Under certain circumstances, the federal student loans can be forgiven on an income contingent plan after 25 years. Also the payments are required to be paid off within a minimum period of time.

Private student loans are offered to the student based on the credit history of the applicant and the interest rate also will rely on this criterion. People with good credit history will be provided student loans on a lower interest rate and less fees. The advantage of private student loan is that, they have higher limits and also the repayment starts only after graduation. Private student loans can be utilized for purchasing computers, books etc. and payment of tuition fees.

Federal student loans are either given to the parents or to their wards directly. When the loan is availed by the student payments do not start when they are studying, but if it is given to their parents, they have to make payments immediately. The loan limit may also higher in that case. Federal loans do not require any co-signer as they are not based on the credit history of the applicants.

The advantages of student loans over other kind of loans are given below:

The main advantage of availing student loan is that the interest rates are very low and are very lenient. Even when the student enters his repayment period, there are many repayment options available, which allow the student to choose from so that they can be changed, based on the financial condition to suit their needs with some restrictions. The loans can be repaid even over a period of 30 years. Also, if the financial situation becomes worse the student will be eligible to defer repayment till 3 years. Some loans may even be forgiven.

Strategies adopted by students when they start repaying their student loans are as follows:

It might take either 6 months or more than that to get into a job by a student. In such cases many students take up temporary jobs, or part-time jobs, freelance jobs etc till they find a permanent job. Some share their room rent expenses with their friends by living together with, or resides nearer to the work place to cut down transportation costs. In times of financial crunch, some of them apply for forbearance through a lender, this helps them to hold off the payment for few months. Some students even go for student loan consolidation, which might bring them some relief.

Low interest student loans are very much available, if you do not find one, then you might be probably looking in a wrong place. Cheap student loans can be got from local banks, or from neighbors or friends and even Internet is a good source to locate one such loan. Once the loan is got, the student should aim at paying the installments properly on time, to avoid bad credit scores. A person who is planning to build up a good credit score can make use of this opportunity and get his credit score boosted up which can be used in the future.

Difference between a federal student loan and a personal student loan:

Personal student loans or other wise known as private student loans help the student to pay his college fees, stationary expenses, project expenses, hostel rent etc at much lower and competitive interest rates than the ones got through credit cards. The government gives the federal student loans to the student. They can be further more classified into subsidized college student loans and unsubsidized college student loans.

If a student is given a subsidized college student loan, the government pays the interest while the student is studying in the college. But, if the student is provided by an unsubsidized college student loan, there is no interest free period and the student has to pay the principal amount along with the interest after completing the education. Not all the students qualify and are offered a student loan. Such students can avail personal student loans.

Main focus of Student Loan Services is to make loan availing and its repayment a burden less affair for students. So, these services are vital for any student. These services first of all collect all necessary details about the student and his or her requirements so the student takes a suitable loan. The services providers are also responsible for processing the loan application for students.

Once the loan has been availed these service providers keep an eye on the loan repayment. Students can repay installments online though student loan services. What is more, in case a student later finds student loan repayment a little difficult then these services help the student come out of the trouble. For instance, they can advise a student in taking a consolidation loan beneficially.

Student loan services are also source of student loans and student loan consolidation. These services offer full loan packages to all type of students for enabling to meet their educational requirements. Student can get all loan information on various types of student loans from these services like details on Federal Stafford Loans, collage student loans, graduate Stafford loans, PLUS loans, private student loans and so on.

While searching for a suitable student loan service ensure comparing their types of services and the experience the company has in providing it. Surely these are useful loan services for the students.