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Another great site is [www.graduateleverage.com] The guys that started this up came to my law school a few years back. A lot of my friends have used them for consolidation purposes and have been happy with the results. This may have changed with the fixed-rate Staffords, but worth checking out.
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One big tip, I wish someone had told me. If all your student loans are through the same company, they can refuse to release them. I had all of mine through Educaid (Wachovia) and while my friends were consolidating their loans at 2.5% or so, I got about 6%. That was the best Wachovia would offer (it was an average of my 4 loans.) and I could not go to anyone else. I had contacted companies, gotten great quotes in that 2.5% range, and got told, oops, sorry, all your loans are with Wachovia. Please, just one term, switch the company you get the loans from. It can save you thousands!
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@QuantumRiff: when exactly was this? i know the laws have changed greatly in the SL marketplace. at one time, your situation was common. i don't believe lenders have \"firsties\" anymore.
the reason i ask \"when\" is b/c student loan rates haven't been in that range since i consolidated back in 2002. now i think most people are borrowing in the 7-10% range.
@mac-phisto: the federal loan rates are now fixed at some ridiculously low interest rate for undergrad loans.
@sponica: ??? unsubsidized staffords are at 6.8% right now. subsidized at ~6%. PLUS are in the 8-8.5% range. where are these ridiculously low rates you refer to?
@QuantumRiff: i checked into it a little more: the single holder rule (the rule you refer to) was repealed in 2006. if you still have student loans out there, maybe you can still consolidate them...
@QuantumRiff: I do not understand this. Are you saying Wachovia wouldn't let you pay off the loans early? Essentially what consolidation is doing is refinancing (paying one loan off with another, better terms loan).
So I am somewhat confused about my student loans. I have most of my loans through Direct Loan (the government) which I consolidated through their program in November at like 7%, and a small loan through AES (I got through Bank of America) at some sort of variable rate tied to LIBOR.
Is it possible to consolidate those loans (one large government one and a smaller private one) into one, lower fixed interest loan?
@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: You can't consolidate your private loans into a federal loan, and you generally shouldn't borrow privately to pay off federal loans, since the federal ones have more protections (deferment, forbearance, income-based repayment...)
Other good resources: NSLDS.ed.gov and ibrinfo.org
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Perfect timing thank you! I'm just now dealing with the finances for starting grad school this fall.
Fatwallet also has a great thread on student loans which I remember using for consolidating my undergrad loans several years ago. I'm sure it's still around for some additional financial information.
This is the thread I was talking about:
[www.fatwallet.com]
and its all bad news. basically all the good consolidators have pulled out, and there are very few good options.
One more resource if you have gotten a loan with a private lender in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is your guarantor. Your school or NSLDS can tell you which guarantor you have. The guarantor basically guarantees the bank that they will get their loan money back. Essentially, the guarantor has to buy the loan back if you default. They also are supposed to keep watch over the lender to make sure they contact you like they are supposed to when you miss payments. Often, if you are having problems with your lender, the guarantor can work it a different way to get the situation resolved. A list of guarantors is available at [www.finaid.org]
Also, if you are in default or getting, your guarantor can work with you to get your loan back in good standing. The guarantors often are more flexible than the original lenders in what they will accept.
What I wish I had known is that a state or state-recommended program can still be an unscrupulous private lender.
I was 21 and thought that if the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was encouraging me to go through the MEFA program that it was better than shopping around to banks.
Now I'm paying them an outrageous amount monthly, with interest rates that they jack around at will (I paid ON TIME and was not delinquent in any way, but they jacked my interest rate to 8.75%). And conveniently, every time I have called to talk with them about it, there's either \"nothing they can do\" or they \"accidentatlly dropped my call.\" Mmm-hmm.
And a private consolidation is a VERY hard thing to come by in 2008-2009.
The Fed loans are still a good deal, though. My interest on those (consolidated) is now down to 2.25%.
is anyone able to find a fixed rate private student loan consolidation anymore? I haven't been able to.
What's all this I'm reading about 2-point-something interest rates on consolidated student loans? When I consolidated my Federal student loans I was given 6.25%. *sigh*
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Any way to lower a consolidated federal student loan rate? It's a terrible situation, I pay my loan every month, but the interest rate is frozen at around 7.5%. I'll be paying off my loans forever at that rate.
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Not that I know of. You consolidated at a bad time, unfortunately.
I suppose it might be possible to get a debt consolidation loan for that, but the rate probably won't be much better and you'd lose your benefits.
Lucky for me I haven't consolidated yet and I'm probably going to be sub 3% after I do.
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I will be checking the links out, but I'm afraid there's no hope for me. I consolidated my loans and currently pay way too much a month for Sallie Mae, which despite advertising \"lower your loan payments!\" all over the site, wouldn't let me do such a thing. I think they gave me something about how I wasn't eligible since I'd already done it once, or already consolidated. It was my fault for getting into the situation, though. Especially with a liberal arts degree. Although my state deregulating tuition just as I enter school didn't help either.
I am in the same boat. I had to consolidate when I graduated and they way Sallie Mae did it was to average the loan rates when they issued, not the current rate. They also didn't send me a payment book until after the first payment was due, so no 1% on time deduction (couldn't argue out of it). So I have been stuck paying 8.25% for the last 10 years. I would assume some bank would have loved to have my business at 6% or lower but I am barred because I already consolidated. I wish I had known about Direct Loans at the time but my school said Sallie Mae was their \"lender\" (little did I know it meant preferred lender, but I was desperate for the aid and didn't know enough at the time to shop around). Oh well, guess I am stuck in student loan hell.
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I came here looking for a list written across a large posterior and was sadly disappointed. When, o when will they deliver on their promises??
I'm planning on starting graduate school in the fall, and I also plan on continuing my full time job while in school. My current income will cover my living expenses, and I'm planning on using student loans to cover the the cost of tuition and fees.
Has anyone had any experience applying for federal loans for graduate? What is the criteria for receiving the loans, and how much can I expect to get?
Anyone have any experience with consolidation vs rehabilitation for loans in default?
I have two loans right now, one in good standing the other in default, and I'm trying to get all the pros/cons on the table before I push on to try to get out of this mess.
THANK YOU!!!! What a great source. This is the first year I'll be applying for loans (great time to do it, huh?), and I really needed this info.
DON'T DO IT. Don't borrow ANY money for school. It's a huge mistake. Seriously, you have no idea what you're in for. Take one class at a time if you have to, but these lenders are unscrupulous. You have no consumer protections if you take out a student loan. Find another way to get the money; that way, if you get sick or disabled or lose your job, you could go bankrupt if you had to. My loans have DOUBLED in 5 years and there is no end in sight. I keep paying, and they keep adding fees and interest and I've heard horror stories of people paying off their original amount but still owing more than their original amount! Please don't do this to yourselves.
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@T Renee Smith: Can you point me to any type of loan anywhere where you don't end up paying back more than you originally borrowed?
@T Renee Smith: I disagree. A well managed and hard working student can absolutely pay it off. My boyfriend has put himself through five years of undergraduate work with only a $10,000 revolving line of credit - he worked through summer to pay it off so he could go to school the next year. And had a part time job to cover the yearly expenses. Now, he's graduating, and will have very little undergraduate debt.
~
That of course, is before he goes straight into a prestigious MBA that costs 40,000......
But in his undergraduate he did well, and the MBA was a choice.
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@T Renee Smith: I agree with you at least about the private loans. I've paid on mine for 3+ years and STILL owe more than I took out...these were full payments.
I really wish I wouldn't have taken them out but really didn't know what I was getting myself into when I did it.
It really should be required that they give you at least an ESTIMATE of what your payments will look like when you get out of school, that might have helped.
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@T Renee Smith: I disagree. A well managed Stafford Loan can be of great benefit. However, if you are referring to private (aka alternative loans) I understand. They can balloon up when it comes to interest rates and penalties.
The best advice would be to supplement out of pocket with as little loans as possible, such as subsidized Stafford and Perkins loans. Filing a FAFSA is the best place to start.
Check out studentloanjustice.com for some background and warnings.
Glad to see something about filing a FAFSA. Do it now rather than later!
www.fafsa.ed.gov FREE application for Fedearl Student Aid.
DONT USE FAFSA dot COM (they will charge you)
If you're going in the spring only, FILE NOW as some deadlines for aid pass in the fall and if you file in the spring you're SOL.
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Why is it that when doing a consolidation loan, your new interest rate is based on the weighted averages of your existing loans. If I am essentially getting a new loan with a new company, why can't I just get the lowest rate that is currently going? If I refinance a home I get the lowest rate going, why not the same for student loans?
You forgot to mention joining the military.
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@MercyEleusis: and most importantly when you get out DO NOT let your GI Bill go to waste by letting it expire. NONONONO.
and yet people do. sigh.
How about avoiding Student Loans at all costs, if possible?
-Not in college/haven't been before? Start out at a community college, live at home, and keep working your old high school job for as long as you can. The cost is almost insignificant even compared to a year at a State-run college. Not to mention with the economy the way it is, I don't think piling on more and more debt is a good idea, especially if you aren't able to find a job to pay it off.
Someone tell Daniel and Rufus Humphrey!
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This is a really useful article, especially with the times so tough for us students. Thanks!