By Sybria White on November 12, 2010
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) Graduation season is just around the corner. Some students are in the process of graduating at this very moment and most face graduation in May, which is quickly approaching. What is the one thing besides getting all of your necessary requirements that these students and soon to be proud parents need to worry about?: Student Loan Debt Consolidation. Academic preparation is probably not an issue at this point. There are countless reminders to meet with advisors and take this class or that class for so and so major. Therefore we as students feel pretty confident about what is going happen in May and in the months leading up to it, but what about afterwards? There is no constant reminder that six short months following this great achievement, we will be facing the means that put us through school, our hefty student loans. This article is a resource for those who will be confronted with this issue.
Debt consolidation is a way to simplify and lessen the burden of your debt after you leave school.
The following are things to consider before turning in to debt consolidation.
- Are your payments manageable?
- Do you have too many monthly payments?
- How much are you willing to pay over the long term?
- How many payments do you have left on your loans?
If you answered no to the first question loan consolidation may be worth the effort. If you are having a hard time making payments and you also have too many monthly bills, one of the two methods of consolidation below is recommended. If you are willing to pay more over the long term in order to make payments more manageable, you should consider consolidation. However if you are nearly done paying off your loan and have few payments left, consolidation may not be a wise decision, as it benefits those who fall under the previous mentioned categories.
“The Higher Education Act (HEA) provides for a loan consolidation program under both the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs and the Direct Loan Program”. “These programs simplify loan repayment by combining several types of Federal education loans (that may have different terms and repayment schedules or may have been made by different lenders) into one new loan”. You may apply for these loan consolidation programs online.
As the semester closes and you begin to approach your first loan payments keep debt consolidation at the back of your mind because loan repayment is a long term commitment that we all have to face. Keeping this option open may simplify this process.
Sources:
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans: Borrower Services
Higher Education Act |