Student Loan Consolidation Basics

By Michael Fleischner

For students attending college or graduate school, paying student loans is a key concern. When considering how you are going to pay back your loans, you have many options available. If you are like most students, you have more than one loan. Student loan consolidation is a great way to simplify your repayment process.

Loan consolidation is essentially the process of taking multiple loans from different providers and paying that loan with a single umbrella loan from a single provider. There are significant benefits when you take this approach. The result is a lower payment amount and simple repayment process.

When taking advantage of loan consolidation, you have a single lender and one monthly payment. One of the benefits of a consolidated loan is that you often have a few repayments options to chose from. Make sure you research these options and decide which ones work best given your current ability to pay.

Student loan repayment options include standard repayment. This is where you make a fixed sum payment. Most student loan repayment periods are for ten or fewer years. If the monthly amount is too much for your budget, a second option is to extend your payment for a longer time period of time. The last repayment option is to pay a graduated amount during the repayment process, stepping up about every two years.

With selecting the graduated repayment option, your payments are made over an extended period. Keep in mind however that payments are not the same over the life of the loan. Every couple of years your payment amount increases. This graduated payment schedule is right for individuals who need the lowest payment amount when repaying their loans.

Keep in mind that once a loan is consolidated your interest rate is fixed (except in the graduated repayment option). This means that you will be expected to make your payment each and every month. This is incredibly important when you are repaying a consolidated loan. Not repaying in a timely manner can result in default and a damaged credit score and an inability to acquire future loans.

A great way to make your payments is by deciding on the right repayment option to meet your need. One popular method is to set up a direct withdrawal from your account every month. This automatic process simplifies your payment and ensures that you never miss a payment. The sooner you set up the automatic repayment process the easier it will be to make your monthly payments.

When you start to repay your school loans, consider student loan consolidation. Loan consolidation makes the repayment process easier to manage and provides flexibility. Set up and automatic repayment program and find a well known lender who can work with you as your ability to pay changes over time.

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