Guide to College Financing Chapter: 1 2 3 4 5
Student Debt Consolidation
Surviving is a matter of adaptability. You make it through college on the strength of frugal living, scholarships, and student loans. When you're finally earning the big bucks in the work place, loan repayments may annihilate your paycheck. Debt consolidation allows you to adapt your loan structure to better suit your personal situation.
Surviving is a matter of adaptability. You make it through college on the strength of frugal living, scholarships, and student loans. When you're finally earning the big bucks in the work place, loan repayments may annihilate your paycheck. Debt consolidation allows you to adapt your loan structure to better suit your personal situation.
Table of Content
- 1. The Price of Higher Education
- 2. Scholarships and Fellowships
- 3. Student and Parent Loans
- 4. Student Debt Consolidation
- 5. Loan Forgiveness
Introduction to consolidation
Within six months to a year after graduation, you'll start making debt payments. Most students have several loans, and each will have its own repayment requirements.
You can streamline this repayment and lower your monthly obligations by consolidating. This process involves taking out one large loan to replace several smaller ones. Rather than making payments on three Stafford Loans and a Perkins Loan, you can make one payment to a new debt consolidation loan. For your protection, the federal government regulates the interest rate and repayment term for student debt consolidation loans. Repayment terms generally range from 10 to 30 years, depending on how much you owe. Under these regulations, you can only consolidate direct and federal student loans. Private loans can be merged through a private lender, but wouldn't be subject to the interest rate cap and other protections.
That said, consolidation is a good option; but it isn't the only one. Under the right circumstances, you may be able to reduce your student debt with volunteer work.
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