Consolidating my stafford loans
01-Mar-2020 13:21
Consider how much longer it will take to repay the new loan and how much more in total interest you will have to pay as a result.
Weigh that against the benefit of a lower interest rate, smaller monthly payments and having just one—not multiple—student loan payments to handle each month. Combining them with federal loans will disqualify you from applying for the benefits provided for federal student loans, such as to extending the loan-payment period , income-driven repayment plans, and federal loan forgiveness programs.
To answer the question, “Should I consolidate my student loans,” you need to have a good idea how much you could save.
You can find this out easily and quickly by using our student loan refinancing calculator.
First, let’s focus on whether you should consolidate your private student loans.
If you have good credit, a stable job and have already made at least a few student loan payments, you are a good candidate for refinancing and consolidating your private student loans, because you can probably get a better interest rate than you are currently paying.
It is usually difficult to convince a private lender to release a cosigner.
That's Loan consolidation can simply your life, but you need to do it carefully to avoid losing benefits you may currently have—or be eligible for—under the loans you have now.Right now, if you have good credit history, you can refinance and consolidate student loans at around 3% If that does not describe your situation, you may still be able to refinance and consolidate your private student loans if you have a cosigner with a good credit history.Before asking someone to cosign for you, however, find out how likely it is that they can be released from their obligation to repay your student loans when your credit improves.The truth is that lenders weight the average of the interest rates you're currently paying on your existing federal student loans and then round that number up to the nearest one-eighth of a percentage.
While the interest rate on the new loan may be lower than the higher interest rate, it will also be higher than the lower interest rate you're currently paying.Student loan consolidation is a process through which you take out a new loan, which is then used to pay off your other existing student loans.