Student Loan Consolidation

 by: Ken MacKenzie

Why Consolidate Your Student Loans?

It's January of your senior year and time to start thinking

about all those loans you took to help pay for college.

Between Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and all the rest,

between subsidized and unsubsidized you begin to realize

that a year from now you will have run out of grace period

and have to start paying back all those loans. You're going

to be paying back eight different loans at eight different

interest rates and eight terms. It's time to start thinking

about a student consolidation loan.

A student consolidation loan could be worth it just to

simplify your repayment schedules. But more importantly, if

you can get a loan with a lower interest rate than you are

paying on your school loans, then you can save yourself

some money. If the consolidation loan extends the length of

your student loan payback term, then it may have the added

benefit of lowering the monthly payment now (when you

aren't making a large salary). You can always increase your

payments as your salary grows.

How to Consolidate Your Student Loans

After deciding to consolidate your student loans, the next

step is to figure out how to go about it. You may have

several choices of lenders, and what you choose could affect

the amount you ultimately pay. Choose carefully.

The Department of Education provides the Federal Direct

Consolidation Loans Program. Numerous states have student

consolidation loans, some for your federal loans and others

for your state loans. Then there are private lenders offering

consolidation loans as well. You might first check with your

current loan providers to see what they have to offer. They

may have a better deal for current customers.

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Student Loan Consolidation
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About The Author Ken MacKenzie is a successful writer and online entrepreneur. He has developed http://www.college-loans.us as a portal for presenting articles, information, resources, news and links about college scholarships, grants and loans. Copyright 2005, Ken MacKenzie http://www.college-loans.us You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, newsletters, ezines or electronic publications, as long as the complete article is used including the resource box, all links (clickable) and copyright information.

Additional Resources

category - Education Grants

National Science Foundation's Smart Health and Wellbeing Program
The National Science Foundation has constituted the development of the Smart Health and Wellbeing (SHB) Program wherein they intend to address scientific and technical issues that would pave the way towards the transformation of the healthcare process from being rather reactive and hospital centered into becoming preventive, proactive, evidence-based, patient-centered and focused on the wellbeing of the person rather than his/her disease.

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National Endowment for the Arts: Literature Translation Fellowship 2012
The National Endowment for the Arts has constituted the Literature Fellowship for Translation Projects grant. The grant provides fellowships for published translators as they translate specific works of prose, poetry or drama.

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Student Loans Available Directly from the Federal Government
There are different variations of a Federal Direct Student Loan available; these are dependent on whether or not the student is eligible for government assistance. Need based programs include the Stafford Loan and the Direct Subsidized Loan; while non-need based programs are the Direct PLUS program, and the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

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What Are Title IV Programs and How Can They Help You Pay for College
The Title IV programs help college students save money and protects their rights, is a service provided by the government that is responsible for higher education to help prepare undergrads for the real job market after they graduate.

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