Friday, October 15, 2010

How to Pick Student Loan Consolidations at the Lowest Rates

While student loan consolidation programs are quite easy to locate, finding the program that has the lowest rate may be more difficult. To be eligible for a consolidation loan you need to have outstanding loans unpaid. 

Present student loans may have high interest rates and may take years to pay up. This means you will lose a huge amount of money in interest over the years as well as the hidden fees in these contracts. Student loan consolidation programs have the potential to save the student a lot of money.

The federal government generally offers much better interest rates than the private loan concerns do. After locating a possible loan source you can easily use the free online calculators to determine the true value of the potential loan. With these calculators, you can easily see what the monthly payments will look like and how much the interest will be added to the loan over time.

Private banks also offer student loan consolidation. Their interest rate is called Prime Rate meaning you will end up with in a contract will a little higher than the federal. Sometimes, Prime Rate online can be a good idea when you are looking into student debt consolidation loans. A good starting point is to approach the bank that holds your checking account and asking them if they issue student loan consolidation. You can then ask about any discount they have for you (if you use their bank for your accounts, of course).

Many companies also specialize in consolidating private student loans. These are in the business of making a profit so be careful about any offers you get from them. Most of the time, they do not have your best interest at heart, only theirs. That does not necessarily mean they will not give you have a good deal, it just means you need to be prudent in your choice making.

If you have federal loans then the consolidation needs to be a federal consolidation program. If your student loans are private then you will need private student loan consolidation. You can research the interest rates currently being offered online by searching for 'student loan consolidation_ interest rates'. When you know what the going rates are then any offers for consolidation programs you get will be easy to distinguish as a good deal or not. Your primary goal is finding the best deal offered at the lowest rate of interest and a reasonable time for repayment. Low interest loans with a long tenure are a bad deal in the end.

When you now know the best loan deal for you, the rest is just a matter of shopping around to compare the terms of the loans. It is possible to find the company who will offer a no-cost consolidation for student loans. 

There are lots of free programs that offer different rates varying with the circumstances of each person who applies. Do not settle for any offer that is not less than what you are currently paying in interest. In the end, the main aim of loan consolidation is a combined payment that is easier to manage.

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