Consolidate School Loan

Looking to consolidate school loan expenses, countless former students have looked for various sources and means to cut down both on the number of loans being paid each month and to perhaps cut the amount paid on all of the loans to a lower single payment. In many students' cases, loan amounts today for student educational expenses can easily be beyond fifty thousand dollars. In some cases the sum may be double that amount. The students of the 21st century are looking at very high debt amounts for their training and bankruptcy laws have gotten much tougher, not allowing students to so easily disengage from fiduciary responsibilities. There are really two types of student loans, federal and private. Each one has peculiarities and requirements that must be met in order for them to be able to have any chance to consolidate school loan expenses.

The first are the federal student loans that are eligible for consolidation. If a student has federal Stafford loans, PLUS loans, Perkins loans, HEAL loans, Federal FFELP and Direct loans, he has lending agreements that are eligible under Department of Education guidelines to consolidate school loan expenses into one payment. When a college student first leaves school, federal student loans are due in ten years. Monthly payments are figured on a ten year pay back schedule. With often very high balances, a payment on a single loan can be high but three or four separate accounts due each month can be breathtaking for a young person. Consolidation of all the accounts allows the student to stretch loan liability out to as far as thirty years, often cutting in half the monthly ten year obligations. But it does mean that by doing the federal loan consolidation over the thirty year time span, a lot more interest will be paid.

There are some guidelines and requirements to consolidate school loan expenses from the federal government and the first is that, consolidation will only occur with federal loans amounting to more than twenty thousand dollars. Additionally, a student must not be in default on any of the loans and must be less than a half time student. But then it gets really good for some students. How does not having to be employed grab you or not needing a cosigner or not having to have any collateral for approval? What about having a stinky credit score and it not mattering? Almost sounds like the requirements for being on a chain gang! God is also ready to ready to forgive each of us of our many sins as the Bible reminds us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

There are plenty of online sites to help a student consolidate school loan expenses. Educational loan interest rates run from about four percent for HEAL loans to over eight percent for PLUS loans. Application for consolidation of government loans is easy and fast but remember one thing. A person may have lousy credit and no cosigner and no job but bankruptcy is out of the question as far as the government is concerned. Filing chapter seven where a person can walk away from all debts does not include any money owed to Uncle Sam including student loans and taxes owed. Tax refunds will be garnished as well as other actions taken if a student defaults on educational loans from Lady Liberty. But if the consolidation loan is paid on time each month, a student can quickly build a very fine credit score which will be of great value all of the student's life.

To consolidate school loan expenses from a private source such as a bank, other requirements come into play. Mr. Banker is not nearly as accommodating as Uncle Sam and will require that the recent undergraduate degree holder have a co-signer for approval along with at least two references. Additionally and here is the big one, an applicant must provide monthly income and expense figures. For a recent graduate, that one could really hurt, especially if the job is entry-level and a new car to celebrate graduation was recently purchased. In that case, the co-signer better be related to King Midas. The effort to consolidate school loan expenses will be rewarded by the student being able to push undergraduate loans all the way out to twenty five years if desired. Graduate students can go to thirty years.

It may be difficult for a young graduate to fathom the length of time it will take for paying off educational loans, especially if the loan amount is akin to the size of a mortgage payment. The move to consolidate school loan expenses for most students is a must in order to survive the month to month grind of paying bills. But there needs to be a strong warning given to all students who desire school but must borrow large sums of money to attend. While faithful paying of bills every month of every year is commendable, just a couple of thirty days late payments can wreak havoc on one's credit history. Additionally, the recent graduate needs to understand how credit scores (FICO) are assembled and one of the most important factors is the debt to income ratio. If the percentage of a person's monthly income is more than forty percent loaded with credit payments, including school loans, even if the bills are paid every month on time, the credit score will be affected. Wisdom would dictate that trying to have all the things that one's parents have accumulated over decades with credit is the beginning of a lifetime of financial pain.

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