If you make three voluntary, on - time, full monthly payments before consolidating, you can choose from any of the repayment plans available to Direct
Consolidation Loan borrowers.
-- Other servicing news: The Education Department will soon allow
consolidation loan borrowers to choose their own servicer.
If you make three voluntary, on - time, full monthly payments before consolidating, you can choose from any of the repayment plans available to Direct
Consolidation Loan borrowers.
Not exact matches
Loan consolidation is a good option for some people, but it doesn't work for everybody and may not be available to all
borrowers, Loonin said.
Consolidation may also cause you to lose certain
borrower benefits — such as interest rate discounts, principal rebates, or some
loan cancellation benefits — that are associated with your current
loans.
As much as two - thirds of online lending portfolios that have been sold to the market in recent months contain
consolidation loans, Pratt says, which essentially are
loans desperate
borrowers take out to get out of other
loan obligations.
While there's definitely a lot to think about when it comes to consolidating student
loans,
borrowers who know their options can utilize
consolidation loans when appropriate to simplify their bill payment procedures, and maybe even save a considerable sum of money.
Borrowers with a federal
consolidation loan still have to decide between different repayment plans and must decide whether to make more than the minimum required payment.
Loans that have been in default can be consolidated after three consecutive monthly payments have been made or if the borrower agrees to repay the consolidation loans under an income - driven repayment plan (where the payments are based on the income of the borro
Loans that have been in default can be consolidated after three consecutive monthly payments have been made or if the
borrower agrees to repay the
consolidation loans under an income - driven repayment plan (where the payments are based on the income of the borro
loans under an income - driven repayment plan (where the payments are based on the income of the
borrower).
There are other factors to consider (the side benefits of federal
consolidation loans for example), and there are additional strategies not covered in this scenario that some
borrowers may be able to utilize.
Although the Department of Education allows
borrowers to consolidate multiple federal student
loans into a single
loan to simplify monthly payments, federal
loan consolidation does not provide
borrowers with a lower interest rate.
The interest rate on a federal
consolidation loan is a weighted average of the
borrower's existing
loans, rounded up to the nearest one - eighth of a percent.
Borrowers who take advantage of this special, limited - time
consolidation option would also receive up to a 0.5 percent reduction to their interest rate on some of their
loans, which means lower monthly payments and saving hundreds in interest.
That's why we created this guide — to give
borrowers a useful resource that empowers them to choose if student
loan consolidation is right for them and which type may best suit their needs.
Because the interest rate is a weighted average and rounded up,
borrowers won't ever save money on interest by opting for a federal
consolidation loan unless the
loans are pre-2006 and have a variable interest rate.
This special
consolidation initiative would keep the terms and conditions of the
loans the same, and most importantly, beginning in January 2012, allow
borrowers to make only one monthly payment, as opposed to two or more payments, greatly simplifying the repayment process.
A
borrower in repayment with a $ 32,000 FFEL
Consolidation loan (at 6.25 %) and a $ 5,500 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
loan (at 6.8 %).
If any of their
loans are currently in the grace period,
borrowers may elect to have their servicer delay the processing of the
loan consolidation for one to nine months to take full advantage of the grace period for the
loan (s).
The weighted average for a federal
consolidation loan for
Borrower A is 4.25 %.
Direct
Consolidation Loans are managed by one of four servicers chosen by the
borrower.
FreedomPlus rewards
borrowers for using the
loan to directly pay off creditors, making it an attractive choice for debt
consolidation.
Nearly all federal student
loans are eligible for
consolidation, and
borrowers do not have to provide evidence of a strong credit history to qualify.
Borrowers who have Direct Stafford
loans that are either subsidized or unsubsidized, FFEL PLUS
loans, or FFEL
consolidation loans may qualify for an income - sensitive repayment plan.
Borrowers who select a Pay As You Earn repayment program are eligible if they have Direct Stafford
Loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, Direct PLUS loans to students, or consolidation loans that do not include PLUS loans made to par
Loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, Direct PLUS
loans to students, or consolidation loans that do not include PLUS loans made to par
loans to students, or
consolidation loans that do not include PLUS loans made to par
loans that do not include PLUS
loans made to par
loans made to parents.
The interest rate offered on consolidated federal student
loans is fixed but varies for each
borrower because it is the weighted average of the interest rates on outstanding
loans included in the
consolidation, rounded up to the nearest one - eighth percent.
With a graduated repayment program, federal student
loan borrowers with Direct Stafford
Loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, PLUS loans, or consolidation loans have a fixed monthly payment that adjusts every two or three y
Loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, PLUS
loans, or consolidation loans have a fixed monthly payment that adjusts every two or three y
loans, or
consolidation loans have a fixed monthly payment that adjusts every two or three y
loans have a fixed monthly payment that adjusts every two or three years.
Borrowers with Direct Stafford
loans, both subsidized and unsubsidized, those with PLUS
loans, or
consolidation loan may opt for the standard repayment program.
Borrowers with Direct Stafford
loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, PLUS
loans, or
consolidation loans may opt for the extended repayment plan.
At this time, only federal direct
loans are eligible for PSLF, but a
consolidation of other types of
loans may indirectly provide
loan forgiveness to some qualified
borrowers.
Under an income - contingent repayment program,
borrowers with Direct Stafford
loans of any kind, PLUS
loans made to students, and
consolidation loans have their monthly payment based on the lesser of 20 percent of discretionary income or the amount due on a repayment plan with a fixed payment over 12 years, adjusted for income.
For
borrowers who qualify for the lowest rates or who want to use a
loan for reasons other than debt
consolidation, Discover may be a better option than Payoff.
Borrowers who choose to consolidate under the Direct
Consolidation Loan program are eligible to choose their servicer.
The
borrower's new interest rate on the Direct
Consolidation Loan is a weighted average of the interest rates of the underlying
loans.
Loan consolidation helps
borrowers who have multiple
loans, some of which may have varying interest rates and even different servicers.
To qualify for a Direct
Consolidation that may be serviced by FedLoan Servicing, the
borrower must be out of school and have at least one Direct
Loan or FFELP loan that is in grace, repayment, deferment, forbearance, or default sta
Loan or FFELP
loan that is in grace, repayment, deferment, forbearance, or default sta
loan that is in grace, repayment, deferment, forbearance, or default status.
Until a notification is received that the
loan consolidation request has been approved,
borrowers should continue to make their payments as usual to their existing
loans.
Refinancing student debt is similar to federal student
loan consolidation in that
borrowers take on a large, single
loan in replacement of several smaller
loans.
NOTE: Direct PLUS
Consolidation Loans, which include PLUS
Loans made to parent
borrowers before July 1, 2006 must be re-consolidated into a Direct
Consolidation Loan to qualify for repayment under the ICR plan.
Student
loan consolidation is often dismissed by
borrowers because it can be confusing to understand the process of consolidating student
loans.
Borrowers who have private student
loans and are interested in the various repayment and forbearance options may also wish to explore the iHelp
Consolidation Loan.
The iHelp
Consolidation Loan program connects a network of community banks with
borrowers interested in refinancing their student
loans.
The ICR plan is the only available IDR plan for a Direct
Consolidation Loan that includes a PLUS
Loan made to a parent
borrower.
Borrowers apply for federal student
loan consolidation, where they are able to select the federal
loans they wish to consolidate, the servicer of the new
loan, and the repayment plan that best fits their financial needs.
Repayment on a
consolidation loan will begin within 60 days of disbursement of the
loan, unless the
borrower qualifies for a deferment or forbearance.
However, if a Direct PLUS
Loan made to a parent
borrower is consolidated into a Direct
Consolidation Loan, the new Direct
Consolidation Loan can then be repaid under the ICR plan, which is a qualifying repayment plan for PSLF.
Students and parents can not combine their
loans through
consolidation, since only
loans from the same
borrower can be consolidated.
* NOTE: We previously indicated that
loan consolidation would result in removal of the record of default from a
borrower's credit history.
Student
borrowers with direct subsidized or unsubsidized
loans, individuals with parent or grad PLUS
loans, and all
consolidation loans are eligible for the standard repayment plan through the federal government.
In the case of federal student
loans, a
borrower might consider grouping numerous
loans with numerous servicers into a Direct
Consolidation Loan.
Moreover, some
borrowers taking out a debt
consolidation loan may prefer their lender to directly pay their creditors — this is something Discover has, but Citizens Bank does not.