Loan Location Using Your Free Credit Report

As a result of recent changes at the Department of Education, you'll need to provide your student loan information with your consolidation application. This short guide will walk you through the process of obtaining a free credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus for your student loan consolidation application. As a side benefit, you'll also have an up-to-date copy of your credit report, which you should check 3 times per year.

Click here to get a printable PDF of this page.

Before you begin, make sure you apply for student loan consolidation from the Student Loan Network.

1. Start by visiting: AnnualCreditReport.com - Be careful, there are a LOT of scam sites out there. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only legitimate site from which you can obtain your credit report without any hidden fees.

2. Choose your state and request report.

3. Complete the contact information form. Note that this information is not shared with the Student Loan Network, nor is any other part of your credit report.

4. At the bottom of the form, enter the security code provided.

5. Choose one of three providers. We recommend choosing only one at a time - if you choose all three, you will have to wait a year until you can get another set of free credit reports. By choosing only one, you can get a copy of your credit report, submit corrections for any errors to the credit bureaus, and check again with a different provider in a few months. If there are no errors, we still recommend choosing only one, and getting a free credit report every 4 months to ensure you're not a victim of identity theft.

6. You'll be forwarded to the individual provider's website.

7. You'll need to set up an account on the provider's website.

8. Chances are, the provider will offer you additional services, from credit report monitoring to newsletters. If you don't want any of these (some of which may cost money) just click "No Thanks".

9. You'll be asked to verify your identity with 2 - 4 pieces of information that only you should know, such as previous addresses, old accounts, and employer histories.

10. As you verify each piece of information, you'll be updated on your progress.

11. Confirm that you're not going to pay any money.

12. On your credit report, you'll see a number of loans. Any loan marked as a "student loan" should be included on your consolidation application. You have the choice at this point to write in your loan information on your application, call our customer service center at (877) 328-1565, or include a copy of your credit report with your signed application. We recommend calling in or writing in the information to ensure maximum privacy.

You're done, and in addition to having completed the steps you need for a successful student loan consolidation application, you also have a copy of your credit report, which is a good thing to have. You should review it and fix any errors. For a tutorial on how to fix your credit report, visit:

http://www.studentplatinum.com/credit_card_education/repairing.php

Make sure you apply for student loan consolidation from the Student Loan Network.

Bonus: This is kind of fun. Ever wonder when you get scads of junk mail, "How did they get my name?"

On your credit report, you can see which companies have been buying your personal information from credit bureaus to send you advertisements. Whether you choose to do business with those companies or not, now you know how they get your personal information. Incidentally, the Student Loan Network does NOT purchase wholesale lists or market in this manner.