Student Loan Consolidation Hot Topics

That’s right, if you graduated or stopped taking classes on June 1st, then you have just about one week left to consolidate your loans and receive the lower grace period interest rate of 4.7%.

Is it really worth the savings?

If you have $30,000 in student loans, at the current grace period rate of 4.7%, after consolidation you would only pay about $190/month. Once your grace period expires, you will end up paying about $323/month at 5.3%. That’s an extra $1,596 per year!

The experienced team of loan counselors at studentloanconsolidator.com will research your federal loan amounts and put together an estimated quote for your savings. Since time is running short, take advantage of our eSignature function and eliminate mailing and processing delays. Everything can be complete online!

Any questions about your federal loans, or you just want to find out more about consolidation, please call studentloanconsolidator.com at 877.328.1565.

Start the holiday season right by saving some money!

With tuition costs increasing significantly each year, more and more potential students are deciding against higher education. For those students who remain enrolled, they are greeted with a mountain of debt upon graduation. Students fall into debt, student lenders get wealthier by the second - a familiar trend we have seen over the last several years.

Two students from Columbia University wish to take on higher education and propose legislation that would take about $30 billion in federal higher-education spending, and put it back into the pockets of needy borrowers. They call their proposition, the National Tuition Endowment.

The two students, Matan Ariel and Nate Walker, developed their proposal by pin pointing inefficiencies in the current federal loan program. Some of theses inefficiencies include a loophole in the current system that allows student lenders to collect 9.5 % interest from the government on certain types of loans. Also, they propose to prevent loan agencies from financing loans with tax-exempt bond issues. These two examples highlighted in their proposal will save nearly $20 billion over the next decade.

Though their plan is well structured and backed by an increasing number of students, the two realize that they have a tough political battle ahead of them. Some of the strongest lobbyist groups in DC are from large federal lenders such as Salle Mae - Getting this proposal before the House and Senate will be exceedingly difficult.

In my opinion, I think what Ariel and Walker are attempting is brilliant. There is a chance that their proposal won’t make it past committee - having been killed by potentially huge lobby action. However, the two are doing a great job raising awareness about the cost of higher education. Federal lenders cannot exist without student borrowers - isn’t it time they realize they depend on us for survival?

Halloween has come and gone, and the holiday season is just around the corner. For all recent graduates, just as holiday shopping begins, so does repayment on Federal Student loans. Take advantage of what little time is left in your grace period and consolidate now!

If you weren’t previously aware, during your grace period, your Federal student loans remain at 4.7% without mandatory repayment. Once that six month period ends, the interest rate jumps up to 5.3% and repayment begins. If you graduated this past spring, add six months to the day you stopped taking classes and that’s when your grace period ends, interest increases, and repayment begins. My advice for anyone who is tossing the consolidation question around — Get started right away! Because consolidation takes several months, you shouldn’t wait until your grace period has completely expired. Leave yourself a 1 or 2 week window to get all of your questions answered, and the application filled out and submitted.

As I mentioned before, if you’re considering or even researching consolidation, now is the time to take the first step. Not only will you receive a lower fixed interest rate, but additional savings just for making your payments on time. Also, eliminate the hassle of digging through your loan statements and figuring out which lender has which loan - The loan counselors at StudentLoanConsolidator.com will do all the work for you. They can research your federal loans, quote your savings, put together an application, and have it mailed out to you in a few days.

If you’re running short on time, and can’t wait for the mailed application to reach you, apply online at StudentLoanConsolidator.com/apply and use our E-signature feature, or call toll free 877.328.1565, and apply over the phone. Take advantage of your grace period, and consolidate your loans right away!