In this article, we investigate the Best Student Loan Consolidation and the Best Student Loan Consolidation Companies that enable you to pay off your myriad school loans such as Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans.
After the fiscal credit crisis that took place 2008/2009, banks have more stringent rules regarding offering loans and, for many, it is no longer advantageous to offer student loans.
Thus, when we look at the Best Student Loan Consolidation Companies, our options are far fewer than they would be just one or two years ago. For example, companies such as SallieMae have temporarily suspended their federal consolidation programs due to “severe legislative cuts”.
The credit crisis, however, does not prevent students from seeking the best college loan consolidation.
Former students are often saddled with debt from their academic years. Even worse, they are subject to many different lenders making it strategical and financially difficult to repay all of them in a short time frame.
These challenges can be overcome with a consolidation program. While in the past you had many competitors vying for the best student loan consolidation rates, today there are fewer.
The Best Student Loan Consolidation Companies are ones that have your interests at heart. These are often government initiated and backed programs that do not have all the bells and whistles of fancy bank plans.
What they do have though is integrity.
These government backed companies allow you to pay off your loan at a fixed rate over a longer amount of time (up to 30 years) while simplifying the re-payment process.
So, what are the best student loan consolidation rates?
Best Student Loan Consolidation Rates
Since the credit crisis, the amount of banks vying for your student loan dollars has decreased. In the end, this is good for you as a consumer.
The banks participated in student loan consolidations to make money. They would often lure prospective students in with small up-front payments on variable loans that, in the end, would often leave the payer with enormous bills on the back end. Similar to the housing market, students would not be able to pay these loans and, in the end, conditions such as these brought on the crisis in the first place.
The best college loan consolidation programs now have you in mind and most of them are backed by the federal government. Their goal is for you to have a productive, professional life and for you to be able to pay off your student loans in an efficient manner that works for you.
Thus, with most consolidation loans you are now offered a fixed rate. The best student loan consolidation rates are usually based on the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans that you will be consolidating and, most importantly, this loan is fixed for life and cannot exceed 8.25%.
Best Student Loan Consolidation Program
The Best Student Loan Consolidation Program currently available is Federal Direct Consolidation Loans.
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans allows you to combine more than one Federal Loan into a a single loan offering several distinct advantages.
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans offers the following benefits that you as a borrower will enjoy.
- One Single Monthly Payment.
- Flexible payment schedule which allows you to pay when you are able over a comfortable time frame.
- No minimum loan amounts are required to qualify.
- Deferrments are available when necessary.
- Monthly payments are typically much lower.
Though the Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Program is the one that most people choose, there are other student loan consolidation programs to choose from if Federal Direct does not work for you.
Other options for your student loan consolidation include Private Student Loans and Next Student.
Best Student Loan Consolidation: Summary
There are many reasons to consolidate your student loans. Student loan consolidation allows you to more easily manage your loan payments by paying over a time frame of your choosing, paying to one single company, and often decreasing the amount of your monthly payments.
These advantages often prompt loan holders to search for the best student loan consolidation rates. As we have seen, the best student loan consolidation rates do not vary as they did a few years ago as the loan companies have been regulated. In fact, many loan companies have gotten out of the student loan consolidation business.
However, option still exists and we can still easily locate the best student loan consolidation companies.
Currently, best student loan consolidation program available is Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. They offer the best available rates and have your best interests in mind!
Related: See information on how to get a small business loan.
Richard Cummings
Get your copy of his latest book entitled Obvious Conclusions, stories of a Midwestern emigrant influenced and corrupted by many years living in San Francisco and abroad. It just received its first outstanding review "...reminiscent of David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs" on Amazon UK.
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