Avoid Student Loan Consolidation Traps

There’s a lot of of college loans procurable for College Students who’s searching financial aid to go to a University. A popular college loan consolidation avenue countless students take is through the U.S. Government Federal Loan Program. A Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form must be filled out before a Student can be considered for a particular government student loan. There are also four types of government loans namely, Graduate PLUS Loan, Parent PLUS Loan, Perkins Loan and the Stafford Loan. With inumerable web sites and supposedly experts in the media, it is important that a Student get the best student loan consolidation advice they can procure.

A student financial future may hinge on whether or not they decide to consolidate their student loans. Student loan consolidation simply means the act of obtaining one loan to pay off all the others, thus creating one loan where a Student or the Parents may have had 2 or more loans to pay off. Government student loan consolidation can make a borrower choose from the four repayment procedures like the extended payment plan. Consolidation of student loans generally results in a lower monthly payment with no penalties included for the early paying off of the loan.

In most cases, students and parents will find that there is no credit check required to obtain these Federal consolidation loans. Plus, it’s possible that your interest rate will be lower as well. And also, if a government student loan is consolidated its application process will be a lot simpler. Those with Private student loans need to review the pro’s and con’s of private student loan consolidation before applying.

Consolidating your student loan may decrease your monthly payment and string out the repayment term longer. This helps many students get on their feet and obtain a good paying job so that repaying their student loan doesn’t put them into financial hardship.

Every student or parent should know the pitfalls before filing out a consolidation loan application. Student loan consolidation is not a good choice for everyone. Borrowers should be aware of the dangers of consolidating their student loans. Unfortunately, there aren’t many people or lenders who will inform you of these dangers.

If you do nothing to better your financial status after consolidating your loan, then I’d advise against consolidation. Consolidation can give you a chance to get on your feet, but it will do nothing to help you if you do nothing.

Consolidating your government student loan during the six month grace period will result to the loss of the rest of the grace period. Furthermore, a consolidated loan means an extended payment plan which can cause a the total amount to be paid back to be raised as time goes by. As a matter of fact, the total amount paid back may reach thousands of dollars in cost. Thus, sometimes, consolidation may not be convenient and cost-effective.

Federal student loans are truly a gift for students who are in need of financial aid. However, consolidating it may or may not have a positive effect on your long term financial situation. Smart students and parents will do their due diligence when researching on whether or not to consolidate college loans.