Student Loan Consolidation Interest Rates – What You Should Know

The drop in interest rates has made considering student loan consolidation interest rates more attractive. Students may be paying larger monthly payments on loans and need to lower the payments. Or, they may have several separate loans that are paid to different lenders each month with varying interest rates. With almost eight percent of students carrying an average $ 10,000 loan, there can be many reasons to want to consolidate.

When one has federal education loans student loan consolidation interest rates are very straightforward. The method for setting the interest rate on these loans is established and the regulations are very strict. However, the rates vary greatly on private education loans and are calculated with many factors included. When one is consolidating student loans they will want to consolidate their federal education loans separately from their private education loans to take advantage of the benefits available.

The federal government figures student loan consolidation rates by taking the average weighted interest rate of all the loans and rounding up to the nearest 1/8%. In most cases the loan’s interest rate will be between the lowest and highest interest rates that a person currently pays. The highest that the interest rate will go is 8 1/4%.

There are some instances when an individual with a PLUS student loan will be able to receive a lower rate by consolidating. The cap on a PLUS student loan is 8.5%. However, when the PLUS is consolidated, the cap is 8.25%. By consolidating the PLUS loan a student can save 0.25%. This is called the PLUS Loan Loophole.

Interest on a private education loan is calculated using the prime rate or London Interbank Offered Rate with an additional one to five percent origination fee. The origination fee is based on a person’s credit score. The origination fee normally is included in the loan and there is not an upfront fee required.

Included in the total loan of a private education consolidation will be any deferred interest from the original loans. Lenders capitalize the deferred interest of the original loan and add it. In addition any money that must be paid back to the original lender, such as discounts that were given for getting the loan, are also added to the total loan.

Consolidating student loans will extend the repayment period of the loan and lower one’s monthly payment. It will also allow an individual to make one payment to a single lender for their education loan. But, it is important to talk to a professional about the many student consolidation interest rates that are available when finding a private lender. In some cases a person’s interest rate will not be lowered enough by consolidation to make the extended payments of a loan worthwhile. By doing research and finding the best rates a person can significantly lower their payments and have one interest rate that will offset the higher rates that were being paid previously.