Consolidating Student Loans

Applying for a federal student loan consolidation is not an overly difficult process, but you must first ensure that you're eligible to do so. The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 eliminated the option to consolidate student loans while still in school, so first and foremost, you must either be graduated, less than half-time student, or dropped out of school in order to be eligible for a federal consolidation loan. That being said, students who have ...Read More »

A recent vote by the House Financial Services Committee has approved the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 (H.R. 3126). The federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) would regulate the nation's financial industries, including that of private student loan lending. Read More »

Taking out student loans while attending school is the easy part; repaying those student loans is the hard part. College graduates learn this lesson rather quickly upon graduation when they begin repaying their student debt incurred while attending college. Some grads – very smart grads I should add – are turning to a very simple student loan repayment strategy that is saving them a ton of money in the long run - We're talking thousands ...Read More »

Equifax recently reported that consumers are increasingly making late payments on just about every type of debt – student loans, car loans, credit cards, mortgages, etc-. They also report that because of the shaky economy, the number of student loans obtained in recent months has skyrocketed. As a matter of fact, the student loan sector is really the only financial lending product that is booming right now. The reason is simple: more people are heading ...Read More »

Private student loans have always offered students a beneficial way to supplement federal student loans when they just don't quite cover all of the college expenses. In today's economy, however, you must be cautious when deciding on whether to obtain private student loans or not. The high interest rates could come back to haunt you when you begin repayment. Read More »

Many students and college graduates with student loan debt are under the impression that consolidating student loans will save them money, lower their interest rates and make their student debt easier to manage. While this may be the case a majority of the time, it's certainly not true 100% of the time. There are several things that every student/grad must consider before deciding to consolidate. Read More »

In a down economy it's sometimes tough to make student loan payments and in extreme cases this can lead to a defaulted student loan. Needless to say, defaulted student loans are not good for your credit report or for your peace of mind - you probably don't need more debtors calling you 10 times a day looking for more money. So here's the best way to handle a defaulted student loan: Read More »