Apply for student loan - Detailed Facts and Guidelines to Follow Before Applying

Student loans are undoubtedly a great financial aid for those who cannot afford to fund their education. However, these multiple loans burden students with overwhelming debts soon after they graduate from college. Writing more than one repayment check every month, in the very beginning of a career, is next to impossible. In most cases, failure to make multiple payments within the stipulated time period causes the debts to accumulate. Consequently, interest rates keep escalating and the student eventually falls into a debt trap!

If you want to avoid this situation in future, you should apply for a Student Loan Consolidation, which would allow you to merge all your current loans into a single loan with lower interest rates and a very flexible repayment plan. However, before applying for it, there are certain important facts that you should be aware of and a few guidelines you should follow:

1) Is this Option Right For You?:

You should opt for loan consolidation if and only if you are finding it difficult to make monthly repayments of your current loans in time. In case the total balance amount left on all your loans is very less and you are close to paying it off soon, do not opt for consolidation as it might not be worth it at all.

2) Interest Rates:

The interest rate for the consolidated loan is estimated by taking out the average of the interest rate of all your current loans and then rounding it up to the next 1/8th of a percent. The maximum interest rate is 8.25 percent. Also, the interest rate is fixed and does not increase with time. You can also use online mortgage calculators to calculate your interest rate.

3) Repayment Amount:

- If you wish to reduce your monthly repayment amount and save big on consolidating your loans, it is necessary to extend the repayment duration of the loan. By extending your repayment plan, you can even reduce your current monthly payments by 54%.

- Usually, the repayment period is 10 years, but it can be extended to as long as 30 years. However, this largely depends on the balance amount you are consolidating.

- Although extending the repayment term is beneficial, you will have to pay more in interest as you would take a little longer to repay the entire loan. However, the good news here is that no pre-payment penalties are charged in case you choose to pay off the loan early.