Financial News & Information.

By the time you finish college, it is more than likely that you will have several loans. Four or more years of loan debt can leave you with several repayments to different loan agencies. In most situations, you are required to apply for a new loan each year and depending on your financial status, you might qualify for loans with different interest rates. Consolidating your loans into one loan can help save you time and money.

If you decide to consolidate your school loans, there are several different consolidation programs. You will first want to look at what type of loans you received. If you borrowed from the government, you will qualify for different consolidation programs than if you borrowed from a private lender. You will want to review your options. It’s possible that you received both private and government loans. It is still possible to consolidate your loans, even if this is the case.

If you plan to consolidate, there are a few different consolidation programs. Which one you choose may depend a little on what type of loan you received. There are different consolidation programs for private loans vs. government loans so be sure to look into your options based on the types of loans you have.

There are typically four refinancing options to choose from when you decide to consolidate loans. Option number one is called the standard repayment plan. With this program, you make monthly payments on a fixed interest rate. Repayment schedules will range anywhere from ten to thirty years. Option number two is called the extended repayment plan. With this program, your payments are less than with the standard repayment plan and the payment schedule is between twelve and thirty years. This repayment plan varies depending on how much you have borrowed.

Option number three is called the graduated repayment plan. With this plan, your monthly payments increase every two years. You have options of paying the amount back over twelve to thirty years. Option number four is called the contingent repayment plan. With this plan, your repayment schedule is contingent on your family size, total amount of loan debt, and your annual income. With this repayment program, the payments are spread out over twenty-five years.

Finally, there is the option of the income contingent repayment plan. This is an excellent option for people with low income and or large families since the repayment is based on your total debt, annual income, and family size. Your repayment schedule will span over twenty-five years. Whichever student loan consolidation program you decide is best for you, it will most likely help improve your financial situation.

Changes in Student Loan Structure

As of July 1, 2006 Stafford loans became fixed rate loans. This was not a new idea. Years ago all Stafford loans had a fixed interest rate. In time the structure changed and they became variable rate loans. Now they have again taken their original structure.

Some lenders make up for what they loose in interest rates by charging fees. In general 3% fees charged on a loan is the same as a point of interest. Therefore, if they keep to the restrictions on the interest rate yet charge you a loan origination fee or loan insurance then they recover what they are missing in interest payments right up front. Some lenders are willing to extend credit and waive the customary fees.

Interest Rate Increases

The interest rate on loans has risen greatly over the past few years. The PLUS student loan has gone up from 6% to 8.5%. That makes this loan quite a bit more expensive than before. 2.5% interest increase means that you loan is going to cost you hundreds of dollars more a year than it would at the lower interest rate.

You can visit www.bankrate.com/brm/mortgage-calculator.asp to see exactly how much your loan will cost you at a given interest rate.

The Future

There are no guarantees. The rates can change, since they’re similar to variable rate home loans, even after the loans are funded. Predicting interest rates, both near term and long term, is a task that challenges even the finest financial experts. If it were otherwise, the bond market would be a pretty dull affair (which it’s not). So, the best the average student or parent can do is to look to what those experts are predicting.

Finance Websites Give Good Guidance

You can visit Yahoo Finance or other financial websites to see what the experts are saying about interest rates. It is a difficult guess for them and an impossible guess for the average individual. Therefore the best bet is to stick with the experts and follow their lead.

Looking at the 30-year Treasury bill, for example, shows two things: what the government is offering to sell debt for projected out over 30 years, and what the buyers of that debt are willing to pay. As that rate varies, most other long-term rates, such as student loan rates, will vary similarly (though not always exactly).