Many students who exit college often have some form of student loan debt. It’s becoming more common, however, for college graduate to have multiple student loans that must be repaid in the months after they graduate due to the rising cost of attending a university or college.
It’s for this reason that many students will seek a student loan consolidation in order to make their multiple student loans more affordable when payments began to come due a few months after they graduate. While there are people who are against consolidating debt and any student that may have only two or three loans might not benefit from a student consolidation, there are benefits of seeking a consolidation loan for student debt.
Keep in mind that there are certain types of student loans that will not consolidate so it will be important to look at the type of loans you have and be sure that they will consolidate, otherwise you may not benefit from consolidating. Keeping student loans separate can be more affordable in the long run because even with multiple interest rates there is a smaller principle amount on which interest is charged.
However, anyone with multiple student loans may benefit from consolidating simply because federal student debt consolidation loans often come with a low interest rate. These types of consolidation loans can be more affordable, but any student who gets a student loan consolidation needs to make sure that they do all they can to pay off their consolidation loan as quickly as possible.
Paying the minimum monthly amount can be affordable but it can also cost more over the life of the repayment loan. It will be in a college graduate’s best interest to pay as much as they can each month in order to get out of debt faster. A consolidation loan doesn’t have to cost much more over the long run, as long as you make sure you’re paying as much as you possibly can from month-to-month.
If you are having trouble repaying student loans it’s probably not a bad idea to talk to your student loan lender about various options that range from student loan consolidations to income-based repayment plans. College debt is often necessary but it doesn’t have to follow you around for years after you exit college.
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
There can be no better news for a student loan borrower than to hear that their loan has been forgiven. This means that a portion, or perhaps all of the loan is cancelled and you no longer have to budget part of your income towards making your monthly student loan payments. Keep in mind that this option is not available to every student loan borrower, but there are special situations in which all or part of a loan can be forgiven.
You must remain realistic and realize that there are only a few specific circomstances in which your student loans may be forgiven. These situations are outlined below.
Volunteering
If you volunteer for certain organizations, you may qualify for loan forgiveness.
-$4,725 can be used toward your student loans if you serve in AmeriCorps for 12 months or more.
-Peace Corps volunteers can have 15% of their Perkins loan cancelled for each year of volunteer service, up to 70% of the total loan amount. They can also have their Stafford and consolidated loans deferred.
-For 1700 hours of service, Volunteers in Service to America may receive $4,725.
Teaching
Students who become full time teachers may have part of their student loans forgiven in certain circumstances.
If you become an elementary or secondary school teacher with students from low-income families, a certain portion of your Perkins Loan can be forgiven, depending upon the length of your service.
- 15% for years one and two
- 20% for years three and four
- 30% for year five
Check with your school district administration to determine whether your school is eligible for loan forgiveness under these provisions. Teachers may also be eligible for other loan forgiveness programs depending upon the state in which they teach.
Legal Professions
If you take a public service or a non-profit position after graduation, some law schools will forgive your loans. Visit the Equal Justice Works website for more details regarding cancelling your law school loans.
Medical Professions
The National Health Service Corps will forgive student loans for registered nurses and physicians who work in medically underserved areas.
Be aware that the criteria for forgiving student loans may differ between federal and private student loans, and among the groups forgiving the loans.
If you find you don’t qualify for any of these forgiveness programs, but you would still like to lessen your payments, consider consolidating your loans. This will allow you to spread out the payments over a longer period of time, thus lowering your monthly payments.
Source
You must remain realistic and realize that there are only a few specific circomstances in which your student loans may be forgiven. These situations are outlined below.
Volunteering
If you volunteer for certain organizations, you may qualify for loan forgiveness.
-$4,725 can be used toward your student loans if you serve in AmeriCorps for 12 months or more.
-Peace Corps volunteers can have 15% of their Perkins loan cancelled for each year of volunteer service, up to 70% of the total loan amount. They can also have their Stafford and consolidated loans deferred.
-For 1700 hours of service, Volunteers in Service to America may receive $4,725.
Teaching
Students who become full time teachers may have part of their student loans forgiven in certain circumstances.
If you become an elementary or secondary school teacher with students from low-income families, a certain portion of your Perkins Loan can be forgiven, depending upon the length of your service.
- 15% for years one and two
- 20% for years three and four
- 30% for year five
Check with your school district administration to determine whether your school is eligible for loan forgiveness under these provisions. Teachers may also be eligible for other loan forgiveness programs depending upon the state in which they teach.
Legal Professions
If you take a public service or a non-profit position after graduation, some law schools will forgive your loans. Visit the Equal Justice Works website for more details regarding cancelling your law school loans.
Medical Professions
The National Health Service Corps will forgive student loans for registered nurses and physicians who work in medically underserved areas.
Be aware that the criteria for forgiving student loans may differ between federal and private student loans, and among the groups forgiving the loans.
If you find you don’t qualify for any of these forgiveness programs, but you would still like to lessen your payments, consider consolidating your loans. This will allow you to spread out the payments over a longer period of time, thus lowering your monthly payments.
Source
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