The Best Student Loan Consolidation Program
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008There’s only one good student loan consolidation program right now, and that’s from the U.S. Department of Education.
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Typically, you should be able to get your student loans consolidated (all joined together in one payment) for as low as 6%. However, if you have had a Student Loan consolidated in the past, it can not be done twice. Sometimes people think that they can get an already consolidated loan re-consolidated to a lower rate. Not True. You can only consolidate once with the U.S Department of Education.
Here are the rules:
1. Current Consolidation Interest Rate.
The interest rate for a Direct Consolidation Loan is the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated (as of the date we receive the application), rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent. This rate is fixed for the life of the loan and cannot exceed 8.25 percent. Use our online calculator, or call us at 1-800-557-7392, to estimate your weighted average interest rate and to see what your loan payments might be under each of our four repayment plans.
Six steps to calculate the Weighted Average Interest Rate
Step 1:
Multiply each loan by its interest rate to obtain the “per loan weight factor.”
Step 2:
Add the per loan weight factors together.
Step 3:
Add the loan amounts together.
Step 4:
Divide the “total per loan weight factor” by the total loan amount and then multiply by 100.
Step 5:
*Round the result of Step 4 to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent if it is not already on an eighth of a percent.
Step 6:
Compare the result of Step 5 with the interest rate cap of 8.25 percent. The fixed interest rate on the Direct Consolidation Loan will be the lower of the two.
2. Direct Loan and FFEL Interest Rates from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.
Direct Loans Interest Rates
Interest rates for Direct Loan Program loans for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Federal Direct Subsidized Loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans [PDF Format (11K)]
Federal Direct PLUS Loans [PDF Format (8K)]
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) Interest Rates
Interest rates for FFEL Program for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
FFEL “Converted ” Variable-rate Stafford Loans [PDF Format (24K)]
FFEL Regular Variable-rate Stafford Loans [PDF Format (20K)]
FFEL Variable-rate PLUS and SLS Loans [PDF Format (33K)]
FFEL Variable-rate and Fixed-rate Consolidation Loans [PDF Format (32K)]
3. Information for borrowers who consolidated during the Repayment Incentive Program (10/1/00 - 9/30/01)
As an incentive to encourage timely student loan repayments, all borrowers who consolidated eligible student loans into the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program between October 1, 2000, and September 30, 2001 received an immediate interest rate reduction of 0.8 percent. To keep this benefit beyond the initial 12-month period, borrowers must make the first 12 monthly payments on time. The 0.8 percent rate reduction will become permanent once these first 12 payments are made on time.
For example, if your Direct Consolidation Loan interest rate is 8.25 percent, your interest rate drops to 7.45 percent. If you make your first 12 payments on time, you keep that interest rate and could save more than $400 for every $10,000 borrowed over a standard 10-year term.
How Will the Lower Rate Affect Your Loan Before You Fulfill the 12-Payment Requirement?
You will not see a reduction in the amount of your monthly payment until after you fulfill the 12-payment requirement. Until then, the savings that result from the 0.8 percent interest rate reduction will be applied toward reducing the principal balance of your Direct Consolidation Loan.
How Will the Lower Rate Affect Your Loan After You Fulfill the 12-Payment Requirement?
After you successfully fulfill the 12-payment requirement, the 0.8 percent rate reduction will be applied permanently toward your interest rate. At this point, the savings that result from the lower interest rate will be applied toward reducing your monthly payment.
Please Contact Us for Additional Information
Website - See our list of Questions and Answers related to the Repayment Incentive Program.
Phone: Talk with a loan representative between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday, at 1-800-557-7392 (TDD 1-800-557-7395).
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