The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Everyone who has a student loan should read this!
Thanatos
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I didn't consolidate my student loans a few years ago, because I thought interest rates were going to drop. Well, they didn't, so I just stuck it out, figuring that interest wasn't going to get much higher. I was right, it didn't, and since they re-evaluate federal student loan rates in July (going by the fiscal year), it means that they just adjusted interest rates for the year. The interest on my loan dropped from 7.7% to 4.2%. That is correct, four point two percent.
If you have a variable-rate student loan sitting around, or multiple student loans sitting around that are fixed-rate, now is an awesome time to consolidate. The odds of interest rates getting any lower are fantastically small. Here is a website about loan consolidation, which is maintained by the U.S. government. I don't usually give direct "this is exactly what you should do" financial advice, but this is one time I'm making an exception: I would say for at least 90% of you who are out of college, you will save a significant amount of money by locking in this interest rate.
If you have questions about student loans, student loan consolidation, or wonder whether or not this is right for you, this thread is the place to ask.
If you have a variable-rate student loan sitting around, or multiple student loans sitting around that are fixed-rate, now is an awesome time to consolidate. The odds of interest rates getting any lower are fantastically small. Here is a website about loan consolidation, which is maintained by the U.S. government. I don't usually give direct "this is exactly what you should do" financial advice, but this is one time I'm making an exception: I would say for at least 90% of you who are out of college, you will save a significant amount of money by locking in this interest rate.
If you have questions about student loans, student loan consolidation, or wonder whether or not this is right for you, this thread is the place to ask.
Thanatos on
0
Posts
Not unless you include an additional loan.
this is really my first time doing this stuff, and it's a bit confusing...
which company should i go with for the lender? what things (aside from the best interest rates) should i look for, and watch out for?
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Thantos has good financial advice, once again. You may be able to get an even lower rate, after you consolidate.
When I consoldiated my student loans in the summer of '04, I locked in at something like 3.25%. After making the first 6 payments ontime I get a 0.125% (I think) discount for the remainder of the loan, as long as I keep paying it ontime. Additionally I get around 0.50% off for setting up autopayment from my bank account, again I think I get to keep this so long as I am not late on any payments. So I'm pretty sure I'm paying about 2.625% on the loan (somewhere around there). I only had Stafford loans though, so other people might have different experience.
I might have those numbers confused, but I pretty sure I got discounted interest rates for both those reasons and I know the rate I pay now is 2.625%
Taking the variable interest rate loan carries interest-rate risk. The fixed-rate doesn't, but that's damn high interest for a student loan.
I'll see if I can find some online information about it for you guys.
e: Hmm... Everything I'm finding online says differently. Damn you Dayton Daily News! You bastards!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/education/09vets.html
e2: Here's the Dayton Daily News thing: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/07/08/ddn070908vets.html
Yes. I actually did this with my Staffords awhile back before they took a jump.
Here's a question. I've got two private unsub-signature loans at 5 and 5.5% from the same bank. I then have my consolidated loans (all stafford-unsub) through sallie mae, and a separate unsub-stafford loan from a separate bank. The consolidated loans have begun on repayment...the remainder are in grace till November. Is there anything I can do with adding the remaining unsub-stafford loan to the consolidation given that it's in repayment? And what about the two private loans sitting around at 5%?
PSN: TheScrublet
I believe you can consolidate the private loans along with the government loans, too.
Oh, and I have a perkins loan that I deliberately left unconsolidated, because it had a really low payment anyway and the terms and interest were far superior than those of the other loans, even after consolidation.
Undergrad freshmen should also be aware that the PLUS loan you see on your aid package is different from all the others- it is a loan to your PARENTS and not to you. They usually put it on there to fill out gaps. So if your parents can't or won't go into debt for you, you have to find that money somewhere else. I always went through the wringer with this when I'd get my aid package number every year. Two years in a row I had to get my dad to apply for the loan and be rejected (low income, not a lot of credit), so that I could get another Stafford unsubsidized instead.
Then my senior year they changed the rules and he was for some reason accepted for the loan, even though his financial situation hadn't changed at all. Which meant that I could not get my unsub stafford loan and I had to ask him to take the PLUS, and it was all sorts of awkward for me because I had no wish to let my parents pay for my tuition. But I had to do it because it was my last year and damned if I was gonna quit. It all worked out in the end, but it was a massive pain in the ass.
I think the moral is that you should always complain about your financial aid package. I imagine its easier for the office to offer a minor change to the small number of people who complain than it is to argue about it. This can be to your benefit. I'd even imagine the schools budget for this.
ALL MY LOANS ARE CONSOLIDATING
What's the simplest way to tell whether a loan is fixed-rate or variable-rate? My wife has a student loan and I don't know anything about it and I'm pretty sure she doesn't pay attention to anything about it either. Like, if I asked her what kind it is, she'd probably just look at me and shrug and say "Sallie Mae".
How can I determine if this loan is eligible for consolidation?
This must be incorrect to some extent...I consolidated all of my Stafford loans through Sallie Mae prior to my graduation. I was not making payments on the loans, they were listed as in-school deferment status. Incidentally, these were loans from two different schools (I transferred after Freshman year).
Edit: You can no longer do this...see below.
PSN: TheScrublet
I'm going to have to borrow sooooo much money. I am very, truly, honestly scared of how much money I'll need to borrow. Here's hoping that I can consolidate mine to a 3% or 4% when I finish up in a few years.
Correct. I was part of this rush. Edited above post.
PSN: TheScrublet
anyone have any good experiences (HA!) with specific lenders they'd be willing to share?
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
PSN: TheScrublet
I have. I recommend Nelnet.
Do you prefer to speak to James, that outstanding British Indian? Or James, the crazy guy from Nebraska? Sallie Mae is the first one. Sallie Mae also refuses to work with you at all most of the times, at least with everyone in my fucking city for some reason.
I should clarify that by having no issues, I also meant I have never had to interact in an extensive manner with customer support or do anything complicated. I have simply had nothing go bad on its own. Past that, I can't vouch for or against them.
PSN: TheScrublet
Well, it's just another random datapoint, but I've had to intereact with their customer service on several occasions and have no complaints whatsoever about them. They've been easy to deal with for me, and they were fine with a few late payments I had a couple years ago -- didn't start calling me up and bugging me right away as soon as they were late.
They called my friend 8 times after 11:00pm EST to get payment. According to them, he'd not been paying his bills for 4 years, and they've been trying desperately to reach him. He was still in school and got this call 2 weeks after graduation. (They were just trying to get him to pay early, if it had been 4 years, he would've defaulted)
Facebook: MeekinOnMovies
Twitter: Twitter.com/MeekinOnMovies
My 10 commandments of game reviewing
7 Great Games Playing Watch_Dogs will remind you of/url]
Far Cry 4: 10 Essential Features it Must Have
10 Videogames Ruined By The Hype
I shouldn't be worrying about consolidating until after graduation, right?
Also, has anyone here gotten a Perkins loan? My friend did, and I was wondering why I didn't get one. Our needs are similiar (our EFCs are the same too). I ask because that loan looks a bit better compared to the Stafford (5% int, 9 months grace period compared to 6 and 6.8% int and 6 months grace)