Student loan consolidation is a an easier repayment management option to combine all of the student loans you received to finance your college education into one loan with low interest and one repayment per month.

Do you have several loans with different repayment terms and interest rates? You probably do because normally when a student applies for loans to cover college fees, you get loans that have varying terms and interests. With a consolidated student loan, you are able to merge all your student loans into one easy to manage loan with lower interest rates. One single loan is easy to manage and you also save money and pay quicker with the lower interest rate.

The 4 key benefits from consolidating your loan are outlined as follows:

1. With student loan consolidation, you cut on monthly payments, thus saving on money in the long term.

2. Consolidating your student loan and hence extending the duration of your loan past the 10-year period standard for a federal student loan, you are in a position to significantly reduce your monthly repayments. It is noteworthy that in the long term, you will be paying more or extra interest since you will be paying for a longer period of time.

3. A consolidated student loan can also enable you to save some money in the long term because you can lock in a low interest. You can further make some savings by then not prolonging your period of repayment.

4. With a consolidated student loan you have an option to pay beyond the required or the prerequisite amount and you do not incur any penalties by doing so.

What are the main 5 characteristics of a student consolidated loan?

1. Simple, easy to manage one loan payment per month. This is a convenient and efficient way of repaying your student loan, thought one loan repayment.

2. Lower payments every month, thus enabling you make some saving and leave you with more money to spend on other things.

3. Fixed interest rates, which effectively work out to be cost effective for you in the long term. It is important that you do a thorough research on online to find the best interest rate and repayment terms that are suitable to you.

4. One can have in school consolidation arrangements so that while still attending school, students who are qualified can be able to lock in a low interest rate, thus enabling them to go into repayment status. However, since you are currently in school, your repayment will be automatically deferred. What is the disadvantage of this? You lose your six month grace period is lost, but you can appeal for forbearance for a term up to 1 year.

5.You have an option to extend your payment period up to thirty years. However, its important for you to bear in mind that with this extended repayment period, you will be paying more for the additional interest over the extended duration of the loan.

Do you have several student loans? You can enjoy all the benefits associated with a consolidated student loan as outlined above. A consolidated loan is convenient, easy to manage and has lower interest rates.

Dean Shainin is a consultant specializing in student loan consolidation. Get valuable resources, tools, information and more articles on student loan consolidation, visit this site: http://www.studentloanconsolidationtips.com

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