Student loans are the best way to go to a college or university that would otherwise be too expensive to attend. The best way to manage these loans is through consolidation. When it comes time to consolidate your loans it is important that you do not mix Federal Loans and Private Loans together.

Why Consolidate?

• To lower monthly payment amounts by up to 45%
• To lock in a fixed interest rate as low as 5.3%
• To gain an opportunity to build your credit rating
• To make only one student loan payment each month

Federal loans should be consolidated first. By doing this you will receive a lower interest rate, a longer payment period, and one institution to send payments to. Every year Student Loan Interest Rates go up on July 1st so it is important to keep this deadline in mind when consolidating your loans.

Once your Federal loans have been consolidated you can focus on your Private loans. Private consolidation loans can be used for all educational debt, including all private loans used for education-related expenses as well as any Federal loans.

Who Qualifies

• Those who have graduated or will graduate within 6 months
• Those who have at least $7,500 in loans
• Those who have never consolidated their loan before
• Those without any loans in default