What is Student Loan Debt Consolidation? Do I qualify?
Currently, direct consolidation loans are the only type of governmental student consolidation loan. Operating under Direct Loan Consolidation Program, you can successfully consolidate Federally Insured Student Loans (FISLs), Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS), Subsidized as well as Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Health Education Assistance Loans (HEALs), Perkins Loans, Direct Loans, and any other kind of federal student loan.
Loans that are not government-guaranteed, for example, private or state loans are not eligible for consolidation. You can consolidate with Direct Loans during grace periods, once you have entered repayment, or during deferment or forbearance periods and well as special individualized circumstances.
Previously, consolidation was available to borrowers while they were still in school, but the Congress amended their laws and eliminated this right back in 2006 as well as the ability to do joint consolidation for married couples.
The Benefits
- Consolidation enables you to pool all of your loans together in one easy to manage loan and make just a single monthly payment.
- Through an extension of the loan repayment period, consolidation can significantly help by lowering the amounts of your monthly payment installments
- With multiple loans you may have variable interest rates, consolidating this into one debt will lock in one interest rate.
- Another significant advantage of consolidation is that it is one way to get you out of default and back into the current repayment plan.
From a report released by College Access and Success, more than 75% of college seniors who graduated in the year 2011, had a total loan debt of about $26,600, the amount varies depending on what type of school you went to (public or private) and how much you had to take out based on what you were able to pay during your study years. Having multiple loans spread out over different borrowers can add to the anxiety of overwhelming student debt.
Consolidating your student loans to pay off debt
The good news is Direct Account Management makes the process of consolidating your student debt into a single extremely easy! By doing this, you can effectively lower your monthly payments as early as your next installment is due. Sometimes this can extend the total amount of payments but often time Direct Client Management can get into new alternative repayment plans that won’t affect the lifetime debt payment numbers.
One of the biggest questions we get asked is about credit when consolidating student loan debt. Ultimately a lower monthly repayment amount can reduce your total financial burden each month and enable you to make timely payments. About 35% of your Equifax credit score depends on your payment history on mortgages, student loans, and credit cards. If the reduced monthly installments allow you to make timely repayments, there is a high possibility of a net positive impact on your credit score.
Student loans are also usually considered a favorable debt. Good debt is viewed as a good investment, and therefore can significantly help you to improve your score over time especially with lower payments allowing you to make on-time payments over the life of the loan.
It is always good to have a diversity of credit as student loan debts are not revolving credit lines but one installment. Having varied types of credit, including student loan installments, can positively impact your score as well.
Essentially making on-time payments is crucial, and if your student debt burden is overwhelming and making it impossible to function financially, consolidating with Direct Client Management could be the answer! We can effectively lower your payments for the life of your loan and wipe away the anxiety of an unaffordable, large monthly student loan payment and get you back on track!
