Lock in a Lower Consolidation Rate

On July 1, the interest rate for existing Stafford loans will increase. Many experts believe that it will rise to the highest level in six years.
If you are graduating from college or have some loans floating, student consolidation
, around, you need to consolidate those federal student loans before July 1.
The interest rate could go as high as 7%. But if you act right now, you can lock in a rate as low as 4.75% for the full term of the loan. It’s simple, the lower the rate, the lower your payment and the more money you save.
Under the current law, you can lock in the weighted average of all your loans, up to the nearest 1/8 of 1%. If you have already, student consolidation
, been paying back your loans, you can consolidate and lock in a rate, student consolidation
, of 5.375%. Borrowers who are still in the grace period will be able to lock in at 4.75%.
Student loans have experienced record-low interest rates for the past several years. The rate for outstanding federally guaranteed student loans is based on rates for short-term Treasury, student consolidation
, bills for May. Lenders are now looking for rates to exceed 6.9%, a record high for the past six years.
If you borrow after July 1, your Stafford loans will have a fixed rate of 6.8%, even if the interest rates go down. Earlier this year,, student consolidation
, a new law eliminated,, student consolidation
, student consolidation
, the variable rate for student loans issued after July 1, 2006.
Consolidating several student loans into one gives you one monthly payment. But with new fixed interest rates, the financial benefits of consolidation, student consolidation
, may be lessened.
Don’t wait too long to start consolidating,, student consolidation
, even though you have a month left. Lenders are expecting a large increase in last-minute applications, student consolidation
, .
When choosing a lender to consolidate your student loans, you should consider:
-You might not have a choice of who to refinance with. If all of your Stafford loans are held by the same lender, and it offers loan consolidation, they are your only choice. But if you have loans with separate lenders, you can choose whoever you wish, student consolidation
, .
-Some loans shouldn’t be consolidated, such as Perkins loans, which are already federally subsidized as a fixed-rate loan for low-income students. Perkins loans are eligible for loan forgiveness is you work in certain fields.
-If you consolidate while still in school, you may lose the six-month grace period that usually kicks, student consolidation
, in after graduation, student consolidation
, . But locking in a low rate, student consolidation
, may be worth it. After July 1, the government will no longer allow in-school consolidation.
Keep in mind that once you consolidate federally guaranteed student loans, you can’t, student consolidation
, do it again. It’s a one-time option.
Most college students are facing paying their student loans back for decades. Cutting the interest rate can save thousands of dollars. Student loan debt is often necessary for many consumers, but the high interest rates aren’t. Act now.
Martin Lukac (http://www.MartinLukac.com), represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

Martin Lukac
articleage.com