Welcome to Student Loans Guide
Student Loans Grants Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
What To Consider When Consolidating Student Loans
from:It is always a great feeling to finally complete your course of student and graduate. This is a time full of promise, hope and excitement about a new career, financial stability and new options, however it is also a time of having to start paying your student loans. Typically most students will owe a significant amount of money, for some graduate students their student loan debt may be over $150,000, however for undergraduates the debt is more typically closer to $20,000. In most cases this debt is spread out over several different lenders, with payments, interest rates and monthly payments all at various times of the month.
Consolidating student loans has been an option that has been available to students for many years. When consolidating student loans individuals are borrowing one larger sum of money that is then used to pay off all the smaller loans, resulting in one monthly payment that is stretched out over a longer time period. This is the biggest benefit to consolidating student loans for most individuals, a single, lower monthly payment that is easier to manage. However, it is also important to keep in mind that this stretches your payments from ten years with standard student loans to up to thirty years on a consolidated loan. Over those years the individual will continue to pay interest payments, which will add up to a considerable sum of money over the total life of the loan.
It is also essential for individuals and students to understand that consolidating student loans may not result in an overall lower interest rate. While most student loans will be variable, some will be fixed, and a consolidation loan rate may be higher than the fixed but lower than some of the variable rates. If consolidating student loans will actually increase your interest rate because of the amount of money in the various variable or fixed rate loans this may not be the best option for you.
It used to required that students considering consolidating student loans were restricted to doing business with a company or agency that they had the original loan with, this was known as the "single-holder" rule. New regulations now eliminated this rule, meaning that students are free to shop around with any company offering services of consolidating student loans to get the best interest rates, flexible options and deferments if possible. Since this policy has been in place more consolidating information is routinely provided to students through mail outs and other sources of advertising. Keep in mind that sticking with the same loan company for the consolidation may be a good idea, if you are getting a good interest rate and are able to make all the payments.
Student Loans Grants News
Obama looks to up student loans - Twin Cities Planet
 Twin Cities Planet | Obama looks to up student loans Twin Cities Planet Last week, the president proposed an increase in campus-based funds like Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Perkins Loans and the Work-Study program by $10 billion annually. The Perkins Loan budget would increase from $1 billion to $8 billion ... Alexander: “President Should Turn Around His Higher Ed 'Race to the Top' And ... Students criticize proposed tuition bill Stuck in the middle with U |
Obama grants 10 states leeway on education law - Chicago Tribune
 New York Daily News | Obama grants 10 states leeway on education law Chicago Tribune The education law, a signature initiative passed under President George W. Bush, was aimed at holding public schools accountable for improving student performance and closing the "achievement gap," in which minority students often scored far lower than ... No Child Left Behind: Obama administration grants 10 waivers President Obama grants Massachusetts a waiver to opt out of No Child Left Behind Obama Grants 'No Child' Waivers, Partisan War Rages On |
Lt. Gov. Newsom opens fire on Cal Grant cuts - Los Angeles Times
Lt. Gov. Newsom opens fire on Cal Grant cuts Los Angeles Times In particular, Newsom criticized the proposal to raise the minimum grade-point average needed to receive a Cal Grant. Brown's administration says an estimated 26600 students wouldn't make the cut, saving $131 million and focusing “limited financial aid ... |
Missouri to offer $10M in grants for colleges to develop new student ... - The Republic
Missouri to offer $10M in grants for colleges to develop new student ... The Republic Missouri will offer $10 million in competitive grants for public colleges and universities to develop programs that will allow students to graduate more quickly and affordably with skills that can more immediately land jobs, Gov. |
Pitt engineering school gets $22 million grant from Mellon ... - Leader Times
Pitt engineering school gets $22 million grant from Mellon ... Leader Times "With this grant," Holder said, "we'll be able to add another eight faculty." The center teaches 100 graduate students. Holder said the grant will allow the center to enroll 20 more. "With $22 million, we'll have one of the top laboratories in the ... |
Points of View: The Good, the Bad and the Debt - my.hsj.org
Points of View: The Good, the Bad and the Debt my.hsj.org The ever-rising tuition of college has sent millions of college graduates into debt; causing students to depend on scholarships more than ever. A scholarship is an award given to a student for the purpose of furthering their education. |
FAMU announces its own task force and $50000 in hazing research grants - MiamiHerald.com (blog)
 MyFoxOrlando.com | FAMU announces its own task force and $50000 in hazing research grants MiamiHerald.com (blog) Professors will be asked to dive into the secretive and sometimes brutal nature of hazing rituals that occur within student organizations, unofficial band cliques and other "off-campus entities," among other topics. Also on Thursday, FAMU trustees ... FAMU forms anti-hazing panel Florida A&M forms anti-hazing panel Committee to guide FAMU policy changes |
Assembly bill helps UC and CSU students from middle-income families - San Jose Mercury News
 abc7.com | Assembly bill helps UC and CSU students from middle-income families San Jose Mercury News The third-year political economy student has avoided loans but has relied on his parents, who earn too much for him to be eligible for Cal Grants, to dig into their savings for his education. He would be among the 42000 University of California and ... AS opposes Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget cuts |