WHY CONSOLIDATE STUDENT LOANS

Why consolidate student loans? The reasons to consolidate student loans are vast and many. Most of these reasons have to do with saving money and improving your credit score. Depending on if you took out various loans for attendance at various institutions or you took out multiple loans because financial needs changed, consolidating your student loans can vastly simplify your life.

When you have multiple student loans, they likely all have different balances, APR’s, and terms. At the very least consolidating student loans will make it so that you only have to negotiate with one company if your needs or ability to make payments change. However the financial benefits begin when you can achieve a lower APR across all or any of your outstanding loans. The time to consolidate student loans is when lending rates are low and government subsidies are high. (Which is very much the case right now). The best time to consolidate student loans is when you are enrolled in a university. When your enrollment is current the likelihood for attaining a grant or heavily subsidized loan are much higher. If you are not currently an undergraduate or a post grad enrolled in a professional program, your options are not limited but should be more focused on finding a lending institution with a low interest rate before any subsidies are offered.

Consolidation, regardless of your situation, will also clean up your credit report. If you have more that one outstanding like of credit consolidation will appear as a single account versus two or three. This is advantageous when applying for new credit eg: a future auto or home loan. When you have to many outstanding lines you can appear very overleveraged and not attractive to new lenders.

Once your student loans are consolidated, you can enjoy the benefits of a single bill and a healthy credit profile.

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