Well I have a few student loans and they are from different entities although they are all federal government loans. I figured that some of my fellow BBS members have had student loans in the past and have consolidated them so I am turning to you all for advice. My loans are only through two places and one is Direct Loans and the other is EdAmerica. Here are my inquiries: 1. What/Where is the best place to go to consolidate student loans? I have heard multiple good and bad things about many different companies. I'm looking for some personal experiences here. 2. What advantages does consolidation have over keeping the loans separate? Are there any disadvantages? 3. I plan on enrolling in school again soon even though I graduated last year. I will be in school half-time or more. Will these loans be deferred? If they will be, can I still pay on them? 4. Eventually I plan on enrolling in an intense, accelerated program in college or graduate school which would most likely take up so much time and energy that I would not be able to work. When/If this happens, I do not really want to defer my payments. Is there anyway to extend the 10 year payoff in order to lessen my payments. I've heard you can extended payments as long as 30 years. Now if I did this I would only want it to be temporary and not permanent meaning eventually I would want it to come back down to 10 years or sooner. Is this possible? 5. My ultimate goal is to have the loans paid off earlier than expected. Are their penalties for paying off student loans early? Like I noticed one of my loans is for $86. (Don't ask me. lol) I could pay that off today but would there be a penalty for that? These are all my questions that I can think of at the moment but if you guys have any other pieces of advice please feel free to post them. Thanks for any information you can give me. I may have more questions later on.
I do not have answer to all of your questions. but once you re enroll in school your loans will be deferred until 6 months after you graduate. and YES you can pay on them. Im a Enrollment Counselor at University of Phoenix and a student there.. so i know a little about financial aid and loans there also should be no penaltys for paying off the $86 dollar loan. but the best thing to do is to contact your lender
Consolidating your student loans may not be a good idea. Definitely not before June. http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/?story=20080319-student-loans&split=0
