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What is a Federal Consolidation Loan? |
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| A Federal Consolidation Loan is a loan that repays some or all of your outstanding eligible federal student loans, and replaces the multiple payments you may be making each month with a single student loan payment. In most cases, your repayment term is extended to make your monthly payments more affordable, however, you may always prepay your loan with no penalties. The interest rate on the consolidation will be a fixed rate for the entire term equal to the weighted average interest rates of your consolidated student loans rounded up to the nearest 1/8% not to exceed 8.25%. |
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| Student loan consolidation sounds too good to be true. Is this another debt consolidation scam? |
| Absolutely not! The Federal government created the student loan consolidation program to help students and their parents afford higher education, so that our youth is better educated and can achieve higher earning power. Like many government programs, however, some of the rules and procedures may be a bit complicated. That's why you're encouraged to let StudentLoanHeadquarters be your student loan consolidation provider of choice! |
| How do I know if I'm eligible to consolidate my student loans through StudentLoanHeadquarters? |
| You are eligible if ALL the following are true: You have graduated, left school, or are currently attending school either full-time or less than half time, and your loans are in repayment, deferment/forbearance or in grace. You have at least $10,000 in eligible student loans you wish to consolidate You can certify that you do not have a Federal Consolidation Loan application pending with another lender. |
| What's the minimum balance to consolidate though StudentLoanHeadquarters? |
| You must have an outstanding balance of $10,000 in eligible student loans to consolidate them under this program. |
| What loans can I consolidate? |
Federal and Federal Direct Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized) Federal and Federal Direct PLUS SLS (Supplementary Loans for Students) Federal Perkins Federal Nursing Student Loans (NSL) Federal Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Federal Health Professional Student Loans (HPSL) Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) Federal Insured Students Loans (FISL) Federal Consolidation Loans Federal Direct Consolidation Loans.
A note about defaulted loans: You may consolidate defaulted loans as long as you make three consecutive monthly payments to your guarantor prior to applying for loan consolidation. |
| I have several student loans, but I also have bad credit. Can I still consolidate my student loans? |
| Bad credit, poor credit? No problem! There are no credit checks and no co-signers required for student loan consolidation. We work solely with the student loans you own, and nothing else. |
| What if I have already consolidated my student loans. Can I reconsolidate to lock in the lower rate? |
| If you have already consolidated, the Department of Education has ruled that you cannot reconsolidate unless you either received a new eligible loan since the consolidation or have left an eligible loan out of the original consolidation. An existing consolidation loan with no other eligible debt may be able to be refinanced or reconsolidated through our repayment discount program. |
| How do I get the lowest student loan payments available today? |
| Make your required number of scheduled payments (within the first 15 days of the due date each month) on your new consolidation loan, and we'll automatically reduce your interest rate by one full percentage point and leave it there as long as you continue to make on-time payments. Pay electronically (direct debit payments from your checking or savings account) and you can reduce your interest rate by an additional .25 of a percentage point, as long as you continue to make your payments electronically. When you qualify for both benefits, you can reduce your interest rate by 1.25% and save hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your total loan costs. |
| Is there a credit check? |
| No credit checks are required to consolidate your loans. |
| How long will it take for me to repay my loans if I consolidate? |
| Depending on the outstanding balance on your federal student loans (even those you may wish to leave out of the consolidation), you may have up to 30 years to repay your student loans: Important note about your repayment term: You may choose a repayment term that is shorter than the ones noted above. |
| Do I have to extend my terms when I consolidate? |
Absolutely not! You can keep your payments and the terms the same. Also, you can customize it as low as 5 years (60 months). Keep in mind, there is no prepayment penalty. |
| I attended graduate school, am I still eligible? |
| Yes, as long as you have eligible loans you wish to consolidate. Most people who have attended graduate school have borrowed more for their education, and so have more to save by consolidating. Loan consolidation can help you lock in a very low interest rate, cut your payments by more than half and let you make a single payment for all your eligible student loans. |
| General Questions about Eligibility and Applying |
