Feb 09
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A credit card, federal loans, interest rates, maxed out, seperatly, Student Loans Q&A
I have 3 student loans out from college: 1 state, 1 federal, and 1 from my bank and a maxed out credit card that I am paying off. Is there a way I can consolidate all of these together for a lower monthy payment? Right now I pay each bill seperatly and the interest rates keep climbing! Any advice? I am under the impression that I cannot consolidate state and federal loans together…am I wrong about this?
Dec 13
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A federal loan, federal loans, loan payments, private lenders, Student Loans Q&A
I’m looking into consolidating my student loans that I have accumulated over the past 5 years. I have a mix of private as well as federal loans. Is there any company that will allow me to combine all of them into say, a 15 year loan. My private lenders are requiring me to repay within 4 years. So my payments are like 0/month! …on top of my federal loan payments.
Any advise would be great.
Dec 09
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A federal loans, private loans, Student Loans Q&A
I will be graduating in December from college. I want to consolidate my student loans but am unsure of a reliable place to go. I have several federal loans and a couple private loans. Is there anywhere I can go that will consolidate them all into one payment, or do I have to consolidate them separately?
Nov 27
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A car loan, co signer, credit card, credit history, credit score, fafsa, family members, federal loans, job, last minute, money, private loan, private student, scholarships, several thousand dollars, signs, sophomore, student loan, t pay, wages
Here’s the situation:
1. I have about two months of credit history with one credit card, and I paid off the balance on time no problem.
2. I am a sophomore, have already filled out FAFSA, and am already taking out federal loans.
3. I need an additional private loan of 00 within three weeks.
4. My best candidate for a co-signer is my mother (My other closest family members are definitely unable to help me). Her credit score is good, but she has no job. She will have to get a loan of her own soon for a car, once she gets a job.
5. I have read on different websites that co-signing a loan affects the co-signer’s credit score. They all mention that a co-signer suffers if the borrower doesn’t pay payments, but I am assuming I will be able to get a job and continue to be responsible with my money. Does simply co-signing on a loan automatically hurt the co-signer’s credit score? Does this mean that my mother will not be able to get a car loan or refinance our home if she co-signs on my loan?
So my question comes in these pieces: Do I have to have a co-signer, given my nearly-non-existent credit history? Will my co-signer’s credit score suffer enough to prevent my co-signer from taking out her own loan? Also, does anyone have any recommendations on where I should go for a good private student loan?
Thank you in advance for any advice.
I am studying abroad; if I were to back out now I would be throwing away several thousand dollars. I didn’t know until last minute which scholarships I was getting (I applied to several scholarships, totaling 000, but am receiving just under half of it). The 00 deficit I am in now is after scholarships, wages, and federal aid.
Nov 15
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A credit score, federal loans, fixed rate, graduation, Student Loans Q&A
I graduated from college about 2.5 years ago, and after graduation, decided to consolidate my student loans (about ,000 total) at a fixed rate of 4.65%. With rates so low these days, I’m wondering if I can re-consolidate my loans at a lower fixed rate. My credit score is great, if that matters.
To answer Cynthia’s question, I’m in the US. The loans are Stafford (federal) Loans, now consolidated at AES.
Nov 02
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A budget, consolidation, different companies, federal loans, grad school, private loans, Student Loans Q&A, thanks in advance
I am a May 2008 graduate with a significant amount of debt.
Because I transferred, I have over ,000 in a number of private and federal loans from different companies in two different states. I just have a few questions about consolidation.
1. Can you consolidate both federal and private loans into one?
2. I just started working, so I don’t make that much, do you think consolidation is a good option? I can make the payments, but it makes everything else a lot tighter.
3. If I consolidate, what companies can I trust?
4. What companies are best?
5. What if I go back to grad school later and need to take out loans again? Can I add to the consolidation? Or does something else happen?
Any information will help. I am trying to be responsible and budget, but having a number of student loans is making things pretty difficult. Thanks in advance!
Oct 20
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A benefit, federal loans, mae loans, navy, private loans, sallie mae, student loan repayment
I joined the Navy with a sign-on benefit of ,000 in student loan repayment. I was told at the time I joined that my Sallie Mae loans would be covered, but now they are telling me that these loans are not covered because they are private. I have about ,000 in federal loans that are going to be repaid, but I still have a very large amount of private loans. I was initially told that I could simply refinance my private loans as federal loans and they would be repaid by the Navy, but now I know that it is impossible to turn private loans into federal loans. Does anyone know of a way to get my private loans (up to ,000 minus the amount of federal loans already covered) repaid by the Navy/military?
Oct 01
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A federal loans, good time, little bit, private loans, variable rate
I have roughly ,000 in private loans at a variable rate (currently 6.15%) and an extra ,000 in federal loans at a rate of 4.15%. Right now my monthly payment is about 0. I’m able to pay it, but obviously it’s very high and would like to decrease it if possible. I see a ton of places offering to consolidate, but don’t know of one that won’t try to screw you over. Also, is a good time to do it now, wait a little bit or what?
Sep 26
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A consolidation loan, federal interest rates, federal loans, private loan consolidation, private loans, private rates
I know that the Federal interest rates will be going up to 7.25%, but are the private rates expected to follow suit?
Also, is it possible to consolidate federal loans together with private loans in a private loan consolidation loan?
Sep 22
Mark SingleyStudent Loans Q&A consolidation program, federal loans, private student loan consolidation, private student loans, single one, student loan consolidation, subprime mortgage crisis
I have called at least a dozen places whose ads claim that they do private student loan consolidation. But when I called, every single one of them said they had either temporarily suspended or canceled their private student loan consolidation program due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Nearly all of them offered to consolidate my federal loans but I’ve already done that. A few of them actually named other places they thought were still doing it but when I called them, those places had also suspended their programs. So, if anyone out there has had recent success with consolidating their private student loans, please let me know. Thanks.
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