I'm thinking about student loan cosolidation since the rates are very low. Has anyone done this before? Suggest good companies?

There's one independent company that is heavily courting me: Student Loan Consolidation Center, in San Diego Ca. Know anything about them?

thanks!

HEY! I've totally be wondering about this! Glad you asked. I'm interested in what everyone has to say.
V

http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/loanholder/lconslproc.shtml

do it yourself through the government. i'm going to start the process, so i'll let you know how it goes.

okay, i consolidated my student loans. it took me about 45 min with a modem connection. you need to have contacts that don't live with you, and your govt pin number is helpful, though not essential.

What percentage did you get? I was going to do it through Sallie Mae, but I have a feeling I'd get a better deal through the US govt.

my roomie just did the sallie mae 'deal' where you lock in the current rate for 30 years, and I think she got 4.75%, or something. which is a smidge higher than the real current rate, around 4.5% (maybe). but the lower rate is variable, and can go up once the market changes. and, there's no penalty for paying off early, which is what she was most concerned about.

I tried to refinance through NextStudent (out of Phoenix, AZ, I think) and they couldn't get their act together--not keeping me posted on the status of the repayment, not returning my calls, etc., so I ended up cancelling. I just hope it wasn't a racket designed to get my SSN and somehow wreck my credit rating. Be careful.

--lynda

It is my understanding that you cannot defer for economic hardship after you consolidate. I am pretty positive that this is true if you consolidate with the US gov. That is why I haven't done it yet, I can't find a job and cant afford my payments so I have to defer. Hopefully I can get it all settled while the rates are still low.

I don't think that's the case if you consolidate through Direct Loans (the government agency).
It just becomes one big loan instead of a binch of smaller loans.
Also, if you can defer because you're back in school, you should be able to for economic hardship....

you can defer consolidated loans with sallie mae. i consolidated through sallie mae and got a 5.5 fixed interest rate... looks like you could get a lower rate with them now, though. i'm also just paying interest for the first two years since i'm broke and hopefully will be in grad school by the time those 2 years are up. i'm secretly hoping i have a secret admirer who's been watching me from afar who'll kick the bucket soon and leave me the $12k i need to pay off my loan.

the interest rate i got through direct loans from the government is a fixed rate for the duration of my repayment time. i'll save $60/month with the new interest rate.

i think you can still defer, but it depends on your loan types. from what i recall from my exit interview, consolidating makes the loans an unsubsidized loan, which means it gathers interest when you defer payment or decide to use your grace periodl.

the subsidized loans don't accrue interest during school or deferrments, which could be helpful, depending on your interest rate.

Hi elemental. I'm gonna ask my boyfriend when he gets home. He just consolidated a couple months ago, and I believe researched quite a few places.

Jess

thanks everyone for your input!