Congratulations to all the Classes of 2023! A Global Pandemic occurred at the beginning or in the middle of your pursuit for your degree and you earned it. I am sure your degree did not come easy, and this post is intended to help you reap the benefits of your hard work. If you took out student loans you already know what you owe by now. Please, do not panic. My effort is to give you peace of mind. Student loan consolidation might be the best option for you, and I am going to tell you how to get it done.
Step One is the DEADLINE…
You have up to 3 months after you earn your degree to consolidate your student loans. That is 3 months after earning your official diploma. For example, if you earned your degree in May, your deadline is August of the day you graduated. For those of you who walked early and will earn your remaining credits over the summer your deadline is 3 months after the date your school records your credits to fulfill the requirements for your degree. If you have already been accepted to start another degree in a full-time program, you will not have to begin paying your student loans. In other words, you have until your first loan payment date to consolidate your student loans.
Step Two is understanding what Student Loan Consolidation is…
Most students have various student loans by Graduation Day and each one may have to be paid back separately. What Federal student loan consolidation does is repackage all your student loans into one loan with a fixed interest rate that is backed by the federal government. Student loan consolidation entitles you the holder, to qualify for any of the qualifying federal student loan programs, such as forgiveness and Income Based Rate (IBR). You may consolidate any loans taken out strictly for education whether from a private bank or the federal lending program such as a Stafford Loan. Your education institution has already showed you who your current loan holder is, and you may have already accessed your account. Once you access that account, you should see all your education loans. If you have any other student loan that is not listed, take note of that loan too if you want to include it in your consolidation package. After you have identified all your student loans, you are ready to move on to step three.
Step Three consolidate your loans: First thru studentaid.gov then via your loan servicing provider
If you did not study business, do not worry, the consolidation process is a lot easier than it sounds. Especially, if you already have identified all your student loans. Simply, visit https://studentaid.gov. Once on the homepage click on the consolidate loans options under the Loan Repayment dropdown section of the top menus. From there log in and follow the steps. Beware, your loan servicing provider will say you can consolidate your student loans directly with them, but to ensure accuracy, completeness, and that all your true student loans are included in the process, go through the studentaid.gov process first. Then consolidate via your loan servicing provider checking off you applied at studentaid.gov first. The federal government will send the new loan documentation over to your loan servicer once completed.
That is how easy it is. The sooner you follow the three steps above the sooner you can minimize all that “student debt” noise from friends and relatives, and you can begin tackling all the other problems life brings your way. If you think you need help, contact me via this website and mention this post for a gift.