Private Student Loan Consolidation

Federal loans are often not enough to cover the full expense of a college education. Therefore, private loans are sometimes a necessary choice for students seeking higher education. You may have received these private loans from such top loan providers as Sallie Mae Signature, Citibank, Bank of America, and NextStudent. The next step in repayment is private student loan consolidation.

It is important to consolidate your private student loans because they tend to have higher interest rates, shorter payback periods, and a lack of certain protections in comparison to federal loans. The sooner you can consolidate your private student loans into one loan and potentially lengthen your repayment period, the better off you will be. If your current student loan debt exceeds 8% of your income, or if you have borrowed more then $5,000 in private loans, you should consolidate your debt to avoid default and prevent negative effects to your credit. Remember not to consolidate your private and federal student loans into a single consolidation loan because you will lose the benefits of your federal loan.