Student loan consolidation is simply the process of taking all the different types of student loans you may have acquired while attending college and converting them into a single loan that you need to repay to a single lender with a new repayment plan. This is quite similar to refinancing a house. Student loan consolidation pays off the outstanding balance on all the loans, then takes that total balance and converts it into a single new loan. This way students have the convenience of repaying a single loan instead of multiple ones.
The biggest advantage of student loan consolidation is the integration of all loans into a single monthly bill. The second advantage is that after consolidation you will be charged a much lower rate of interest on the consolidated loan and this means huge savings. Also, consolidated loans offer a lot more flexibility when it comes to repayments. They have no fees, additional charges, or any prepayment fines. You do not need to provide co-signers or credit checks when consolidating your student loans.
In order to get a student loan consolidation, you may approach any bank or credit union that is a part of the Federal Family Education Loan Program. It does not really matter which way you go because most of the terms and conditions for student loan consolidation are the same. The important thing to do is to check with your current debtors. In case all of your current loans are with a single lender then it is recommended you consolidate your loans with the same lender.
Also remember that you can only do student loan consolidation once, unless if you are going to take more loans. This is why it is important you get the best possible deal when you are consolidating. Though the interest rate is not likely to differ much from one lender to the next, some of them might offer future discounts on prompt payment as well as a discount for monthly payments directly debited to your account. All these options are available to you when you go for consolidation within the 6-month grace period after which your repayment begins. If you are going for loan consolidation, always do it before this grace period expires to get the lowest possible interest rate.