Private College Student Loan

When should I consolidate my student loans and who should I consolidate with?

I'm a master's level student with only a couple of months left of school. I have student loans from my undergrad and graduate program. I know I need to consolidate but I don't know how. Should I wait until I graduate to consolidate or should I do it now? Also, I heard nelnet is going under... So who should I consolidate with? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. you can consolidate now and the best way to go with the low interest rates would be direct loans.
2. Why exactly do you think you need to consolidate? it isn't going to get you a better deal. Consolidation has been drilled into grads and it really offers no benefits. The federal loans you have are on a 10 year payment plan. If you try to consolidate them you might (and I stress might) end up with a slightly lower interest rate, but it may not be a fixed rate like the one you have. And it will lengthen the time you pay on them. You'll go from 10 years to repay to 30. Meaning you'll be paying on them until roughly you retire. You end up paying more money in interest over the life of the loan. And if you have federal and private loans, you can't consolidate them together. Some folks go on and on about only having one payment. But with auto bill pay, who cares? Honestly. It doesn't take more time, besides, your loans will likely end up being sold to the same place when you graduate. (Sallie Mae) and you will only have to make one payment to them. When I graduated with my Master's degree, I owed 22K. Sallie Mae bought all my undergrad and grad loans and I only made one payment for 10 years to pay it off. THEY split my payment up to get the correct amount to the correct loan. Simple and easy. If I'd consolidated, I'd still be paying on them.