Do you have several student loans? Are you getting confused by the number of payments? Consider taking a Student Loan Consolidation, otherwise known as a Student Consolidation Loan.

This very convenient instrument allows you to take out a single loan, which will pay off all the other existing loans made by the student or parent. You are then left with just one loan, making it easier to monitor. This option is more common for private loans but you can also ask for one for FFELP (Stafford, PLUS and SLS), FISL, Perkins, Health Professional Student Loans, NSL, HEAL, Guaranteed Student Loans and Direct loans.

How do consolidation loans help?

Consolidation loans provide many benefits. First of all it extends the duration of the loan, thus making the monthly payments a little easier to handle. Compare this: most loans will have a maximum term of 10 years, but the consolidation loan will give you up to 12 years. This is very helpful for those who have a lot of financial responsibilities, or who anticipate that they will need to take a few lower income jobs at the start of their career just for the opportunity to get good training and hands on experience.

You may have heard of some special circumstances, such as when at least one loan were paid before the end of the 10 year period. The consolidation loan will then lower the monthly payment but will retain the maximum 2 year term. To turn this to your advantage continue making large payments, as high as you used to before, so that you save on interest.

Alternatives to the Consolidation Loan

The advantage of consolidation is that it’s easier to make payments, but there is a trade off .The interest rate increases, and so the total cost increases. Try looking at other options too. These include asking for alternate repayment terms. You can also ask for Income contingent payments, which will take into consideration the situation when you have a lower monthly income in the first few years following graduation. Extended repayment allows you to extend the term of the loan without consolidation. Although each of these options increases the total amount of interest paid, the increase is less than that caused by consolidation.