I am paying off my (much higher) federal loan and I genuinely cannot pay for both based on my income. I fit into only one of the deferment statuses - I was a half-time student, but I'm not anymore, so I don't think it counts. What can I do?
2007-09-02 20:34:34 · 4 answers · asked by Murrin 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Financial Aid
I think your best option is to consolidate your loans. I use Sallie Mae, not sure what company you're using, but Sallie Mae offers a consolidation of all loans into one making it easier to pay them off. If you don't find one of these options contact each company (the federal loan as well as the Perkins loans) and explain your situation. If you can lower the monthly payment on both loans you will be able to pay them off and not be considered delinquent. Hope this helps.
2007-09-03 05:26:59 · answer #1 · answered by Ally 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If both of your loans are Federal Loans, then it sounds like you should check out the Federal Consolidation Program.
The FFELP Consolidation Loan Program is always a great idea for college graduates. This free federal program was developed in order to ease the financial burden on students once they graduate school and go into repayment on their Federal Student Loans. Some of the advantages of the FFELP Consolidation Loan Program are: having one bill and one lender, locking in the lowest possible interest rate available to you, lowering your monthly payments, and resetting your Deferment and Forbearance time.
If the Student Loans that you have are Federal Stafford loans and they were disbursed to you before July 1st, 2006, than the interest rate on those loans will be Variable, which means they are subject to an interest rate change every July 1st, which is determined by the Federal Government. If you consolidate, you will lock in your rate for the rest of your loan repayment. You will also have lower monthly payments and be able to keep all your federal benefits.
For more information on current Federal Student Loan interest rates, as well as more detailed information on the FFELP Consolidation Loan Program, please visit the source below. Also, you can contact us on yahoo at studentaidlending.
Good luck, I hope this helps!
2007-09-05 07:45:58 · answer #2 · answered by Student Loans 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You should talk to a financial aid officer at your school for information/guidance regarding this question. Especially since the school is the one who handles Perkins loan repayments. I would not, however, consolidate your Perkins and your federal loan unless you really have no choice. This is because the Perkins loan interest rate is so much lower than that of the federal loan; when you consolidate, you will be consolidating to a higher interest rate.
Good luck!!
2007-09-03 06:24:56 · answer #3 · answered by caba 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Caba has the right answer.
2007-09-06 14:19:57 · answer #4 · answered by John 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋