Is student loan consolidation right for you?
For anyone carrying a large amount of college debt, student loan consolidation may be an effective way to find student debt relief.
Student loan consolidation involves taking a new loan to pay off multiple older student loans. Consolidation should enable you to lower your monthly payments by taking a loan with a lower interest rate. And if your existing school loans have variable interest rates, a consolidation loan with a fixed rate can bring more stability to your financial situation.
But working with student loan consolidation companies may not always be the most effective way to find student loan debt relief — other types of student loan programs may help you pay off loans faster. For advice on student loan consolidation and other ways to pay down your debt, consult the professional credit counselors at American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC).
Evaluate student loan consolidation with help from ACCC.
ACCC is a nonprofit company that provides free credit counseling to individuals and families nationwide. We also offer free educational materials that can help you manage your money more effectively, and a low-cost debt management program that may help to retire your debt more easily.
Our highly trained and certified credit counselors can work with you to evaluate student loan consolidation options as well as other ways to manage your student debt. In your first free counseling session, we’ll work with you to get a detailed picture of your finances and explore all the options for paying off your loans. We’ll work with you to choose the option that makes the most sense financially, and put together a plan to rid yourself of debt and live debt-free in the future.
Alternatives to student loan consolidation.
Student loan consolidation is just one of the number of ways to manage debt more advantageously. Other options for handling student debt include:
- Alternative repayment plans, including plans that lower your monthly payment by extending the life of the loan; graduated plans with lower monthly payments now and higher payments later; and income-based plans that fluctuate as your income rises or declines.
- Deferment or forbearance, enabling you to suspend payment on your student loans for a period of time. This option is typically available to people entering the military or experiencing financial hardship.
- Student loan debt forgiveness programs, where graduates in certain fields like the military, healthcare, public service or teaching may have some or all of their student loans forgiven.
Learn more about student loan consolidation at ACCC, and about the federal student loan forgiveness program.