Questions on student loans
and student loan consolidation

The time comes when every student must start to repay their loans.  The most important thing to to when it comes to student loan repayment is to work closely with your lender.  It is best to start communicating your needs with them several months before your first loan payment is due.

By communicating early with your lender you can find the right student loan repayment option for you.  Just some to the student loan repayment options include level repayment plan, graduated repayment plan, an income sensitive plan, and an extended repayment plan. 

• Level Repayment Plan: Here you pay the same amount towards your student loan balance every month for the duration of your repayment period. It's the least expensive plan in the long run.
  
   
• Graduated Repayment Plan: This plan offers a lower, more affordable monthly student loan payment for a number of years with higher payments in later years. Your loan is repaid in the same time frame as Level Repayment. But the total interest costs are slightly higher than the level payment plan.
  
   
• Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan: This is usually only available for federal loans, and not for private loans.  Here your monthly payment rises and falls on an annual basis with your estimated income. This is the most flexible plan, but it can be the most expensive in the long run, and you must reapply annually.
  
   
• Extended Repayment Plan: This plan is available for most government and consolidated loans.  Usually in order to qualify you need to have at 30,000 dollars in student loans.  With extended student loan repayment options your repayment plan is often as long as 30 years. 

• Remember your loans are initially set up for a Level Repayment Plan. It is recommend that you continue with the Level Repayment Plan if you're able to make your monthly payments.  Normally your loan repayment term is for 10 years. 
  
   
• To enroll in the Extended, Income-Sensitive or Graduated Repayment Plans, you need to communicate with your student loan provider.
   
• If you're in repayment, there may be times you might have difficulty making repayments. Take a look at the following options before changing your repayment plan:
  
   

  Deferments & Forbearances are for those times when you run into short-term financial difficulties.
  
  Loan Consolidation should be considered when you have several loans and would like one lower monthly payment, one due date, and the convenience of having one check to write.