consolidation help loan student

Loan consolidation deadline June 30

Students can consolidate their loans at the lower rate, even if they are still in school and plan to take out more loans.

Students who have multiple lending programs can merge their loans into one payment plan, said Wayne Sparks, early assistant manager for the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program.

He said students who want to consolidate loans should contact their lender to find out options for consolidation.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to student loan consolidation. The main benefit is students have only one lender to worry about instead of several, Sparks said.

In addition, consolidation companies also help students by reducing their bills to one each month, as well as giving students an extended payment period of 10 to 30 years, he said.

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Students are advised to shop around for loan consolidator

With less than a week remaining before student-loan interest rates spike, borrowers are being flooded with loan consolidation offers.

Solicitations arrive in e-mails, pop-up ads and letters. They come from banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Wachovia, and from hundreds of Internet-based companies.

Melet Leafgreen, assistant director of loan programs at Texas Christian University, said students have been coming to her department for help sorting through stacks of mailers, postcards and fliers. "It's very confusing to get through all of those things," she said. "They're all the same, just displayed five different ways."

Beginning Saturday, interest rates on new Stafford loans will be fixed at 6.8 percent, but variable rates on existing Stafford loans will jump almost two points, according to the U.S.

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