student loan consolidation rate
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Students rushing to meet loan deadline
Students and graduates are running out of time if they want to refinance college loans before an interest rate hike this weekend.The federal government adjusts interest rates on its student loans each July 1 based on a formula tied to the yield on short-term Treasury bills.If loans are consolidated before the Friday at midnight deadline, the interest rates will remain fixed.A consolidation loan allows students to combine their federal loans into a single loan with one monthly payment.The variable rate on a common Stafford loan dipped to as low as 2.77 percent for students in the 2004-2005 school year and 3.37 percent for graduates already making repayments. Those rates rose last year to 4.7 percent for students and 5.3 percent for graduates.On Saturday, the rates will shoot up to 6.8 percent for students and 7.14 percent for graduates.
More student loan consolidation rate info
MONEY | Cutting college loan costs
Rates on federally sponsored college loans are scheduled to increase Saturday, and consolidating existing loans will become less advantageous then. -Many borrowers can get discounts such as a quarter-point reduction in the interest rate for paying by automatic debit and another one-point reduction in the rate after they make 36 on-time payments. On a $30,000 consolidation loan, that would save an additional $6,000 over 20 years.
-Some families might find it cheaper to borrow money by taking out a second mortgage or home-equity credit line, or to lower the payment by extending an existing loan.
-To learn more about federal student loans, see the Department of Education's Web site at .gov. For details on consolidation loans, see Sallie Mae's Web site at www.smartloan.com.