The Deadline Has Passed: What Options Do I Have?

Now that the rates for consolidating student loans have gone up, I'm sure that there are quite a few people out there who are lamenting the fact that they missed the boat. Well, the bottom line is if you have a heavy student loan debt burden (i.e. over $12,000 in student loans) then your long term savings could have been considerable. If you owe less than $10,000 then you really shouldn't worry too much about it, and if you owe less than $5000 then you really didn't need to consolidate anyway.

And remember: you can still consolidate your student loans, and in fact you should seriously consider consolidating if your current interest rate (or your average interest rate if you have multiple student loans) is higher than 6%. If you do end up consolidating, be sure to do your research and consolidate with a reputable company. You don't want to find yourself stuck with one of the fly-by-night consolidation companies that have recently come into existence during the latest student loan consolidation rush.

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The Deadline Arrives: Consolidate Your Student Loans Now or Else!

Today is the deadline for locking in a great interest rate for your Student Loans by consolidating. I'm certain lots of folks are scrambling to try to make the deadline, and I hope everyone makes it, especially folks who are carrying a lot of student loan debt (i.e. over $12,000.) If you have less than $5,000 of student loan debt then you should know that most financial experts agree that you shouldn't bother consolidating.

But you've got to be very careful. Lots of new student loan consolidation companies have hit the scene trying their best to take advantage of the student loan consolidation rush. Most of these companies are legit and you probably won't have any problems with them. But some are in the game just to make a quick buck, and these companies probably won't be around for long. If the company you chose to consolidate with eventually goes under, they could drag you down with them, causing serious damage to your credit history, damage that could take a very long time to fix. So do your research, and consolidate with an established company or organization that you are comfortable with.

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Congressional Committee Takes On Student Loan Programs

Fraud, waste and abuse caused government student loan programs to be listed in the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) list of high risk government programs. Back in January of 2005, however, government student loan programs were taken off the list, and now Congress wants find out what's being done to fix the problems that landed the government student loan programs on that list in the first place. Click here for the full story.

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