Hi
My son was a in Med School and took several student loans. Among them there was a Signature Student Loan that his father cosign. My son died last year, and when we ask for cancellation of the debt, They are telling us that my husband is reponsible for the loan that he cosign. Is this true?

How does the Obama proposal affect WF?

Alicia -- I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your son. If he had any federal student loan debt, that should've been discharged upon his death. The Signature Student Loan is a private loan from Sallie Mae. For that, you should refer back to the terms of the credit agreement. If your husband agreed to be equally liable for the loan as a cosigner, then any balance that remains on the loan would be his responsibility. Generally, lenders first seek to secure the remaining balance by filing a claim with the borrower's estate, if there is one.

thomsoad, thanks for your question. At this point it's too soon to tell because the Obama Administration's budget recommendations are for 2010. I can tell you that Wells Fargo remains committed to serving the financial needs of students and families through responsible lending of both federal and private loan procuts, and that we're encouraged by the Administration's focus on finding new ways to ensure quality education is available to all.

I was recently granted a $2,500 collegiate student loan from wells fargo. The annual percentage rate of 9.792% before principal repayment begins and 11.746% after principal repayment begins. It says the finance charge is $4,740. The total of payments is then $,7,240. This is almost triple of what the initial loan is. Does Wells Fargo have an abnormally high interest rate or is this pretty common across the board? Also, is there anyway to lower this interest rate? Thanks.

tyler -- Interest rates on Wells Fargo's private student loans (like the Wells Fargo Collegiate Loan) are competitive in the industry. Wells Fargo establishes the price based on the credit of the student applicant and/or creditworthy cosigner, where applicable, at the time of credit approval.

Know that your interest rate is going to fluctuate over time. The interest rate is based on the Prime Rate (which is variable and can change monthly) plus a margin (which is fixed and based on the credit of the student applicant and/or creditworthy cosigner at the time of credit approval). The finance charge and total payments shown on your disclosure statement are calculated as if the interest rate stays the same throughout the life of the loan. However, because the interest rate is variable, you may see the rate change, which could affect the total amount of interest you pay over time. It could be more, or it could be less.

One option for you to reduce the total interest you pay over time is by paying off the interest that accrues while you are in school. Otherwise, that interest is capitalized (added to the principal balance) when you enter repayment and begins to earn interest of its own.

When applying for a student loan for my son, is it required to include my husband's income even though he is not his biological father? My husband insists it isn't. I've been told it is.

Hi Susan -- There is a great resource page about calculating your Expected Family Contribution at FinAid. Check it out at: www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

Specifically look under the "Parent Information" section. You'll see that if the custodial parent is remarried the stepparent's financial information is also included.

I currently have a $30,000 sallie mae signature student loan with a 9% interest rate . I can't consolidate this loan with others through direct loans because it is not federal. Once repayment begins it will be $350 a month! Is there anything else I can do?

Matt -- One thing I mentioned in the post that might be helpful for you is private student loan consolidation. Just like consolidating your federal loans , this would be one new loan, with new terms, that's used to pay off the private student loan(s) you want to include. Because these student loans are based on credit you might be able to qualify for a better interest rate if your situation has changed or if you bring on a cosigner with excellent credit. Consolidation may also extend your repayment term, so you could see a lower monthly payment. However, remember that because you're taking longer to repay the loan. It could mean more interest over time if you continue to make just the required payments.

Hi Barbara,

I love your blog, btw. I graduated in December of '08. I only took out Stafford loans throughout college. My grace period ends soon and I am trying to figure out a repayment strategy that will leave me with the most money in my pocket. I am employed (knock on wood), and I have almost 1 year's salary out in student loans. About one half of my loans are a variable 3.6% and the other half are a fixed 6.8%. Some of the 6.8% loans have various incentives that occur at 12, 24, and 36 months of on-time repayment. What I am thinking is that I will consolidate the variable 3.6% loans to lock in that interest rate, and not consolidate the 6.8% loans, as I would actually lose money by forfeiting my incentives. Then, I plan on paying on my 6.8% loans very aggressively until I have them paid off. I feel that 3.6% is a low enough rate that I could pay on those loans as slowly as possible and begin investing my money conservatively in a Roth IRA so that I could save for a down payment on a house. Is this a sound strategy?

Hi James, I'm glad you enjoy the blog! We're certainly not complete financial advisors, and you might want to speak with one of them about your situation and concerning investment choices. Here's what I will tell you about your student loans: When you consolidate your new loan has an interest rate that is the weighted average of the loans you include rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent. So when you consolidate you'll actually see your interest rate rise just a bit. You may want to consider what time you want to consolidate. If you can do so before your grace period ends, you'll be able to use the 3.61% rate, however if your loans are out of grace when you consolidate they'll be at 4.21%. Now, remember that your variable rate loans are going to reset on July 1, based on the results of the last 90-day treasury bill auction in May. You can get a general idea of what the rate will be by looking at the most recent 91-day T-bill auction rates -- check out my post on May 8, 2008 for more info on doing that. Based on those projections you may be able to lock in a lower rate after July 1. But remember that by then you'll be out of your grace period then, so the margin you add will be 2.3%, not 1.7% for loans in a grace period. As far as your fixed interest rate loans are concerned, it's always a good idea to pay down your higher interest rate debt first ... even if that means the loan will be paid off before you hit the borrower benefits later in your repayment period. It's also smart to leave those loans out of a consolidation loan because they are already fixed, so they'd just increase the average interest rate and also would be rounded up, costing you more over the life of the loan. OK, I know that's a lot to take in, so let me know if you have more questions!

Locking in an even lower interest rate would be great. I'd love to see the post you speak of but it appears that your May 8th post is titled "I do (want to save on wedding costs)" and I didn't see anything about T-bills or interest rates. Also, you say that the variable rate will reset on June 1, but I won't be able to lock in the lower interest rate until July 1. If the rate resets on June 1, why can't I consolidate then and lock in the lower interest rate WHILE I'm still in my grace period? Why must I wait until July 1? I think my grace period ends June 20-something (since I graduated December 20-something). My friends and I are anxiously awaiting your reply! Thanks!

Hey James -- Yikes there was a typo in my comment back to you ... thanks for circling back. The rates change July 1, not June 1 (sorry for the confusion - it's now fixed in my earlier comment). Also, check the May 8 post from last year, not this year. Here's the address to make it easier: blog.wellsfargo.com/StudentLoanDown/2008/05/federal_loan_rate_changes
_1.html

Let me know if you have more questions.

Wow! We're still waiting on the last treasury auction for May, but based on the second-to-last auction, my interest rate will be 2.488% (which is pretty significant when dealing with $14,000). At least something good came out of this recession! Thanks for your help!

Hello. I have $100K worth of student loans. I really haven't paid much on them. I consolidated some them about 2 years ago and the interest rate was over 7% at a fixed rate. Last year, I consolidated all of my loans and got a fix rate at 7% even though the interest rate went down. Is there anyway I can get out of a high fix rate and try to get a lower rate?

Hi there, I have about 22k in a self student loan that I would like to refinance (as would my mom since she's a co-signer) but I've tried with both Wells Fargo and BOA and neither is offering locked interest rates at this time on consolidations. Is this the norm across the board right now or are there any places that are offering re-consolidations with a locked interest rate. I was able to refinance my federal loan about 2 years ago and got a 4.625%. My personal is currently at 5% but I'm afraid of it working its way back up. Thanks for any help.

MODERATOR'S NOTE: This comment was originally submitted June 4, 2009 09:22 AM

I need to lower my interest rate; 40% of what I pay each month is just in interest. I try to pay more than minimum payment; it never seems to go down much. My interest rate is at 6%, I didn’t realize it was that high at the time of the loan. I’m in forbearance right now, so I can make smaller payments, but I try to pay more.

Hi Barbara, the SELF loan I currently have is through Wells Fargo and I have consolidated all my loans once when I got out of school. I now have two loans, the federal loan and the SELF loan. I am looking to refinance the SELF loan just to try and get my mother off the loan. Since my last post I called multiple banks and all of them said that no one offers a locked rate for this loan. My current plan is to wait until after July 1st and then refinance the loan (in hopes that the rates will go down again). Do you know what the rates are supposed to go to as of July 1? Another question that you may not know the answer to, but I need to get a new(er) car and would have to take out an auto loan for it. The fear is, if I don't refinance the SELF loan before getting the car loan, down the road I won't be able to refinance the SELF loan because of the additional debt from the auto loan. But I've also heard that those types of loans (car, home, student loan, etc.) don't count against you as much because they are not revolving debt. Is this true? Also, when you refinance (in this case through Wells Fargo) are you able to change your terms (life of the loan repayment) as this could also help in reducing the monthly payments (but obviously extending the life of the loan). Thanks again for your help.

Hi Barbara,
One other question because I think I've confused myself. I have a SELF loan that I need to refinance (planning on it after July 1 with the rate change). Does the rate change apply to both Federal loans and SELF loans? Thank you.

I was told by a direct loans officer that I had to submit and application to find out what my payment would be for a income contingent loan to qualify me for the teacher forgivness. I submitted only to get the summary, I got it but it didnt have the income contingent figured. Then they requested more information which I did not send because one of my loan holders worked with me to stay with them. Giving me a lower rate. So why would I leave? Direct Loans went ahead and went through with the loan without my knowledge. When I have called them they have been very rude and refused to help me saying they are sorry for the misunderstanding but that I have to stay with them. One of their people said I could call my lenders and see if they would take me back. I called my lenders, they both said they would reverse it if Direct Loans contacted them. A different person at Direct Loans states it can be reversed and submits me to the research dept to get me a direct case manager. That person calls me and says that she doesn't feel it necessary and won't submit a request for me or do it. Not that she can't but she won't. I then get a customer service represenative that lies to me and says she can't help then hangs up on me. What am I supposed to do? From the beginning of checking with them for information they have tricked and lied to me, then signed me up without me knowing that is what was happening and now refuse to help me. Saying it is my problem. Please help as to what I should do. Who I should contact, what can be done?

Jennifer -- You can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman of the Department of Education. Their website is http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/. They may be able to help you sort out what has happened with your loans and how you can proceed.

I have a questions I'm trying clear up I had a student loan for $1,500.00 over 15 years ago and now its $20,000.00 they had the wrong informaiton on the claim so It never came up when I filed my taxes. I filed bankrup 10 years ago and I'm not sure if it was on there or not. I want to attend school again and repay the loan. But will they dismiss the intrest if I pay the base amount.
Help.. Ms. Orlando

Hi -- I have a WellsFargo Consoldiated Studnet Loan
I owe 30k -- Interest is 16k -- Principal is 14k. Can I simply pay the 14k and become debt free?

Thanks, Mike

How do people get these low interest rate? My son is a full time student and has student loans through Sallie Mae at 13%! Is there any thing we can do to get a lower interest rate?

I currently have a large amount of private student loan debt at a variable rate (3mo Libor + %). Accordingly, my current rate is around 4.5%. I am paying double and triple each month but was wondering if it is possible to refinance the debt at a fixed rate of interest. I would be willing to refinance for a fixed rate somewhere in the neighborhood of 6%. Does anyone provide this service?

do you have cost of living loans

Hello,

I am completing my Master's right now and have a little over $30,000 in federal students loan, one of which is unsubsidized. Can I consolidate these loans so they are not at a 6.8% interest rate?

Hello, I'm in a similar situation as Tim, variable rate private student loan. Though my monthly payments are low now, once libor goes back up, I know my payments will increase with it. Is there anyone that offers private consolidation loan at a fixed rate?

I have about a whopping $90,000 in student loans that are Federal loans and a wells fargo loan with interest rates ranging from 2.3% up to 7.5%, and I am looking into consolidating and applying for the new income based payment option and the public service loan forgiveness program (I'm a public school teacher), but I'm having trouble trying to figure out what will be the best option for me as far as consolidating. It sounds like consolidating won't make a difference other than to turn everything into one payment, and potentially lower payments in exchange for extending the term of my repayment. I am also wondering if this has an impact on what my monthly payments will be under the Income Based Payment plan, because it seems like if I don't consolidate all of my loans into one, then each individual loan will be maxed out at 15% of my monthly income, rather than having the total of the loans together be no more than 15% of my income. Any ideas? I am currently paying $1000 a month in loans and I am only getting paid $2300!!!

Thanks for the great information. It has taken me years to get through school and I am facing a huge debt. I think I can handle 10 years of public service to help get those debts down, thank heavens for that. I hope that doesn't go away! It's good to know that there are others in my situation. It doesn't seem right, but you know, the bank can't get back what I learned!

Haven't had time to read through all these comments which I assume are very helpful but... here's my situation.

Student Loans:

Private/Variable: 7000 @ 3.5%
Stafford/Fixed: 10,000 @ 6.8%
Consolidated/Fixed: 6000 @ 4.75%

Can I get any of those interest rates reduced or consolidated. I pay about $600/month on these because I just want to get them out of the way. I have been doing research as far as consolidating goes but I've been going in circles trying to find a good answer.

What are you suggestions as far as reducing interest rates, paying off, etc. Thanks.

I have about 10,000 in student loan debt through Fed. Direct Loans. I have a fixed rate of 8% which is high compared to current rates. All of my loan were consolidated years ago. What can I do to get a lower rate. What is a good going rate right now from private lenders?

Barbara, I graduated last year and have two private loans with variable interest rate:
1. $21,000 @ 3.25% and
2. $14,000 @ 2.25%
I am currently paying down other Stafford loans at 6.8% as fast as I can and my goal is to reduce and lock-in as low an interest rate as possible on the above two loans before the interest rates rise.
1. What would you recommend could be my options? Can I refinance through Wells Fargo? I have excellent credit history and am a long time Wachovia customer.
2. If the Fed key interest rate is 0% why is mine not close to it?
Thanks!! I love your blog!

Hi Barbara,

Thank goodness for you! I love your advice. I have 56k in student loans, all but one fixed at 6.8%. One is 8.2% and is around 3k. I looked at consolidating into a direct federal loan in order to take advantage of the public loan forgiveness option, but at my current salary (45k), my monthly payments will still be pretty high under the IBR program (about $400). If my salary rises over the next few years, I’ll be paying about the same as I will under the traditional plan, which is a monthly payment of $650 for 10 years. I’m starting to think that I should just stay with the traditional plan and pay the loans off as soon as possible to save on interest.

All but $150 or so of my $650 monthly payment goes towards interest. I can afford to pay about $650 - $675 per month towards my loans. If I accept the extended payment option (spreading the payments out over 25 years), my required monthly payment is reduced to $350, all of which goes towards interest. Here’s my question: If I accept the extended payment plan, can I still elect to voluntarily pay another $300 a month and direct that extra money towards paying the principle of the loans? Or, do I have to use that extra $300 towards the interest? I’ve never understood this point. Am I required to pay off the interest first before I can begin paying the principle? Thank you so much for your response!
-Courtney

Hi Barbara, thanks for the info you've provided everyone. I have consolidated school loans of $150,000 @6.7% what can I do to lower my payments? its seems like whatever company I go to will not reduce the interest rate, seems like I have no options - Thanks for any help you can provide

Hi Barbara,

Total I owe about $180,000. $68,000 is with American Educational Service, consolidated at 5.6%. The rate is high enough that 75% of my monthly payment is currently going to interest. I have one small federal loan that I still have not consolidated (it's at 4%). Would I be able to re-consolidate the AES loan with my small loan to obtain a lower interest rate? In the alternative, do you know of private consolidators who could give me less than 5.6%? My fear is that no private companies are consolidating for a low rate at the moment. Thanks a lot~

I currently have a private student loan that is consolidated with Sallie Mae. My interest rate is currently 8% and most of my monthly payment is going towards interest. I do pay more than the minimum per month but I will end up paying more than double my actual loan. I want to reduce the interest. Can I consolidate again through another lender or possibly ask for a lower rate since I pay ontime or add a cosigner. Once again my loan is already consolidated but i want a lower rate.

Hi,

I graduated college 2 years ago with private loans from Sallie Mae totaling around 120K. I consolidated them with citibank after I graduated with an interest rate of 10.8%. I have no cosigner at the moment. Is there any option for reducing the interest rate of the loan (I've already used all the benefits such as automatic debit).

Is it possible to transfer this student loan to another lender or reduce my interest rate by adding a cosigner and renegotiating my terms?

Please advise.

Hi Barbara, Im going to try to make this long story short. I have student loans at interest rate X, and my lender (I guess it was around june 2006) sent me paperwork to lock it in at rate Y, which was lower than X. I did so, and sent it back. Well "they never recieved them." Im currently living abroad and intend to make this country my permanent residence. Therefore, they have absolutely no way of getting money out of me. I dont want to be a bum and back out of my contract, but want a lower interest rate. Any advice?

Hey Joe – Well, you certainly don’t want to be a bum! There would be some hefty consequences waiting for you if you ever decided to come back to the U.S. Are you talking about federal loans or private loans? If you’re dealing with federal loans, you may be able to lock in an interest rate. It wouldn’t be lower as federal consolidation loans have an interest rate that is the weighted average of those you include rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent. But if you have variable interest rate loans (made before July 1, 2006) it would ensure that those interest rates don’t increase in the future. Federal consolidation loans are offered directly through the Department of Education (http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/).

Private student loans are a different ballgame. You could consider consolidating those. If your credit situation has changed or if you bring on a cosigner with good credit you may be able to secure a lower interest rate than you have now. Of course, you’ll want to consider the terms of the loan carefully to make the decision that’s best financially. Private consolidation loans are offered by private lenders like Wells Fargo (https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/repay/private_consolidation).

If you’re wanting to lower the total amount of interest you pay, whether it’s on a federal loan or a private loan, the best way it to pay more than you’re required to pay each month. You could also check with your lender to see if your lender offers a discount for making automatic payments on your loan.

I have consolidated all of my private loans with Sallie Mae at 7%. The loans were from 2002-2006. I consolidated them not during my grace period. It is for 35,000, with 13,000 unsubsidized. However, I am currently in deferment for my loans because I am in school. I want to know if I should reconsolidate with another lender, and if I can even reconsolidate with the government? Where can I find the information for the government loans if I do in fact qualify? Also, do my deferment periods have a limit on how long they can go for or will they continue for as long as I am in school?

I regret ever taking out a loan through Wells Fargo. Due to economic hardship I am a month behind on all my loans. Wells Fargo is calling me nonstop. I'm paying my loan late each month, but at least I'm paying. When I spoke with a representative I was told that they wouldn't do anything to help me until I pay them $200. One of my other lenders was perfectly happy to lower my monthly payments.

I got a student loan with WF (principal 14k) in 2004 and I am still in school. I did some checking on my account and noticed that the amount due reaching $30,000 meaning over $10,000 in interest charges. That works out to about 2k a year added in interest charges over the past 5 years. I have loans with other companies from the same time frame and the interest accrued is much, much less (barely 2,000 total). Is there a way I can work out a payment plan that allows me to pay obviously the principal and just some of that outlandish interest accrued on the loan?

Hello,

I have two stafford unsubsidized student loans with Wells Fargo and I currently work for the Federal Government. I saw that if one works for the federal government for 10 years while paying on their student loans for those 10 years, the remaining balance will be forgiven through the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program. My problem is about the same time I hit 10 years with the government my student loans will be paid off. Is there anyway to extend my Student loan terms in order to take advantage of this?

Thank you,

Jon

I have 2 private student loans with wells fargo. Both come out to about 10,000 dollars. One has a rate of 6.55%, and the other 5.88%. Now I am making payments every month but maybe only 60-70% is going to the principle. Wells Fargo is taking out almost 30-40% in interest. Why is this so high? I believe my parents payed interest on the loans while I was still in school. I have been paying for a year and at this rate it'll take me forever to pay it off and I'll prolly repay the loan twice. How can I lower my monthly payments, and is paying the 2 loans off in one lump sum better than making monthly payments? This may be possible for me in a few months time. I just want to get these out of the way and start saving for the future.

hi,

i graduated from law school in 2005 and got a big firm job in structured finance out of law school. when the economy went to crap, i lost my job and have had to forbear my private loan payments - my loan is with my school - for over a year (I am on a ten year repayment schedule...my loan program didn't extend the schedule for the amount of time that i went into forbearance, i still have to pay them back in the same amount of time). now my monthly payments are a lot higher and i can barely afford them. how can i get my payments lower and extend them over a longer time period? will another loan program buy them from my school? i have excellent credit, by the way. help!!!

I had financed my Graduate degree to a tune of slightly over $40,000 at 6.8% interest through the government via my grad school's financial service; Edfinancial. What they did was issue me a separate loan every quarter. I am interested in consolidating this with a current $3,000 loan I have with Federal Direct loan. Will this be considered one loan consolidation, or multiple? Will my current Federal loan go up in interest through this consolidation, or will the 6.8% go down?

I see that you have given some good advice, and I hope that you can help me out as well. I graduated with a bachelor's in Industrial Engineering in May 2009. I am currently working as a mechanic, and simply put, I do not make enough money to get by. I can no longer defer my student loans, and most of them are in repayment. I have 5,000 in federal loans, 40,000 in Wells Fargo Education Connection loans, and 75,000 in Sallie Mae Signature Student Loans. I am still trying to find an engineering job, but I am having little luck. I have been researching the student loan repayment program offered by the military, but I noticed that private loans are not eligible. I read on a blog that someone had private loans through sallie mae that he said qualified. Have you ever dealt with this SLRP program before, or have any other suggestions? Thanks!

I think it is an absolute disgrace that the Obama administration would bailout banks for bad behavior but not make it mandatory for the student loan industry to lower all interest rates for struggling grads. i don't care what promissory notes were signed.

What is consider a low interest rate for student loans in Arizona especially this times of recesion,???

Hi Barbara! I have two private loans through Great Lakes Organization. One is about 20K and the other is about 10K. The interest rate is about 6.8% for both and I have to consolidate the two loans. The site is telling me to complete, print, and sign a Federal Consolidation loan through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Is there anything I should look out for or any other options I should explore? Thanks!!

I graduated from college in 1995 and consolidated my student loans thru Sallie Mae at 9%. At this point I still owe over $35K. Is there a way to refinance or lower the interest rate if my loans are already consolidated?

I have private student loans that total 120000, the payment is right now 1300 a month, I cant make the payments is there anything that I can do?

Hi,

I have a Sallie Mae private loan that I got a couple years ago. I was young, and didn't understand the rates very well, and was just excited to get the loan, so I signed a $21,000 loan for 13.125% interest rate, and a $10,000 loan for a 11.25% interest rate. These loans have accumulated an insane amount of interest. I am still in school, and keep seeing the interest on them grow and grow and grow. Is there anything I can do to get the interest rate to go down. I am so afraid that once I get out of school, I will never be able to afford these. The $21,000 loan is already up to $13,000 in accrued interest! Please help!

Thanks

So happy I found this site! Okay

we currently owe 120k in student loans and nothing is consulidated.

17663 2.48% federal/variable

14,342.43 6.8 fed/fixed

16,018.55 5.25/private/vari
19,165.11 6.25 /private vari

then the rest at city bank
at 49 k

We have 19,000 we want to completely knock out 1 loan:

I have the 2 loans at Sallie Mae with 5.25% and 6.25% I don't know much about loans...is there hope that I can consulidate these 2 loans at a lower interest rate?

I'm assumming the federal loan is going to stay at 6.8 no matter what...which loan do we pay off first? The big federal one or the one with sally mae? Let me know what you think!! Thanks!

Barbara--I have three loans, two of them federal and one a private student loan through Wachovia (about 20k). I am active duty military and part of my contract is that the military is going to repay my school loans. Both of my other loan companies willingly granted me a military forbearance until the military can get all the paperwork done and start making payments (up to 3 years from now). However, Wachovia has refused to offer any such help. My loan is currently in hardship forbearance since I was unemployed before starting with the army. However, that forbearance will be up in a couple months and they want me to start making payments. Obviously it does not make sense for me to make payments on a loan that the military will be paying off in full in the next year or so. I've talked to them countless times and I just don't know what else to do. Any ideas? Please help!

If i already have a student loan through wells fargo but I need another one.. can I just add money onto the loan i already have or do i need to apply for another one?

Thank you! Couple more questions:

1. Is it true that although we could consulidate all the private loans at City Bank (currently at variable 3.6) that we can never "fix" these rates? If thats the case, is it better just to leave them all there since we can afford the payments?

2. I LOVE the idea of locking in the 17,000 at 2.5, but if we consulidate all the federal loans with government, it would average out to about 34,000 @4.5 %FIXED, since the other 67 G isn't fixed, should we pay those first and go after the "locked" Federal at the end?

3. My initial idea was to go after the 6.8 ones and just pay interest on the city bank for a year. Is this dumb, since the city bank are not fixed?

Thanks again. My husband and I plan to send at least 25,000 a year to get out and want to make the right moves. I really appreciate the advice.

I consolidated my federal student loans back in 2005. About a year ago, the lender raised my fixed interest rate by .625%. After much discussions with the lender, they “determined” that they miscalculated my interest rate when I consolidated, and as a result have corrected it to what it should have been. This seems a little fishy to me, because it took the lender over a month to figure out that it was changed due to a miscalculation. If it was a miscalculation, it seems like this should have been noted on the account. The lender said that the rate I had was lower than the government weighted average and cannot be offered.

My argument is I chose their company to consolidate with based on the interest rate they were offering me and I signed the promissory note with the original (lower) interest rate. I thought this promissory note was a contractual agreement between me and the lender.

My questions is:
Can the lender actually increase my interest rate like this?

I will help to payoff my son's AES student loans since he has been unemployed for the last 18 months.(civil engineer) He has a few ALPN loans supposed to be paid in 10 years at a 4.93 interest rate. I would like to know if paying off ahead these loans would save some interest or do we have to pay those ten years interest even if we pay in advanced?

I currently have a school loan with another company, which was used to consolidate 3 other school loans. The intrest rate is insanely high (8.75%!!). This loan is in repayment right now for a 30 year payback. Am I able to apply for another loan to pay this off and hopefully achieve a better rate? Thank you.

My husband will have three types of loans from his dental education.

~47000 in unsubsidized fixed 6.8%
~34000 in subsidized
~30000 from educational trust with zero interest during repayment.

My husband will be active duty has been active duty military for the past four years and will be for the next six. Assuming we can qualify for military deferment, we were wanting to aggresively pay his unsub and sub loans off during those three years. Can we pay the minimum on the subsidized for two years, and spend the bulk of the cash towards the unsub? We are trying to keep his interest to the lowest possible. However, I read on another site that if you pay more then your monthly amount, it gets spread across all loans equally.

Barbara,

I graduated last year with significant debt, got a job!! and recently started paying my loans back. I am looking for advice on the best way to tackle my loans, as far as consolidation(I am afraid of the varible ones jumping up as the economy gets better) and which to try and throw extra money at first(my private rates are lower than my federal).

Here is my situation:
Private student loans-
67K at 3% variable through lender 1
43K at 2.05% variable through lender 1
25K at 5% variable through lender 2

Stafford student loans-
5K at 6% fixed
7K at 6.8% fixed

Please help! Thanks a bunch!

Hello Barbara, I came across your wonderful website and I was wondering if you could help me with my situation. I am trying to decide if I should reconsolidate my student loans through the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program. I have a balance of $29,000, which has a "fixed" rate of 3.75% from 1998-2003. I ended up back to again from June 2007 to March 2009 and received both unsubsidized and subsidized loans totaling $14,000. The interest rate as of today for that loan is 6.717% variable. Would I benefit from reconsolidation of both loans? I did some math and it seems like I would be paying about $60 more in interest each year if I chose to reconsolidate. I applied today but was thinking of canceling the reconsolidation. Any advice?? Thank you for your time.

Sorry Barbara, forgot to add something to the earlier post. The $14,000 loan for 6.717% was through the school but the lender is Bank of America.

My husband and I each have gov loans at about $50,000 each. We are paying aroung 750 a month, and going into credit card debt due to the inability to pay all of the bills. To get the IBR we have to file our taxes separately because they look at our incomes together, but not our loans together. Going this route we lose out on tax deductions. I have also learned that with IBR we could have the amount forgiven at the end of 25 years, but will have to pay income taxes on that amount. Well since the amount of our payments will be less than the amount of interest, we will have $100,000 in loans pluc whatever is capitalized. We are at our wits end and don't know what to do. We could lose everything we have and it still wouldn't give us enought money to pay our bills and loans.

Barbara - I commend you for you tireless efforts to help those of us undoubtedly burdened for the next 20 years with our student loan questions.

I currently have a balance of about $75k through a private consolidated unsubsidized variable loan with Sallie Mae. It currently sits at 3.25%, but I fear it will skyrocket (along with my $415 monthly payment [a manageable 13% of my monthly take-home pay]) when the economy recovers.

Are you aware of anything in this new federal health care/student loan bill that would allow the government to purchase this private loan from Sallie Mae to offer me a fixed rate loan? If not, are you aware of any other options for another lender to purchase this private loan and give me a fixed rate?

I am looking to purchase my first home with my wife, but I am fearful that my rates and monthly payment will jump a few hundred dollars, leaving me in a precarious situation.

As an aside, I have been writing my congressmen and Senators for quite some time on an idea I had (but haven’t heard back), and I was wondering if you have ever heard it discussed in the political and/or financial world:

Wouldn’t it be nice if students (or parents) paying off student loans (federal or private) could use pre-tax income to pay off loans – similarly to how I can do that now on my health plan’s HSA account? It would certainly be a nice benefit for students, along with parents paying off student loans for their children. I know we can get a tax write off of up to $2,500 per year for interest, but this would go a long way towards lowering my tax bracket as well. What do you think?

why does the dept of education take my income tax returns when i am sending them money each month? why do i have to pay the loan back when the school closed the first class after we signed over our (the students) grants and loans. and if the school was still open, why didn't any body inform us of this, instead of hasseling me to pay back the monies?

I have approx. $30,000 in loans with Wells Fargo. $20,600 in federal stafford subsided and unsubsized loans and a PLUS graduate loan for $10,000. Just received notification that the servicing of these loans has been transferred to Dept. of Education. I will not graduate until next year. What does this mean to me and does it mean that I cannot apply to Wells Fargo for the coming year's loans.

I have a loan that I just currently started paying back in february in the amount of 38,000 plus interest capilized in the amount of $2,475.38 so that makes it about 40,000. I have two questions..I am currently on the graduated payment where I pay interest only for 2 years for 234.16 and then it will jump to $545.00 after that for the next 8 years. If I pay more then the 234.16 for the next two years, will my monthly payment change at that time.and will that lower my principal balance. Also, how I do I pay or lower that capitalized interest so that the principal balance starts going down before that two years is up?

Barbara - thank you for your prompt reply. I would love to include the proposed legislation in my next letter, however the link you provided is not working for me.

If you don't mind, would please post it again?

Regards~
--Adam

Hi there. I have a pretty significant amount of private student loans, and I am looking to consolidate them. Pretty much every program I have found has a variable interest rate. I was wondering if a) there are any private fixed consolidation loans and b) if i consolidate and still have a variable, is there any sort of max interest rate or a cap? I ask this because I hear people taking about inflation, interest rates going up, etc. and it is worrying me that I will suddenly have student loans with 15% interest rates. Any ideas, tips, etc? Thanks

Hello,

I am hoping you can help. My wife has a considerable amount of student loan debt with Sallie Mae. Yeast ago she consolidated and as far as she is aware, can not refinance again to take advantage of the more recent rates which are much lower these days. Are there any options for refinancing other than home equity or personal loans. It seems to me that some financial institution out there would want to buy this loan.

Thanks
JOHN

Hello..I had just gotten approved for deferment on my federal stafford loan due to ecomonic hardship. Although, I do show that i do not have to make payments untill 1 year from now, but I do want to continue to make payments on the loan so that the subsidized loans due not accrue interest because it would be then capitilized at the end of deferment. since the loan is deferred like it was before after I graduated, does that mean I have that advantage of paying down the interest so it doesn't acrue over time and I could knock some of that principal balance off the loan before the deferment ends again. That would of course recalculate my monthly payment again, correct?

I had private student loans that charged off due to unemployment. I am now on a repayment plan and have made 4 consecutive timely payments. The lender is telling me that my credit report will continue to reflect these loans as charged off until I pay them completely off. With a balance of $100K, that will be years away. Is there anything I can do to "rehabilitate" the loans like you can do with Federal student loans?

My husband and I each had about $45000 in student loans. We took a consolidation loan in 2005 - all in his name - and have been faithful in our payments. We are wondering if it would be better for us to file taxes separate next year and apply for the IBR repayment. According to the Direct Loan website, Arizona is a community property state and thus, half of my income would be added to his filing. Even so, it cuts the payment by over $200 a month. And - is forgiven after 25 years (we'll probably be long deceased by then)

I am a teacher but will not continue in the field for another 10 years so that doesn't help. Also worked for a Title 1 school for 10 years but had a loan just 2 months before the "deadline" of having loans to qualify. There are so many "gotchas" on the loan forgiveness.

Anyway, wondering if you think we should do the IBR plan and will they do it even though it's both my loans and his (but consolidated in his name only) ?

Thanks for a great website!!!

Barbara is it true that if you refinance your student loans once you are not elligible to refinance again? I have been told this for years by several different companies. I refinanced my Sallie Mae student loans with Great Lakes however I am still paying over 7% interest. Is it possible to refinance again although I have already refinanced once?

Hi,

I am starting graduate school and will be taking a fairly small loan to help me with living expenses. I have a few loans from my undergraduate, and one private loan in particular that gathers interest while I'm in school. All the others are in deferment until I complete my Masters. I've been offered better rates for graduate school since I am now not a dependent of my parents. Does it make sense to get a slightly larger loan now (with better rates) to pay off my older loan?

Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the post. One thing that is still unclear to me (I hope I didn't miss it in the comments) is that the Direct Loans seem to still have a high interest rate. I recently finished graduate school and the weighted average interest rate for the consolidated loan would be more than 7%. Isn't there a way to get that interest rate lowered? It seems interest rates are low and there should be another option rather than having that interest rate stuck with the balance of the loan regardless of the creditor. Thanks again.
Reed

Barbara,

I want to clarify - One can not refinance Federal loans to get the interest rate lowered - is that correct.

If I have $200,000 in loans at 7% is there ANY way I can lower the rate so I can afford the payments.

I am in the same boat like Jean. I have 68K worth of student loans @ 7.50%, fixed; thru Sallie Mae. I just got off the phone with them and they said they can not lower the interest rate. I just want to get rid of this thing once and for all.

I have consolidated student loans with a 4.635 interest rate. I see some rates 2 to 3 points lower than that online. Is there anything i can do to lower the interest rate since your blog mentions the fact that you cannot refinance student loans. I am not in financial hardship but as part of my divorce i pay the full amount but my ex wife does not send me the half she is responsible for per our divorce decree. I am looking for options to reduce the monthly amount without extending the time in order to pay the balance off quicker.

Hello,

I have $40k in Stafford Graduate and Graduate Plus loans at 8% fixed and was looking to refinance those to get a better rate. I recently graduated from a top business school and know that many lenders are fighting for yield given treasuries are at all-time historic lows. I am wondering how I can capture this lower interest rate for myself. I am fully employed, have a credit score above 780 and am a sound credit risk. Any suggestions for me? Thanks.

Hi there. I graduated from undergrad in 2008 and consolidated my private loans with Wells Fargo shortly after graduating. I currently have an 8% (ahh!) interest rate on my repayment.I am wondering if it is possible to transfer my consolidated loans to another lender (with a lower interest rate as the goal). Or, what the best way is to have my interest rate reduced. Thank you!

Hello,

I have two subsidized and two unsubsidized Stafford loans through Wells Fargo. On my statement, they are listed as "Federal" under "loan type."

Am I able to consolidate these loans through the Direct Loan Program? Or are they considered "Private" and not eligible?

Thank you!

I have 8 loans that total $184K in a mixture of Stafford, Grad PLUS, and Business Education Loans through Sallie Mae. The weighted average interest rate is 7.45%. I have an additional $8K in accrued interest. And another $33K spread across 1 Perkins and 2 Private Loans. Because of the economy it took a lot longer to find a job and once I did my starting salary is 50% lower than I planned prior to attending grad school. Therefore, I am at the point where I cannot even afford interest-only repayment options. I am considering IBR (Income Based Repayment) until my salary increases (and hopefully it will increase enough). However, with this option, the unpaid interest will accrue. So I am trying to lower the 7.45% average down as much as possible. Refinancing does not seem like an option since my credit score is actually lower now than when I took out the loans. I would like to at least refinance the loans that I have at 8.5% interest rates (3 of them). But I am also willing to take any other advice you may have to offer.

I currently have private loans that are due, however I am currently unemployed. I am unable to find a job for what I went to school for. I was under the impression that I could defer them due to my circumstances, but was told I am unable to do so. Is there any other way to go about this. I hate the fact that my mother cannot pay on this loan by herself, yet I have no way to make the payments.

I need some help and don't have time to read all of these posts which i'm sure contains all of the information i need. i have one private loan approx $50,000 (8.4%). one federal loan about $17,000 (3.4%). First of all can i consolidate the two? I don't think that is an option so if not, is there a government program that can reduce the interest on my private loan? what are my options?

Hello,
I have a perkin's loan from 1999 that is in default status with a collection agency. I am unemployed, full time student with credit I am not proud of. I currently have a 4.0 GPA, but I am in desperate need of federal assistance, so I can stay in school. Since I have only one loan, and can not consolidate, I was told my only option was to pay the loan in full. I'm trying really hard to make a change, but I keep running into brick walls! Do you know of any programs to get me out of default status or help me transfer this loan...anything, as soon as possible?

I currently have a consolidated student loan (they were Stafford loans) with a company which I have been paying on since 2005. I am on a graduated plan and have never missed a payment. Recently my payments went up, however when I logged online to see what the new payment would be it told me one amount, which I paid via automatic payment. Now the lender is saying that I underpaid by $5. Apparently their website was incorrect. This was not an issue, I simply paid the $5 and late fee as soon as I recieved the notice. A week later they are telling me my interest rate will permanently go up by 1% because of failure to pay the full amount the previous month, despite the fact I have explained that I paid on time every month for the past 5 years, and that their webpage was incorrect. In fact their webpage is still incorrect as it shows I owe only $4 for this month. The customer service has been terrible with this company and I would simply like to change lenders, but I am having trouble finding out if I can do this. Can I simply apply for a loan and change the company which services my current loan?

I have about 60k in stafford loans locked at a interest rate of 6.8% (A mix of subsidized and unsubsidized). Is there anyway I can take advantage of the historically low rate right now, and effectively refinance my student loans?

Hello there! I'm a primary care physician with medical school loan. I've paid over $50,000 during the last 4 years and was able to drop my loan from $219,000 to $207,000! The rest went to the fixed 5.37% interest rate! Is it possible to switch to another private company with significant reduction in interest rates? Because of my income I can't deduct interest from my taxes either.

Between college and Graduate school I had accumulated several educational loans through Wells Fargo. Two years ago I consolidated those loans into 2 separate loans, both with Wells Fargo

I recently filled out the paperwork so that I could consolidate those loans through the Federal consolidation program. When I call to check on the status of the loan consolidation, they tell me that the paperwork was sent to Wells Fargo and they are still waiting to hear back. The paper work was sent nearly 2 months ago.

I graduated back in May, but have not been able to find work yet. I made payments on these loans while in school, and have not missed a payment since they became due.

What is the Wells Fargo's turn around time for matters like this? Is there any department I can speak to?

Thanks!

Hi Barbara,

Are there any loan forgivness programs for private loans?

If not, is it it possible to refinance a private loan in to a federal loan program some way?

I currently have two private education loans. After graduating from college in 2008, I began work with a non-profit company earning very low income. So far, I have only heard or read about forgivnesss programs for federal loans.

Hello, I am in default of my stafford student loan and was contacted by the debt collector. They said that the loan company, AES, would allow me to pay back the loan and remove the defult status on my credit report after 9 consecutive payments. I am scrounging to find the monthly $380 each month and have made 3 payments so far, in another week it will be 4 payments made. They know I have not been working in close to a year but have just found a small part time job that barely pays bills and I'm behind on my car now, which has to be paid so I can get to work. After the 9 payments have been made they said i can enter the rehabilitation program but that the additional interest, fees, etc will remain on there and whomever takes over my loan, will redo it at 18% on the current principal and interest. I am not sure that I should continue on with the monthly payments if at the end my $30 (not $51k with fees) will continue to go up when financed at an additional 18%... Do I have any other options? I want to pay what I took out but so hard when they add on more fees and then want to add on more at the end of the 9, $380 monthly payments.

Barbara,

You are being to kind to the lenders.

Why is it that i can be a 45 year old irresponsible person who gambles, smokes and drinks his way into a financial mess but can be given a free pass (bankruptcy etc...) and start over debt free.

However, if I am an 18 year old kid with minimal life experience and take out a student loan and a few years later am unable to pay the full amount back each month becuase of an illness or a job loss, i have pretty much zero options except to listen for the debt collectors threats?

I am stuck with an $800.00 a month student loan, which I have paid back and then some without a break for the last 13 years and still owe over 22,000 dollars. (stuck at 8% with sallie mae and already consolidated).

Your readers might want to look into the lending companies that benefited from immoral legislation passed in the late 90's that allowed sallie mae and the like to become jnot fully public and not fully private corporations to become all-powerful leaving that 18 year old (with a credit score of over 800) without any feasible choices.

Can Wells Fargo pay off my parent plus consolidated federal student loans under private loans. My interest is high and I have delayed on three payments although now I have brought them current.

Hi Barbara, I had several loans that have been consolidated into 2 loans. One consolidated loan is $4,939 with a fixed rate of 6.8%. The monthly payment is $58/mo. The other loan amount is $18,019. My monthly payment is $217/mo. 3 of the loans that were consolidated into the $18,019 loan are at a 6.8% fixed rate and the one other loan rate is 2.47% variable rate. Would it make sense for me to consolidate the 2 remaining loans into 1 loan or should I attempt to get the payments lowered?

i just got a loan offer that doesnt make sense..

loan amt..25,000
int rate..7.74
fin chge..26,000
tot pay..51,030 over 15 yrs
that sounds like a lot interest..
advice please

My son has a Sallie Mae loan that I co-signed. It is difficult for either of us to make the interest payments while he is in school. Can we refinance this loan even while he is still in college?

I graduated in May 2009 with about $20,000 in Federal Direct loans and during my senior year, I borrowed an additional $15,000 in one single private loan. This loan has a variable interest rate at about 14% right now. The balance is already climbing above $20,000. On this loan, I have exhausted my deferment options and am supposed to start paying back that amount in December. I believe that the estimated payment over time will be close to $60,000 with the current interest rate. I can probably manage my Direct loans and believe I can continue to get them deferred, at least for a little while. I cannot, however, manage to pay back both loans with the payment options that my private loan is offering. I would like to refinance this loan but have no idea where to start. My credit union does not offer much in terms of student loans. My credit score is in the 700's but my debt-income ratio is rather high from accumulated credit card debt, which totals close to $6,000.

I have a good job, although it is only a contract position for 1-2 years and it is in the air on whether my position will ever become permanent.

Any suggestions?

You mentioned that my son and I find another private student loan that doesn't require payments until after he graduates. Do you know of any lenders that would consolidate the Sallie Mae he now has with this new private student loan so we would not have this interest payment?

I have about $60,000 in federal student loans. Two are Stafford Subsidized (6.8%), two are Stafford Unsubsidized (6.8%), and two are Grad Plus(8.5%). Blended together, it comes out to about 7.5% with monthly payments of $715/month on a 10 year repayment plan. I would like to refinance to a lower rate and lower my monthly payments. I have a job and have a really good credit score. If need be, I could come up with a co-signer. My grace period ends very soon. What options do I have to refinance/consolidate? Thanks!

I have a signature student for about $28,000 at an interest rate of 11.25%! I also have 3 stafford loans under $6,000 together. I make a $350 payment each month, but seems like it's not cutting into the principle. I have a lot of other bills and cannot afford to pay more. Do you have any ideas on how to lower the interest rate or put the loan on hold until i can pay more and not waste $350 a month!

Hi, I have 2 questions:
I have 2 private student loans from Sallie Mae total for about 20000 and interest is abuot 10,5%.I was thinking to refinance/consolidate my loans but I did not find many institutions which can do that for private loan. Can I appply for Federal loan and transfer my private loan to it? Or can I apply for regular loan with a better interest rate.
I did apply for Wells Fargo consolidation, but they did not approve my co-signer( it is so strange) because he has over 750credit score and good credit history( he was approved to buy a new house)...But I am still waiting for the letter from Wells Fargo( maybe they will approve me without a co-signor) and give me a better interest rate.
I really need to refinance my loan so I can make less payments at the moment( I am stay at home mom) , just for couple of month( to save some some money), after I come back to work and can pay off the loan pretty fast
Any advice would be helpful:)thanks

Barbara,

I have two private student loans, one with Wells Fargo and one with Sallie Mae, both for around 20,000. Should I consolidate both into one and which financial institution would you recommend?

I was thinking about using Wells Fargo, but not sure if I would get approved. I've also heard horror stories about Sallie Mae and their shady dealings/refusals to allow loan consolidation. I'm going to have to start paying these back and am very worried about the monthly cost.

Thanks

Hey Barbara,

I have $19,000 I owe in a private student loan. I also have $10,000 in my personal savings/emergency fund. How much of my personal savings should I put toward my that private student loan 4.5% private student loan?

Hi Barbara,

I actually just applied for the Wells Fargo private student loan. The couple of individuals I spoke with were all very helpful and informative, but they informed me that I wasn't approved because I did not have a cosigner. My credit score is in the mid 700s, but my monthly income was not enough to outweigh my $34,000 in private loan debt.

My interest rates range between %9.75 all the way up to %14.75 across four loans. 80 percent of my monthly payment is interest! I don't feel like there is any "typical" way to handle that kind of loan.

I would love to give my loan over to Wells Fargo because they've been more helpful, but it doesn't seem to be an option. Is this something that I can't do anything about without a co-signer? I'm stumped. I don't have any credit-worthy co-signer at my disposal.

I graduated in 2008 and currently owe Sallie Mae $34,000 after taking out Signature Student private loans. My interest rates are 9.25% for three of the loans and 9.75% for two of them. I would like to consolidate all of these into one loan, however I am having trouble finding a lender who will consolidate private loans. Any suggestions?

Hi Barbara! I have an unsubsidized loan with Sallie Mae for $35.000. When I consolidated my loans several years ago I locked in at a 9.0% interest rate. I know I'm not eligible to consolidate again, and I have used up most of my deferrments. I have looked into the possibility of loan forgiveness, as I am an educator, but my loans are too "old" to qualify. The interest payments alone are killing me and I'm not even touching the principal. Any suggestions?

Hello Barbara, I currently owe $26854 on a federal student loan that I had consolidated with sallie mae about 4 years ago. My current interest is 7.25%.I've been trying to get that interest rate lowered since I know current interest rates are around 4%. When i contact sallie mae they stated there is nothing they can do for me and that the goverment is incharge of it. I ask why am I still paying them and they can't give me an answer. Can Wells Fargo help me out on get my intrest rate lowered for my federal loans i consolidated? also why is my payment for my federal loans going to sallie mae?

Have 2 loans - subsidized and unsubsidized at 6 and 6.8% - just seems like in this economy there should be a lower rate - as I read through emails, am I correct in thinking only way is to seek a private loan consolidation. I owe about $9,000. I could get a co-signer if I needed. What would you suggest.

Hi Barbara,
I understand that once you have consolidated your loan at a fixed interest rate, this will be the interst rate for the life of the loan. Is there any way to change your lender after consolidation without the interest rate being a concern? Of course it's a concern, but is it at all possible to change lenders after consolidation?
Thanks,
Gina

Dear Barbara,

I am currently in my senior year in undergrad school as an international student. SInce I could not afford to pay for school, nor could my family I took out private loans through out my undergraduate career to finance tuition and other living expenses. For these loans I used a co-signer (my sisters husband who gets to be a American Citizen). My Private loans before accrued interrest after graduation total 78K and with interest it can hit around the 95 -100k mark. Now I am planning on staying in the US to get a job even it is harder to do so. My parrents are giving me a boost of about 26k towards my student loans. Is it possible for me even being a International Student to consolidate my loans (One is from Wells Fargo, the Other two from Chase Student Loan and one from ACS) with Wells Fargo?

Thank you

Hi Barbara,

My husband defaulted on his student loans about seven years ago. Even though he has been in good standing the whole time and been making payments. We can not seem to get ourselves out from under the student loan. The payment is so high and we are only paying the interest. They will not work with us at all. The loan was originally AES but when he defaulted it of course was taken over by Direct Loans. Is there anything we can do to lower the payment. Our options to repay are either $337 - $435 a month. They told us if we make 25 years of payments the loan will be forgiven. That comes out to be 105,000 to pay off a $38,000 student loan. We also have capitalized interest of $9,000 on top of the principal amount. When he defaulted Direct Loans made him consolidate his loans at a 8.0% interest rate. Pleaes let me know if you have any idea on how to pay off this debt. ~thank you

HI! My fiance has 50k in private student loans with Sallie Mae. His interest ONLY payment is 450/mos and that is just to keep his account in good standing! He tries to pay 600/mos but at this rate he is barely getting bills paid and is NEVER going to have any savings for his future. He is a chef and does not make a lot of money. I know he can see about refinancing his loans at a lower interest rate, but I'm not sure he will qualify. His total debt is 7K in credit cards. He has an average credit score (not bad),owns his car, is not a home owner, and makes 30k a year. What are his options with NO co-signer? Please advise.

Hi Barbara,

My son has several student loan from the government. (7 distribution in total). 5 distribution is currently on 2.2% and 2 distribution at 6.6%. Is there any way for him to make specific payments towards the 6.6% distribution? He'd like to pay extra payment specific to this distribution so he can reduce the 6.6% loan faster.
~Thank You

Is there any banks that are consoladateing private student loans?

I graduated in 2005 and immediately consolidated my loans with American Education Services. I have been extremely dissatisfied with the service and would like to switch companies, is that an option? How would I go about transferring my balance to another lender?

My son refinanced his student loans 2 years ago and last year the payments have ballooned to $100 more per month. He said student loans can only be refinanced once. Is there any way he can refinance to a lower rate?

Barbara, you said I have to be a citizen to be able to consolidate, how about if my co-signer is a citizen. Can he consolidate my loans for me?

Thank you

Hello Barbara,
I appreciate your blog. I do have a question for you. I've been reviewing my husband's student loans through Sallie Mae, which he consolidated right out of school 4 years ago. I was exploring the Sallie Mae website and came across a calculator that made me aware we are paying more than $10 a day in interest for $53K worth of loans at varying interest rates. We are working to aggressively pay these down and be out of debt in the next three years, but what I was wondering about was another consolidation step. Is it possible to re-consolidate? Most of our interest rates are in the 7's and above, so what I'm looking for is a way to pay lower interest. We own a home and have excellent credit, so I was wondering what some of our options might be. Thanks so much.

Hi Barbara-- I am confused as to why you say a student loan cannot be "refinanced." As a technical matter, wouldn't taking out a personal loan and then using the loan proceeds to pay off the student loan be considered "refinancing"? More substantively, though, I don't understand why banks like WellsFargo aren't specifically offering refinancing options for student loans. I am not aware of any law preventing it, nor do federal loans carry any pre-payment penalties or covenants against refinancing (that I am aware of). Do you think the banks fear losing the protection of non-dischargeability in bankruptcy? (I haven't looked at the provision specifically, but I'm sure there is an argument to be made that obvious refinancing of student debt should be treated like originally issued student debt in bankruptcy proceedings.) It seems like it would be a lucrative market for the banks to move into, and it could save us student borrowers quite a bundle now that interest rates are so low.

Hi Barbara,
Excellent post. I am currently doing my residency and paying on 1 of 2 loans. I have a private loan of $195,000 at at 7%(Currently Paying on this on) and a Fed loan of about $50,000(deferred). I think that 7% seems pretty high especially on $195,000 and I know you talk about seeing if my credit has gone up as one solution. But any other solutions? The company I am paying on now says that they are no longer issuing loans and Im not to sure how or where I can look to lower this payment. They also told me that because it is a private loan I can't consolidate it. I am a little confused on what to do and I would appreciate your guidance. Thank you s much.

Regarding a private student loan, are the fixed-rate loans truly fixed? So many of them are LIBOR+5.00% (for example). Does this mean that your monthly interest rates will be the LIBOR in effect the day you sign the loan + 5.00% for the entire life of the loan? Thanks.

I am 39 y/o I have old student loans over 15 y/o and want to go back to school how do I find and consolidate my loans?

Barbara,

Reading the first entry in your blog, I had a thought I'd like to contribute. As a co-signer on my son's student loan, it had occurred to me that if he should die unexpectedly, I would be left as the payer on any balance of his loan. My wife and I therefore decided to take out term life insurance for him to cover his loan. Typically, term policies for someone in their early twenties are very low. While it is an additional expense to be considered in the cost of servicing the loan, the cost is so minimal and the peace of mind so great I'd heartily recommend it to any parental co-signer. While we were at it, I took out an additional term policy on myself to help pay off the loan. Frankly, if I were Wells Fargo, I'd consider making such a term policy part of the conditions of a student loan much the same way PMI is automatically charged for a mortgage with a limited amount of equity...

Hello Barbara, Thank you for this blog! I presently have a consolidated student loan for $125,000 with Sallie Mae at 5.625%. I pay my monthly loan payments on time each month. I would like to move my loan away from Sallie Mae for two reasons: (1) Hopefully I could lower my interest rate and monthly payment, and (2) I've heard horror stories about Sallie Mae for those that encounter financial problems. Any advice on whether it would be wise to leave Sallie Mae and any suggestions as to where I could take my loan? Thanks, Barbara. William

Barbara,
My husbands father took out a federal parent loan. He filed for bankruptcy but the attorney did not even attempt to dismiss the loan because that is too hard to do. He currently does not make close enough to pay off every day bills and the student loan (he is under water without the loan), so my husband and I make the 200+ payment a month. Also, he consolidated the loan before my husband was out of college. I have two questions 1. Because the loan is in his name, he is supposed to be able to claim the interest on his taxes, but legally he cant because he is not the one paying for it. Any suggestions? 2. Is there anything we can do to help him get from under the student loan since he can not pay for it? We have looked at the different options but the payments will not change enough where he would be able to pay.

Hi, Barbara
I've been recently trying to get a better understanding about repaying loans. I have a loan with Sallie Mae for $13,248.80 at 9.25% from 2007 when I was 18 (which I started paying even before I graduated school back then and it seems like it's not going down even when I paid 2-3 times the minimum for a while... I also have a Stafford Loan with ACS of $14,279.38 @ 6.80% fixed, which becomes $20, 031.22 (projected total amount to be paid with interest during repayment)to start in June --I understand that the Federal loan is a fixed rate and can't be lowered, but what about the Sallie Mae one? Will it be better to get another loan from somewhere else with a lower rate (somehow; I don't know which company either) to pay that off? I want to continue going to school but I don't want to rack up anymore loans at the moment. Thank you for your time. Maybe you can give me advice.

Hi: What is your opinion on the "Parent Plus" loans that most colleges are pushing, suggesting that it's better for the student by not leaving them with a substantial financial burden after graduation?

Hello, Barbara--

This blog has been incredibly helpful as I think through options with my student loans. I hope that you might be able to provide some insight on this specific question?

I have about $40,000 in Stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) that I took out during graduate school at the fixed rate of 6.8%. I pay on-time and am currently receiving a .5% discount for using auto-payment. While filing this year's tax return, I realized just how much money I am paying to interest alone -- not even getting at the principal.

I am looking to lower the interest rate on these federal loans, but when I research federal loan consolidation the benefits don't seem to add up: decreasing the number of payments I make each month is not my end goal; I really want to lower my interest rate!

I have private student loans at the much lower rate of 2.25% and can't believe that I agreed to such a high federal rate. Ugh!

Is it possible to take out a private loan to pay off higher federal student loans? Do banks such as Wells Fargo offer such options? I'd appreciate any insight you could provide.

I have a direct loans consolidation loan and then a private student loan from years later. Is there anyw ay to consolidate the two so i only have one payment to make a month? Thanks

I am still in graduate school and currently pay $120 each month toward early repayment of my loans ($60 for each). My original balance for a Stafford subsidized loan was $8,500 (now at $7,033) and for a Stafford unsubsidized loan was $6,000 (now at $5,276). I still have several years in graduate school, want to keep making early payments and paying off interest as I go, but how can I get these paid off faster and more efficiently? Any suggestions?

I had perfect credit all through college, once I graduated Great Lakes messed up a forbearance and did not send me past due notices for the 6 months i was suppose to be under forbearance, which in turn caused my credit score to crash! I am a graduate with a B.S. and still out of work. I have consolidated all my loans except for one loan I am not allowed to consolidate. My question is can i still refinance through Wells Fargo for a lower monthly payment, if my credit score is low?

Hi Barbara. I have a large private student loan that has been consolidated at a rate of 8.5%. Is it possible to refinance a private student loan to get a lower interest rate? I currently have a credit rate in the high 700's. Thanks!

A few years ago, I took out a loan through Lehman Brothers, who switched my loan over to Wells Fargo. I was wondering, is there any way I can increase that loan instead of taking out another?

Hi, I was wondering if I could have some advice. Currently I owe 15k on my student loan and the last year I paid off 3K off it however I lost my job and have been on unemployment for 6 months. My loan is with Wells Fargo and I simply can't afford to make the full payment of $350 a month. I got a roommate and have been living as frugally as possible but the most I can pay is $130 at best barring I don't have a high power bill. Is there any advice you can give me. I have been sending out job applications everyday like it is a full time job.

Dear Barbara,
I appreciate your blog and the advice you provide. I have unsubsidized private law student loans (Law Access Loans) from 1991-1994. The loans were originally serviced by EduServ Technologies. EduServ sold the loans to Sallie Mae in 1998. In reviewing my original loans, as well as payment history, I believe that EduServ utilized the wrong variable interest rate to capitalize interest during the time that I was in school. As a result, the balance including the capitalized interest, at the time Sallie Mae purchased the loans was incorrect. I believe that a subsequent purchaser of a promissory note is responsible to ensure that the balance is computed correctly from the commencement of the note. What is the best way to correct the balance and computation of interest over the life of this student loan debt?

Hello. My daughter financed her education through SallieMae. She consolidated after graduating and I cosigned. The reps at SallieMae told us when we consolidated that I could be removed as cosigner after she made on time payments for 24 consecutive months. She has been making payments for 36 months never missing a payment and never late. They, SallieMae, will not release me as the cosigner and are using the dispursement dates of the loans an excuse. I don't understand what the dispursement dates of the loan have to do with the inability to release the cosigner and can't get an answer from SallieMae. Anyone familiar with this? She would like to refinance the loans again without a cosigner for two reasons...prevent them from appearing on my credit report, and more importantly, stop dealing with SallieMae. They are extremely difficult to deal with, and in my opinion, are somewhat deceptive. Is there anyone out there who has found a lender that is easier to work with? We are not sure if she can refinace the loans or must she obtain a new, private loan and start from scratch? Thanks.

Hi Barbara,

I have a $110,000 private consolidated student loan at a fixed interest rate of 10%.

I am trying to find out a way to refinance this loan to get a "lower interest rate".

Do you have any advise on how this can be done? I have looked at other banks that offer variable consolidation starting at 4%-6% but I don't know if that is safe.

Hi Barbara, I am currently getting ready to go into my Junior year and I have two 10,000 dollar student loans from Sallie Mae where you pay the interest while your in school. My parents said that they would help me to pay these monthly bills while in school however, money has got tight and we would really like to defer payments until i graduate. Is that something that i can do with th loans I already have?

Thanks, Derek

ARE THEIR ANY LOAN PRODUCTS FOR CREDIT CHALLENGED GRADUATE PROGRAM STUDENT?

Hi Barbara,

I'm starting pharmacy school in the fall and I need some advice. I just applied for a $20000 private loan with Sallie Mae for living expenses. My credit score is 715 and I don't understand why I got an interest rate of 8%. I only qualify for $21000 in student loans and I need about $10000 in living expenses. Should I shop around for a better interest rate? I could also get a grad plus loan, but it would only be for the total cost of school and no living expenses. Also, how do I get a fixed interest rate with Sallie Mae instead of variable, does Wells Fargo offer something different?

Hi Barbara, thanks for all of your help. I owe $50,000 through Federal Direct. I consolidated my loans and signed up through Direct a few yrs ago and my int rate is fixed at 6.75%. My friend has an interest rate through Sallie Mae of somewhere around 3%. I aggressively pay around $1,000/month on my loan and would kill for a lower rate. Can I refinance through someone else or am I forever stuck at that rate? I don't qualify for IC or IB payments, nor will I receive loan forgiveness through public service. Please help!

Hi Barbara - In May 2011 I consolidated my Wells Fargo student loan without a cosignor when the balance was about $48k. My consolidated interest rate is now 6%.

I'm content with the rate now, however the rate is variable and could increase at any given time.

I have good credit and a fairly high-paying job for a 2010 graduate, but I have savings and investment goals that my loans will interfere with if the US prime rate were to increase.

The balance of my loan is now around $37k as I've paid a large, lump-sum. Is there anything I can do to obtain a more favorable or fixed rate now that my income/debt ratio is higher and presumably, my credit is better?

Hi Barbara, My husband has student loans and I feel like we will never pay them off!!
about 15,000 is with Nelnet (fixed at 3.75-Great!) But he also has one with Sallie Mae, which is at 9.25% and 15,589 left. The kind of loan is listed below.

Private Consolidation - UNSUB /
SLM PRIVATE CREDIT STUDENT LN TR

Are there any options for me to try to have the loan placed with someone else for a lower rate? I can admit when he got the one with Sallie Mae his credit was not at its best! Since then we have bought a house and have significantly brought up his credit. All payments with Sallie Mae have been paid on time since 2007!! as well as house notes..ect. The loan started at 18 something, and for 4 years we have not even put a dent into it. I feel helpless!

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi Barbara-
Great Blog you have going here. Lots of info. My wife and I are both in public service; nurse and teacher respectively. Our loans were once through direct loans, but then consolidated through SallieMae. Will we have any eligiblility to qualify for the loan forgiveness program after 10 years from 10/1/2007? If not, would we be able to transfer our loans back into direct loans to get the forgiveness clock ticking?

My daughter is about to start her sophomore year. She is borrowing for the first semester. She has a choice between variable at 6.49% and fixed at 10.74%. It seems like such a gamble. How does one decide between fixed and variable interest rate?

Hi Barbara! What a wonderful and helpful blog! Thank you so much for answering so many questions regarding student loans.

I have a question as well. I've heard that there are some new regulations regarding student loans, and would like to know if there is anything my husband can benefit from. He has two student loans with Sallie Mae, which has already been refinanced once (and from what I understand, he can only do that one time). Is there any way he can get a better rate? We pay each and every month, but the principal goes down really slowly. Or, if we pay the total balance, is there any chance for a discount or that doesn't happen with student loans? Thank you very much!

If you loan was consolidated prior to 2006 (mine was consolidated in 2004), can I refinance that federal loan?

I have some student loans from Sallie Mae and from what I remember, I have to pay for the full interest no matter what. Here's an example of what I thought it meant, I have a loan of $100,000 with interest rate of 10% for a 60 month term. The monthly payment based on tvm would be $2,124.70, multiply that by the 60 month term, you get a total financed amount of $127,482.27 giving you an interest amount of $27,482.27. If I pay this early, lets say a year after I signed the loan, I still have to pay the entire $127,482.27 correct?

The reason for this question is if I have to pay that amount, wouldn't consolidating the loan do the same? they'll be paying the full $127,482.27 and then re-spreading the loan into a longer term, maybe instead of 60 months, it will be 120 months making your monthly payments lower and even lower rate but your still paying interest on interest? Or is this not how it works?

Hello,
My husband currently has $91K in private student loans from law school. The interest rate is fixed at 9%. Do you know of any way we can get it lower? A credit union offered to add $10k to our current car loan at 4.99%, but we don't know if that's a good idea. We haven't been able to progress because of this debt hanging over our heads.
Thanks.

I am in repayment for over years now on two loans with sallie mae. One Federal and One Private. I am looking for advise on Consolidation. My payments are getting hard to keep up with and I have 11 years left to pay on the loans. Any advise/information on how to proactively source for consolidation is helpful. Thanks in advance

I have a student loan with Great Lakes for about $10,000 at 6.8% interest. Can I try to transfer this loan to another institution to try to reduce my interest rate?

I have a student loan with Bank of America for about 14K with a interest rate of 5.375% fixed. I consolidated the loan once I graduated from college. I usually pay a little bit more then the payment but never have a option how much I can put on the principle. Do they automatically put the extra in the principle?

I recently saw an ad on Wellsfargo about student loan and able to lower the interest rate if we have a saving/checking account at Wells Fargo. I personally do have accounts in wells fargo and I wonder if I can transfer the loan and lower my rate. Thanks!

I have seven Sallie Mae loans. They total approx $40,000.00. Went to a private College for 2 year business degree. Could not get a job( was in another state) and could not finish. For over two years could not get anything but a 12 hour a week job. I have finely landed an almost full time employment. I am being hounded day and night for payment. I want to repay but the loans are at an average of 11 1/2 % and about $500.00 per month. Since I'm only making around $1000.00 per month is there a way to get one loan at approx. $200.00 per. I have bad credit and would have been homeless if I had not been lucky to have family. I am only 22 years old and trying to do what is right. My parents are older and in a low income bracket. that is why the loan is only on me. Is there any way for help for me.

Hello Barbara,

My husband has a very high interest rate on his school loans. He joined the military but chose to take the GI bill over the repayment pay so he can go to graduate school after the military. Can be get his loan rate reduced? I know they reduce credit card rates for military but for loans?

Barbara one thing a loan holder with Sallie Mae can do to lower payments with free money is to use UPromise. I have my daughters Upromise account set up as such. I use a Upromise credit card to pay all my utilities and retail purchases earning 1% on the dollar. You can earn double or more by using the Upromise online shopping site. Anyway, my Upromise account gets swept every month into my daughters account (about $25 to $30 a month). My daughters upromise account is attached to her Sallie Mae loan account and every qtr her account is swepted and paid on her loan. Her Sallie Mae loan is interest only so 4 times a year approx. $100 gets paid on her loan and it's just before the interest only payment is made. So basically her loan principle is being reduced 4 times a year. Additionally, I have 4 relatives sweeping free money into her account also. She's a second year student and her Principle has dropped almost $2500.

I am looking to consolidate 3 MEFA loans (Mass state loan program) and I can't find anything online about how to do so. It appears that state secured loans are exempt from the federal loan consolidation programs, but is there any way for me to work something that could have a lower interest rate or extended period? Thanks.

Hi Barbara,

I have about $26k in undergraduate loans (subsidized and unsubsidized staffords). I refinanced them a number of years ago (late 2004?)at 3.5%.

In 2009 I returned to graduate school and the (also stafford) loans were deferred for the duration. I recently graduated from this program with an additional $25k at 8.25% through WF/Wachovia.

My questions is this - Would it be of any benefit to me to consolodate the recent loans with the older ones, or would that adversly affect the extremely low interest rate on the undergraduate loans?

I've still got 6 months of deferrment on the graduate loans to figure this out. Currently, my monthly repayment is just above $200. I have a long history of overpaying minimum payments in order to pay at the principle more quickly and plan on doing that again, but am not sure if I'd end up paying more with one or two loans.

I graduate June 2011 and my loans will come out of grace period in December 2011; I want to consolidate all of my loans for the CHEAPESt INTEREST RATE POSSIBLE. How do I do this and WHO do I contact? Please advise ASAP

I have a Sallie Mae loan that we have paid on for 12 years and still owe 40,000. we consolidated about 10 years ago. I have 2 questions: does the new government student loan plan allow me to lower my rate? it is fixed at 8%? will my loans be forgiven after we have paid on them for 20yrs or 25yr?

Hi,
I have just entered my repayment of my student loans and really need to make my monthly repayment amount lower. I am really confused with all the options. I have federal and private loans through 2 different providers. What is the best way to go about making my payment amounts less without majorly increasing my overall payment amount. Does it make sense to consolidate? Also, how do I go about refinancing where possible! Thanks

I appreciate all the helpful information. I am thinking about consolidating my private loans but i want to know what is better. fixed rate or unfixed. unfixed seems to be lower but what is the chance of it going up and how high. If it does could i change to fixed rate?

Hello-
After reading posting after posting, I truly feel I've gained some knowledge but I'm still confused. I recently graduated from a 4 year university in California and I have 4 loans through Direct Loans and 4 through Chase Student Loans. The loans through Direct can be consolidated, however, I don't know what to do about my private student loans. The loans through Chase have a variable interest rate and I am unsure if I can consolidate them with my other loans? What can I do? Is consolidating with my other loans possible?
How can I lower my interest rate with Chase?

I have about 58K of federal student loans that I consolidated a few years back at 6.9% Is there any way I can refi the rates or get the payment lower?

Hello, I have about $42,000 in grad school student loan debt, all through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. My interest rate is 6.8%. All of these loans were disbursed 2006-2008. The last loan was disbursed 8/12/2008. Would it be possible for me to get the 6.0% interest rate described in the CCRAA on this loan? It is a direct subsidized loan in the amount of $4,338.57. I know that it is not a large percentage of my total loan debt, but any interest rate decrease would help!
Thank you very much for your time!

If I have a private student loan through Sallie Mae and was 17 when I signed (with a co-signer, if I default on the payment, who do they go after - me or the cosigner, or both? Also, was it legal for me to sign for this loan being that I was a minor?

I have a Sallie Mae private loan of 18k including interest. The interest is 10.75% My monthly is 283.00. I have other loans as well. But this one particularly cannot be consolidated nor lower the interest rate. I was told by sallie Mae rep because it is a private loan therefore nothing can be done. What are my options in lowering this payment?

I have student loans in the following amounts and interest rates: $38K of a private student loan (at 2%); $15K of subsidized stafford federal loans (at 6.5%); $25K of unsubsidized stafford federal loans (I can't remember the interest rate, I think also 6.5%); and $45K of GradPlus federal loans (at 8.5%).

I really wish someone had told me, before law school, to take out private loans instead of GradPlus/Stafford. I figured going with the government loans would be the best option, and did not even investigate private loans my first two years. But because my credit was good, my private loans for my third year of school are only 2%!!!! I am out of school now and in repayment. Is there any way to get a new private loan/consolidation to pay off my 8.5% GradPlus loans and end up with a lower interest rate?

My mother-in-law cosigned two student loans administered by Sallie Mae (totaling $24K) for one of her sons. She was repaying the loan but recently passed away. The loan is described as "signature student loan - UNSUB." We don't have a copy of the original loan agreement and we're trying to determine if the loan is discharged upon her death. We have contacted Sallie Mae and have received no response. Any advice?

Thanks for providing such a helpful blog!

Hi, I was just wondering. I am filing our taxes for 2011 and realized that for our tax refund from 2010 we did not deduct my wife's student loan interest. I've added it for 2011, is there a way to add 2010 as well?

Hi. Several years ago, I co-signed a Sallie Mae student loan for my nephew. Even though he promised to repay the loan, he defaulted on it within a year. I have been repaying it every month on time. It was a fixed rate of 6.25%. The balance is now approx. 23,500 and I pay $350 per month. I am no longer in communication with my nephew due to this loan and his refusal to assist in payment. I do not want to keep dragging this repayment for 7 or more years. I tried to have a co-signer release form signed through Sallie Mae from my nephew, but he would not respond. I am a Wells Fargo client and am currently using a savings account to make monthly payments to Sallie Mae. But as I get closer to retirement age, I worry about running out of money. Should I pay this loan off with my funds I have with Wells Fargo? Do you have any suggestions about what to do with this loan to relieve my worries? Thank you! Angela S.

I have a consolidated student loan with the Federal Ford Direct Loans program. I am setup on a standard repayment plan and my current interest rate is 5.8% and they are saying it is a fixed rate and i cannot change it. I am paying 175$ a month which is not a problem but just over 100 of it is going towards interest. That really bothers me. I am wanting to move to another lender so I can negotiate a better interest rate. Any suggestions, guidance, or comments would be appreciated.

Barbara- I had about $30,000 in Federal Loans in $25,000 in Sallie Mae Loans. Federal loans are around 6.55% while Private ones are at 3.75%. I've been paying more towards the Federal Loans since they're at a higher interest rate, but I still have a while to go. Been paying about $1000+ a month towards these loans and it still might take another 5 years. Anyway I can reduce my Federal interest rate from 6.55%, I don't care if i lose benefits of student loans like forbearance/deferment.

Hi, I borrowed $25000 for my graduate program and now am done with school. I got a call from the lender and they explained to me that the amount is now doubled. Reason being the interest has been going up and down without my concent for the past 3 years. Do private lenders have the right to change interest rate on loans without the concent on the borrower?
How can i reduce the monthly payment of $360 which they are demanding now.
I enjoy your feedback.
Thanks

We have 20 year old son in third year med. studies. Co-sign loans for him , 17 year old starts college sept. Wells Fargo will keep loaning money i am sure maybe because can"t bankrupt. But that worries me alot of credit under my name is there any way to get loans in there name only besides fed.loans

I recently consolidated my Wells Fargo loans for a total loan amount of $29,651.16 and a 25 year long term. I chose a variable interest rate of 8.750%. I am aware that per the most recent meeting of the FOMC, the Fed intends on keeping the prime rate low at 3.25% for the next two years. If after these two years interest rates increase, can I re-consolidate my loans and chose a fixed rate option? Is there a maximum number of times a person can reconsolidate with a private lender? Does reconsolidating add more to the total amount due?

I recently consolidated my private student loans with Wells Fargo. The total amount consolidated was $29,651.16 witha 25 year long term. I am aware that per the most recent meeting of the FOMC, the Fed intends on keeping the primate rate low at 3.25% for the next two years. If after these two years interest rates increase, can I re-consolidate my private loans again to achieve a fixed interest rate? Is there a maximum number of times a person can re-consolidate their private loans? Is re-consolidating private student loans disadvantageous (adding more to the total amount due)?

I have consolidated my student loans just before starting residency 11 years ago at 5.50 interest rate with the Dept. of Education. Can I refinance again? I had both private and federal loans. Do not have any other loans to add to the refi nor i work for a public institution. Please advise. thanks.

Say someone (naively) co-signed a student loan for a friend while they were in college, not fully understanding the ramifications.

Then, say that friend is now beginning to have difficulty meeting the loan payments, thus endangering the co-signer's immaculate credit, just as the co-signer is beginning to shop for a first mortgage.

Are there any methods of re-course, loan re-structuring, exit strategies, or other options that the co-signer (who is now more savvy and severely regrets co-signing said loan in a prior state of naivete) can consider?

My student loan is very low about 8k but most is interest. I sent the leander 1k and the lender cite says I have a credit and cannot pay more until a balance is due. It appears even if I pay the loan back early I stil have to pay the entire interest. Is that correct? I really want to pay this off now and can do so, but if I cannot lower the final interest then why both? Please help.

I have a fixed student loan, which I took out in 2007, with a 7.125%, totally about $30,000.00. Is there anyway to refinance to get a lower rate? I'm paying over $180.00 a month in just interest. I know there are ways of getting a lower interest rate such as taking out a home equity loan, personal, etc....but is there anyway to keep my student loan a student loan but with a lower interest? Any advice would be helpful, Thanks!

When I started school I received loans from both Sallie Mae and Direct Loans. I started paying them off right when my 6 month grace period ended. The loans currently total $91,500 between 14 loans with interest rates any where from 13.5 to 6.something. My total monthly payment is $1150 and is set to be paid off in about 8 years. Supposedly I can't consolidate but then again trying to get someone on the phone from either company that has any clue about what is going on is impossible ( Iv been hung up on multiple times). So long story short I was wondering if it is possible to maybe go through Wells Fargo and have them basically take over the loans as one loan with one interest rate and pay them off that way and so I can be done with those companies. Im just curious if this is something Wells Fargo would do before I call and try to explain to someone over the phone because that's always a challenge. Any advice would be much appreciated

Hello Barbara- I consolidated all my student loans just before starting residency 11 years ago at 5.50 interest rate with the Dept. of Education. Can I refinance again? I have about 10 years more left. I had both private and federal loans. Do not have any other loans to add to the refi and I do not work for a public institution. Can you give me some options to decide what is best for my situation? Please advise. thanks.

Hey Barbara..Your Blog is great I have found so much information on here, but still a little confused. My wife is about to grad with her Masters in Education and we are trying to consolidate all her Loans together b/c I am scared of Rates going up in the next couple of years on her Private Loans.

I am not even sure if we can do this but we just applied at http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov.

and are trying to consolidate her 3k of stafford loans and her 95K Loans at AES that are mostly held by Bank of America..and I am just confused if we can consolidate Federal with Private..when i have spoke with customer service they say as long as we have 1 federal they will let us..but after reading Blogs it sounds like we Can not..

We were just hoping we could b/c since she teaches in a low income area some of the loan may be forgiven if they are federal..

I am sure I will find out from the Loan consolidation dept in a couple of days but any more info would be Great..

Thanks again for your Blog..

Hello Barbara- I consolidated all my student loans just before starting residency 11 years ago at 5.50 interest rate with the Dept. of Education. Can I refinance again? I have about 10 years more left. I had both private and federal loans. Do not have any other loans to add to the refi and I do not work for a public institution. Can you give me some options to decide what is best for my situation? Please advise. thanks.
P>S> FOR SOME REASON MY QUESION IS NEVER ANSWERED. THIS IS MY 3rd ATTEMPT, I HOPE I AM LUCKY THIS TIME.

Just a quick question. I have a private student loan through Nelnet. they told me if i repaid the loan early or refinanced the loan to pay off the total balance early, that i would not be entitled to a refund of interest already paid in. I know with mortgages etc., that if you pay every 2 weeks it uses less interest and brings your principal down faster. car payments are going that route too. When i tried to do it wiht my private loan they flat out said nope we are just holding the payment until the other part arrives before applying it to your payment. Can they get away with this?

Hi all. I'm just wondering how to either/both: 1. lower my interest rate on student loans and/or 2. lower my monthly payments. I have consolidated federal sub and unsub loans from my undergrad studies serviced by Sallie Mae at a variable 4.75%. I also have private loans with AES (3 disbursements) varying from about 3.7 to 4.25%, variable. Most were in forbearance while I completed my graduate studies, but I just graduated. I DO work for a public educational institution currently--I don't know if this helps--part of the City University of New York. Any guidance you could provide is much appreciated.

I have a loan for about 25K. I already consolidated when receiving a call about it right after school. Wish I hadn't. The fixed interest rate is 6.5% or something and has been for 6 years. I want a lower rate because I am finally able to start paying this loan off. Could I still look for another Bank to take over this loan? I got a letter in the mail from Wells Fargo about student loans because I'm going back to school this Fall. I want to pay those straight out or get grants if possible. But for this existing loan could I get Wells Fargo or another bank to take over with a lower rate like 3%? My credit is really good.

I graduated in Dec. of 2010 with a degree in Advertising from The University of Alabama. My parents couldnt afford to help me at all through college so I ended up taking out 7 different loans through Sallie Mae with a principal balance of 64k and have accrued 12k in total interest. I could not seem to find a decent paying job in my field and am currently making just 10.25/hr with bonuses for an average of $1600 per month after taxes. My loan payments to Sallie Mae are an INSANE $800 per month. Thats half of my total monthly income! I try to pay a little more than the monthly amount, but I still have not seen a dent in the $73k that I currently owe. I am 24 and still live with my parents because I cannot afford to live on my own. I have been looking into the Wells Fargo consolidation plan for Private Loans and my parents would be more than willing to cosign. They have good credit but I am concerned about what they would have to put up (i.e their house) in order to help me consolidate to lower the monthly payments in order for me to be able to start a more independent life. If I could lower my monthly payments to even $600 per month I would be able to move out. Do you think this would be a smart move for me to consolidate through Wells Fargo for a chance at lowering my monthly payments?

I am in desperate need of student loan help! I graduated in 2005. 1- subsidized stafford student loan 1-unsubsidized, 2 others that are Mohela CASH loans that can not be combined bc of the 'type' of loan they are. I am paying 153.00 a month on the stafford subsidized/unsubsidized to Mohela and the Mohela cash loans they r suing me over bc I did not have the money to pay them 215.00 a month on top of the 153.00. Our mortgage is through wells Fargo & refi is not going to help bc we already how the lowest intrest rates etc. So, is there a consolidation through u guys I could look into???? That would be ALL these loans combined if not all then maybe the 2 CASH loans??? Just for the 2 CASH loans they r now willing to settle at 275.00 a month but that's on top of the 153.00..I have 2 small babies in daycare & that alone is a mortgage payment.... Any help or resources of where I could look would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I am headed back to school after a long time away. I don't qualify for Federal loan since I have a degree already from the same institution. I am exploring the private loans and notice they are variable rates. How risky are these loans? Will I find myself 2 years from not paying a significantly higher interest rate than what I borrow at? Any other tips for a returning student would also be helpful!

If what you're looking to do is accrue less interest, then the best solution is to pay more money each month toward your principal balance.

Hi, I'm entering into a college as a freshman. I have been offered a parent loan, federal subsidized loan and a federal unsubsidized loan. I don't want to take out a parent loan because I don't want my parents to be in burden. I don't want to apply for a subsidized loan because I want to pay the interest while I'm in school. Is there a loan that I can take out with the terms of paying the interest while I'm at school and then when I complete college, I'd only have to pay the principle amount .

Hi, I have a Wells Fargo private loan. When I originally applied for it, I had 2 cosigners. Later during repayment, they both filed for bankruptcy. What are all of my options in terms of possibly discharging, forgiving, or cancelling my loan? If both of my cosigners are bankrupt, do I still have to make payments?

Hi all, I have 1 private loan for $46K at 10.25% and 2 small FFELP loans ($1840 @ 2.14% and $2040 @6.55%). I'm wondering if getting the interest rate lower on the private loan is possible? I can afford the payment and have been paying more than the min but seeing most of my payment go to interest is discouraging. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :)

I am searching around for a private student loan for about $3,xxx. On each interest rate I come across it is an approximation because it is based on credit,etc. which I realize. Does this mean I need to apply at multiple lenders to see which interest rate is actually the lowest for me?

From everything I'm reading, I'm not sure there's any help for me. I graduated college in 2008. I'm employed and have $23,500 in one private student loan (I recently paid off my Sallie Mae loan) with a variable interest rate, presently at 5%. I originally borrowed from my local bank but they sold the loan to an agency that is unresponsive and disinterested in my predicament. I have been paying off a bit more than required each month, but the principal never seems to budge (original loan amount was $21,500). If I can't refinance, I'd like to at least get a lock on a better interest rate. All my other banking is with Wells Fargo (credit card, debit card, savings and checking accounts). Can you help someone like me?

I have a 40k federal consolidation loan at a fairly high interest rate, paying $350 a month, of which $120 goes to interest.

Is it possible to "re-open" this loan somehow to obtain a better interest rate? I could return to school, getting a new Federal loan, and then "re-consolidate" at a more favorable rate.

Is this scenario possible?

my sons wells fargo college loan is approx 65,000 @ 4.75% can you explain why my monthly payment is $455? should it not be in the vicinity of $300.00 per month?

I have a question.
I have a Private loan and a Fed Loan the Private loan i owe about 10k and my rate is 6.8% i have 4 diff loans with them that they combined with one payment my monthly is 300$ a month some of those loans are only 24 months and the other 2 are 72 months I am trying to lower my payment and extend my months to 10 years If i can and maybe lower my interest rate. My Private loans I am currently doing a forbearance on them for 6 months to lower my payment as i cant make that large payment and my fed payment right now, My intrest rate is no longer showing i dont know what that means if my rate will change bc i did a forbearance or they arent charging my intrest while i am on the forbearance? My Fed Loans I owe 34,500 after my interest. Those are my Sub and Un sub loans and i have about 10 diff loans and my rate is anywhere from 3.8 to 6.8 each one is a diff rate and its all a fixed rate I was told my monthly on that would be around 400 but it is still in a grace period until Oct. that is a total of about 700 a month and i just cant afford that. How can i lower this monthly payment to under 500 that is where I am most comfortable.

My husband took out a student loan in 1989. The total of the loans were about $9,000. He now owes over $27,000. There were physcial and mental problems that prevented him from making payments. The interest made it almost impossible for him to repay the loan and it snowballed over the years. Is there anyone we can contact to reduce the amount of interest before signing a rehab note to pay back the loan? Over the years his wages have been garnished, our income and our tax refunds withheld and over $12,000 has been paid back. The Dept of Ed reassigned his loan to a collection agency and he is required to make a monthly payment of $200 a month for 10 months then he will be qualified for a rehab program that will now freeze his interest and it will be added to his principal. Is there any way he can have the interest reduced before signing up for the rehab program? Thanks

Hello I have a fixed interest rate of 7% and I have about $80k in federal student loans. Is there any way to get a lower interest rate?

Hi my husband went back to school we are in our mid thirties. We own our home and have appox. 150,000 of equity in our home. He is graduating and owes 40,000 at a fixed rate. My question is our credit is good both employed . Should we take out a home equity loan to pay off the college debt because equity loan rates we have looked at are much lower plus the interest can be written off on taxes

I consoldiated my federal loans (all federal, no private loans) about 10 years ago when rates where higher ($70,000 for 30 years). I can only afford to make minimum payments (~$500) and that will never change. I used to have hope (hence the consoldation for 30 years) but that is all but gone. At this rate (and the interest rate used) I will be paying until I die. Is there anyway to refinance at lower present rates?

Hello,

I would like to refinance my private loan with wells fargo. The website states that you need one or more loans, but when I called, I was told I need two or more. What is the big deal about the total loan count when all I am looking for are competitve rate?

Hello. Great blog. It seems there is nothing to do to lower a federal loan aside from automatic payment. However, some of my debt was sold to another lender, Great Lakes. Would that debt still fall under with the promissory note with a promise to pay with the outlined interest, or do I have more flexibility with options for a lower interest rate? What are the typical loan rates running now? Looking forward to your reply!

I graduated with approximately $150,000 of loans from medical school that I consolidated at 5.125%. I also have $11,000 at 6.55% from grad school that are unsubsidized. Despite paying over $900 every month, the large loan only decreses by less that $100 a month. I see that the loan rate for institutions is in the 3% range. I have very good credit. Would you reccomend seeking out another loan with a lower interest rate at another institution? Also, I am about to enter fellowship, where my budget will shrink considerably. Do you reccomend interest only payments if I can't make the whole payment.

Hi!
Thanks for all the info. I'm sure my question is redundant, sorry.
My student loans are consolidated, but there are two of them? I don't know why they did it like this?
Also, I don't know if they were Federal and where at this point, or if it is a consideration, where the original promisory note is
About a year ago, the loan was sold to Sallie Mae at 6.8% interest.
Are you saying that I cannot, at this point, transfer to a lender with a better interest rate?
Other than automatic payments, is there anything I can do?

Hello - I'm currently paying back two different Federal Stafford loans of $20k each at 6.8%, and another private loan of $13k at 8.25%. At the time I took out these loans I didn't have much of a credit history, but now I have very good credit. My question is should I try to take out a personal loan with a lower (hopefully) interest rate to pay off these loans. Also, worth mentioning that the expected payoff date for my Stafford loans is in 2033 and 2023 for my private loan. How long can you typically take to pay back a personal loan?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. - I am aware that student loans offer some safeguards (deferrment, forbearance, etc.) that personal loans do not.

I took out a student loan from Wells Fargo, which my parents co-signed for. My interest rate is over 9% and I owe approximately $51,000. I am a elementary teacher in Wyoming currently in my third year, I've been making my loan payments of over $400 since getting my teaching job in 2010. I am now trying to lower my interest rate and get the loan in my name. In November, I contacted Wells Fargo and was told that in a couple months, I would have made enough consecutive payments that I would be able to refinance my loan for a lower rate and be able to get in my name. When I called today and tried to do this, Wells Fargo said I could not get a the loan in my name and I could not get a lower interest rate, unless I had a co-signer. I don't understand after two years of making payments, why I cannot refinance the loan. My parents are now retired and are not eligible to co-sign and since I make all the payments I don't want them to anyway. The only loans I owe are for student loans, I don't have a mortgage or vehicle payment.

Is there a way to "refinance" a student loan to remove a co-signer? Not so much to lower the interest rate, but to remove a co-signer and only have the first borrower be on the loan themselves?

I went through a bankruptcy and had to go through a whole huge process with my student loans. That was back in 2008. I've been paying over 8% interest since that time. I currently only have 1 loan and I want to refinance that loan to get a better interest rate on it. I'm having an unbelievably hard time trying to find information on how to refinance my loan.

It really goes to show how screwed up our world and our priorities are when I can get a mortgage rate under 4% , a car loan for 1% yet the most important thing you can finance, your education, is sticking you hard money like rates. The last thing I will ever let my children do is finance their education. The only thing worse than a college loan is a credit card. That's screwed up.

Thanks,

Is there a law that states if you having been paying your student loan on time for at least 20 years you can get the balance forgiven/eliminated? I thought saw something on the news to that effect.

Hi there, this is some great information!

My question is about extra payments. Right now, my loans have been acquired by ACS. Interest rates are fixed and reasonable, and I'm on a 30yr extended repayment plan. I've been pretty under employed for some time, but now I'm making more money.

I understand that if I make extra payments, that those payments will go to interest first. Says so on the ACS FAQ.

My question is, what interest are we talking about. The overall interest that "will accrue" over the life of the loan. Or the interest of the month?

At the moment, my payment terms break down to about 75% interest and 25% principle. I owe about $25K on two different consolidated loans (don't ask me why it ended up that way, it's not something I understood at the time), one at about 4.5% the other at about 6.5%. Not terrible.

I pay $175/mo on the 6.5% loan and about $150/mo on the 4.5% loan. My thought is to pay about $1000/mo total towards the whole thing. So, triple my minimum.

I've looked at some loan calculators, and from what I can tell, this should get me out of debt in the next 6 years should I be able to keep it up.

However, I've also read some horror stories of people trying to pay extra, that their principal doesn't go down and that ACS is whacky at how they calculate it, and all the extra goes to interest.

My monthly minimum already covers my monthly interest from what my statements say. So, shouldn't anything extra that I pay go to the principal?

Thanks for the input!

Hello,

This blog is amazing and I've found a lot of information helpful!

My sister is in her third year of school and is applying for private loans. She has been approved for a loan for $7,500 from Wells Fargo and Citizens. The WF loan has a 6.7% variable interest rate while Citizens is 7% fixed. In the long run, would it be better for her to go with the fixed 7%? I figured that would keep her safe rather than having to worry about the WF interest rate fluctuating to 18%.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hello,
I've been out of school now for almost ten years. As a result of deferments or forbearance's i've actually made 0 progress on my loans. I've paid about 20 grand over the last ten years and I still owe the same amount I borrowed ten years ago. This makes me want to throw up! All of my loans were through citi and now Discover has purchased my private loans and Sallie mae has purchased my federal loans from citi. Discover increased my interest rate. I've called and tried to talk to people and mostly all i get is "we don't write loans like that we just buy them" when I ask about some sort of refinance. Life has been tough and next month when yet another forbearance comes to term I'll be paying 433 a month total. I just don't know what to do. I want new loans with new terms with appropriate interest rates and payment sizes. is that really too much to ask? How do I fix my student loan problems?

Hello,

I have about 37,000 in sallie mae loans with rates between 3.25 and 4.25 for 3 seperate loans. I also have about 16,000 in federal loans at about 5.25%. Is there anyway to consolidate all these loans into one?? I am currrently paying about $600 a month on 37,000 a year income. There has to be some relief somewhere??