Student loan consolidation

[Lacee Beitler]

Hi everyone! For the investors out there stuck with some serious college student loans... Did you consolidate? If so, how and through who? My loan(s) are constantly being "sold" and my variable interest is outrageous. On one loan my interest rate is 8.9%. Makes me sick... That's my money I could be investing!! Did anyone use a HELOC to pay theirs off? Since investors have to be financially creative, I thought this was a good crowd to ask :) Thanks!!

[Account Closed]

I consolidated through Great Lakes years ago and had a great experience. If you currently have high interest rates, consolidating will greatly reduce your minimum monthly payment amount. Also, you should be able to lock in a historically low fixed rate now by consolidating.

HELOC is a creative solution, but not one I would advise. Just consolidate and pay down that student loan debt as quickly as possible.

There are some limitations on the types of student loans that can be consolidated. Here is a website with additional information: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/consolidation

Depending on your source and level of income, there are different repayment plans the previously mentioned website discusses.

I can only speak from experience with Great Lakes, but you can google student loan consolidation to find others.

Hope this helps.

[Eric Raslich]

I think you need to be looking into "refinancing" and not "consolidation" though. You're describing refinancing but saying consolidation. Consolidation will just do a weighted average of your loans where refinancing you should be able to get a lower interest rate.