Find A Student Loan Consolidation Company

Private Student Loan Consolidation is a credit-based loan that actually combines your existing private student loans (federal loans are unfortunately not eligible), in the hopes of getting you a better interest rate, and quite possibly reducing the amount of your monthly loan payment. Private student loan consolidations can also simplify your loan structure –instead of making several or even many payments each month, with a good consolidation loan with a reputable company, you’ll only make one. If you qualify, your reduced interest rate can save you well into the tens of thousands of dollars over time. Even if your credit report is not perfect, you can apply with a cosigner, such as a parent or a spouse, although the rules on this depend upon the regulations of the private student loan consolidation company you choose to work with.

What Company Should I Work With?

If you’ve done the math and decided that private school loan consolidation is a good option for you, you’ll next need to decide which company you would like to work with to help consolidate your loans. The following questions should help you decide which lender to use:

• What is the interest rate of the consolidation loan? The lower the better.
• Are there any application fees?
• Is the interest rate fixed or variable?
• Are there prepayment penalties? If you become very gainfully employed and are able to pay down your
  loan early, you don’t want to get nailed for it.
• How much can you consolidate? To make your loans more manageable, try to find a lender that will
  consolidate all of them.
• How long is the loan repayment term? If you’re after a lower monthly payment, a longer loan term (up to
  30 years) will help you achieve this.

Top Private Loan Consolidation Companies

There are literally hundreds of companies clamoring for your business when you’re searching for a consolidation loan. Be careful to weed out any companies that don’t meet or exceed your school loan consolidation requirements, or who’s terms of lending are confusing or unclear. Here are the top four private student loan consolidation companies:

• Chase Private Consolidations – They have a $7,500 minimum and a $150,000 maximum. Chase is a very
  reputable bank, and definitely worth checking into.
• NextStudent Private Consolidation – They have a $7,500 minimum and a $300,000 maximum.
• Student Loan Network Private Loan Consolidation – They have $10,000 minimum and $300,000 maximum.
• Wells Fargo Private Consolidation Loan – This is also a very reputable bank. They have a $5,000
  minimum and anywhere from $40,000 – $100,000 maximum, depending on the borrower’s credit.