Completing a college education is very expensive. Even with scholarships and grants most students and or their parents will have seek student loans to pay all the education expenses. The average American college or university graduate will have a student loan debt in excess of $18,000 and a good many will incur more than $40,000 in student loan debt.

In many cases a student will receive several student loans during their collegiate career. These will include both public and private funded loans with different interest rates. Shortly after graduation you will be expected to begin making payments on your student loans Many people are surprised at how much the monthly payments will be. All at a time when a new graduates income levels are relatively low. One possible solution to this problem is a student loan consolidation.

A student loan consolidation will combine all the eligible student loans In most cases you will be required to apply for a loan consolidation package from the lender that first provided your federal student loan There are some exceptions to this requirement. If the interest rate is too high or you are unable to combine all your student loans with the lender then you have the option to shop around for a better loan package,

Not all student loans are eligible to be combined into a loan consolidation. It would be a good idea to visit the university financial aid office for student loan consolidation advice prior to making any loan application. In many cases they will be able to tell what the best approach is for combining all your student loans Contacting several different student loan providers that offer student loan consolidation packages is also a wise investment in time and effort.

The points that need to be considered when comparing student loan consolidation packages include amortization period, interest rates, income sensitive payment options and payment grace periods. Most student loans must be repaid within 10 years of graduation. Lengthening out your payment period or amortization to 20 or more years will greatly lower your monthly payments. However you will pay more in interest over the life of the loan An income sensitive payment option will tie payment amounts to your level of income. This feature will give you lower initial payments when you need them most.