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Consolidation Loans – Student Loan Borrowers Assistance

Consolidation is similar to refinancing a loan. You can consolidate all, just some, or even just one of your student loans. Consolidating federal student loans may be a good strategy to lower monthly payments or to get out of default, but it is not always a good idea.

Pros and Cons of Consolidation

The "Cons"

In the past, many borrowers consolidated their federal student loans to save money on...

Credit Scores & Student Loans - Student Loan Borrowers ...

A credit score is a number that summarizes your credit history. Before you borrow, credit scores are used to determine eligibility for PLUS loans, and interest rates for private loans. You can request a copy of your credit report and follow your credit score.

The credit bureaus have not revealed the exact formula for calculating credit scores, but making on-time payments can certainly help...

Lawsuits - Student Loans - Student Loan Borrowers Assistance

Lawsuits are not very common in federal student loan collection, but they can happen! It is less common for the government to sue to collect on student loans because it has so many tools to use outside of court. Still, it is an additional collection power and the government does use it sometimes.

Lawsuits are the main collection tool that private lenders have. The government and private...

Income based repayment – Student Loan Borrowers

Income-driven repayment options help many borrowers keep their loan payments affordable with payment caps based on their income and family size. There are now four main income-driven repayment (IDR) plans: Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR).

After the initial calculation, your payment may be adjusted each...

Federal Loans | Student Loan Borrower Assistance

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Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) are the two largest government federal student loan programs. As of July 1, 2010, the FFEL program was eliminated. Most federal loans are now made through the Direct Loan program.

Federal Direct Loans are made directly by the federal government to students. Lenders and guaranty agencies are not involved in the process. FFELs are guaranteed loans made by private lenders. Although the...

Getting Out of Default - Student Loan Borrowers Assistance

Getting out of default on federal student loans is hard, but not impossible. There are fewer, but still some, ways to set up a new repayment plan after you have defaulted on your loan. If you are able to get out of default through rehabilitating or consolidating your loans, you will once again be eligible for the more flexible pre-default repayment options as well as deferments .

The two main post-default repayment programs for government loan borrowers are consolidation and rehabilitation. Before considering these options, you should evaluate whether you are eligible to cancel your...

Student Loan Bankruptcy

Student loans are difficult, but not impossible, to discharge in bankruptcy. To do so, you must show that payment of the debt "will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents."

Courts use different tests to evaluate whether a particular borrower has shown an undue hardship.

The most common test is the Brunner test which requires a showing that 1) the debtor cannot maintain, based on...

Student Loan Questions: Get Answers

Will collection stop while I'm waiting for a reply to a discharge application?

Yes. In most cases, loan holders are required to stop collecting once they receive a completed discharge application. You can also request forbearance so that collection stops while you are gathering information for your application. However, the government says that it has the right to continue Social Security offsets while the application is pending. You may ask for a hardship suspension.

Is evidence of a Social Security or Veteran Affairs disability decision sufficient to qualify for a student loan disability discharge?

For V.A., yes, if...

Student Loan Cancellation

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Loan cancellation is possible only in very limited circumstances. Although loan cancellation is a limited option, it is the most complete way to deal with student loan debt. This means that it's a good idea to review the various cancellation programs to see if you qualify. This section discusses ways to cancel or discharge loans outside of bankruptcy. In rare cases, it is also possible to discharge student loans through bankruptcy .

Loan cancellation (also called "discharge") is the most complete way to deal with a student loan. Although limited, cancellations for federal loans are...

Federal Student Loan Default and Delinquency

You are in default on most federal student loans if you fail to make payments for nine months. The entire loan balance becomes due once you default. A delinquency period begins on the first day after you miss a payment. Your loan holder has certain responsibilities once you are delinquent. During the first 15 days, they must send at least one written notice or collection letter. At some point, they must also let you know about the...

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