How to Consolidate a Single Perkins Loan
Perkins Loans are federal student loans that currently carry a 5 percent interest rate and as of 2009, have maximum loan limits of $5,550 per year for undergraduates and $8,000 per year for graduate students. When it comes time to start repaying student loans, it is possible to consolidate them in order to lower the interest rate or simply to make it easier to manage multiple student loan payments by rolling them all into one. It's even possible to consolidate a single Perkins Loan the same way that you'd consolidate multiple loans, but there are rules and regulations to student loan consolidation that you need to be aware of.
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Instructions
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Determine the type of consolidation you wish to apply for -- private or federal. Federal consolidation is typically a better choice for those who don't have good credit or a cosigner, while private consolidation may be a better choice for people with good credit and/or a cosigner. Private loan may offer an interest rate that is higher or lower than the current federal rates, so you must compare private loan consolidation rates with federal rates before you choose one over the other.
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Visit studentloanconsolidator.com and click on either "Federal Loan Consolidation" or "Private Loan Consolidation" depending upon what type of consolidation loan you want.
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Click on the link that says "Apply Now for Private Student Loan Consolidation" or "Apply Now for Federal Student Loan Consolidation".
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Follow the on-screen prompts, and fill out your personal information. This website will let you know whether you are eligible to consolidate your Perkins Loan.
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Tips & Warnings
You can shop around with any lender in order to find the lowest interest rates possible. You can often get an interest rate reduction if you consolidate during the six-month grace period after you graduate and before you begin repaying your student loans.
Never try to consolidate while you're still in school. You are only eligible to do so when you are less than a half-time student. You can only consolidate your student loan(s) one time. The only exception is to add another student loan that wasn't included in the previous consolidation. You can only consolidate during the six-month grace period after graduation, or during repayment of your loans. You cannot consolidate while you're still in school.
