So I think it's important to look at why Google Adsense keywords Student Loan Consolidation is such a high paid keyword for making money online. Consolidation loans combine several student or parent loans to one big loan from a single lender. It is similar to refinancing a mortgage. Consolidation loans are available for Federal loans including FFELP (Stafford, PLUS & SLS), FISL, Perkins, Health Professional Student loans, NSL, HEAL, Guaranteed Student loans and Direct Loans. Some lenders offer private consolidation loans for private education loans as well.

The interest rate on a Consolidation loan is the weighted average of the interest rates on all loans being consolidated rounded up to the nearest 1/8th percent. If you are consolidating loans with different interest rates, the weighted average will always be the same. Don't be fooled if someone tells you otherwise or offers you a special rate. It doesn't matter...the weighted average is what it is and cannot be altered. There is also no cost to consolidate. Besides for the slight increase in your interest rate, there are no fees so if anyone tries to charge you for consolidating,don't be fooled.

Although you can consolidate your loans with any lender, most require a minimum balance before they will consolidate and that magic number seems to be around $7500 but there are plenty of lenders that will finance $5000. Consolidating your student loans provides access to several alternate repayment plans besides the standard ten-year repayment. You can lower your payment substantially by opting for a 12-30 year repayment plan. It's also good to know that Federal education loans and Consolidation loans do not have a prepayment penalty. If you do send extra money you should always attach a letter with the extra payment indicating that the money is to be applied to the principal.

There are three main reasons to consolidate your student loans including having a single monthly payment, access to alternate repayment plans and the ability to reset 3 year clock on deferments and forbearance . Before consolidating, always evaluate the benefits provided by the current holder of your loans. You can also change the repayment schedule on your student loans once per year. Oh, and don't worry about student loans affecting your credit report negatively because it doesn't. Education debt is considered good debt on your credit because it represents an investment that generally increases your ability to earn money to repay debt.

Now that I'm starting to learn a bit more about the process maybe it's time to consolidate my own student loans that I seem to be drowning in.