Federal loan consolidation

I just started repayment on my federal student loans and am considering
consolidation (yeah, I realize I should have done this a month ago).
>From what I understood, the interest rate should be the same no matter
what company you go with, because it's a federal program, the
incentives just might be different. Is this correct? I applied
through two different websites, and one is telling me my current
interest rate on my loans is 7.25% (NextStudent), and the other is
5.375% (Priority Student Loans). With on-time payments for a certain
period and automatic debit, they will reduce to 6% and 4.125%,
respectively. Why is this so different? Consolidating at the higher
interest would do me no good, but I'm more familiar with Next
Student. Does anyone have experience with Priority Student Loans? The
actual lender is ACS, and from what I've read they seem pretty new.

Priority Student Loans seems to have given you incorrect out-of-date rates.

For variable rate Staffords the consolidation rate is now 7.25% as
quoted by NextStudent. That 5.375% from Priority is what you would have
had if you consolidated before July 1.

Yes, the government sets the rates but individual lenders can offer
incentives. Shop around.

Consolidation will freeze the rate, which otherwise will go up (or down)
next July 1.

But consolidation also rounds up your current rates to the next 1/8 of a
point. The current unconsolidated rate for you is 7.143% so unless
somebody offers attractive incentives you might want to consider not
consolidating until next June when the new rates for 7/1/07 will be
known - if they are going up you consolidate before July 1, if they are
going down (not likely at the moment) you wait. Factor in any incentives
and do the math.



Steven B. Blank
College Financial Aid Consultants
29 Ives Hill Court
Cheshire, CT 06410
(203)250-7761


tiggs03 wrote:
> I just started repayment on my federal student loans and am considering
> consolidation (yeah, I realize I should have done this a month ago).
>>From what I understood, the interest rate should be the same no matter
> what company you go with, because it's a federal program, the
> incentives just might be different. Is this correct? I applied
> through two different websites, and one is telling me my current
> interest rate on my loans is 7.25% (NextStudent), and the other is
> 5.375% (Priority Student Loans). With on-time payments for a certain
> period and automatic debit, they will reduce to 6% and 4.125%,
> respectively. Why is this so different? Consolidating at the higher
> interest would do me no good, but I'm more familiar with Next
> Student. Does anyone have experience with Priority Student Loans? The
> actual lender is ACS, and from what I've read they seem pretty new.
>