consolidating student loans

[saiyagirl]

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i'm trying to learn more about this but can't seem to find any useful information (or at least any that makes sense to me).

i have subsidized stafford loans from the past four years of college. i'm starting med school in august. is it too late to consolidate my loans?

can i consolidate private loans as well?

where do i go to consolidate?

thanks.

 

[mpp]

It is probably best to talk to the financial aid office at your medical school regarding loan consolidation because it can be very complicated depending on the type of loans you already have.

It is never 'too late' to consolidate loans. However, consolidating right now may not be in your best interest. If you have outstanding Stafford loans with variable rates, there is no reason to consolidate these since rates are so low right now. You can always lock in the rates when new higher rates are announced (they are always announced prior to going into affect giving you time to decide what to do). The one problem with loan consolidation is that you lose any benefits that your lender provided under the previous loan which probably includes no capitalization of interest until you are finished with medical school. Talk to your financial aid office to discuss what options are available. It is true that every website out there in regards to loan consolidation is confusing (especially for medical students) but it is a confusing issue. A good place to start is the AAMC financial aid website (link) although it is quite confusing in and of itself but it at least addresses medical student concerns.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

saiyagirl,
Did you try looking in the financial aid forum before posting this? Loan consolidation has been brought up over there numerous times and mpp has had a lot of input.

Moving to financial aid...