Should I be anxious?

[reggae girl]

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I called a few consolidation companies, GL, THE, to name a few and I was told that I could not (it was federally prohibited) consolidate my private loans and federal undergrad loans. But I found one company a month back that said it was o.k. I have their application at home just waiting for my signature. Besides using the Better Business Bureau to check if the company is legit, is there anything else I should be researching?

 

[jf]

As far as I know, you can't consolidate your private loans with your fed loans. If a company is saying that you can, i would be hesitant to do business with them. I would advice you to choice a company that is well know and has been around a long time. Worst case scenario, if you go with a small company and they fold, your loans will be sold. All borrower benefits promised by that company run the risk of being lost if your loans are sold. I chose to go with Sallie Mae which is the larget loan consolidation player around. Chances are my loans will not get sold, and I don't foresee them folding in the near future. I also looked into graduate lending who look like they have a good offer (probably the best around. I was just concerned that they have no track record yet and since they are a middleman it is one more step of processing. I don't want risk losing the benefits of consolidation before July 1, as the rates are up about 2-2.5%.

Good Luck

 

[reggae girl]

Hey all, thanks for the advice. Paendrag, even with the interest rate difference between the private and federal loan, my final interest is fixed at 3.375%. JF, I feel you. My private loan and my Stafford loans are with Citibank, very reputable, so I'm leaning towards consolidating with them but it still would be nice to consolidate everything together.