Medical Student Loan Consolidation – 3 Tips
Med students have a lot to worry about: there are the super-challenging studies, the thousands of medical terms to commit to memory, and . . . oh yeah . . . that ever-looming medical student loan debt.
Just the thought of the sheer amount of student loan debt that a med student is racking up can be enough to distract him or her from their studies. That is why med students get so good at pushing the reality of their debt out of their minds.
Upon graduation, however, the story changes. The newly-christened doctor can now start their medical practice or begin work at a hospital. The paychecks start rolling in. And, soon, the lenders start mailing out their monthly statements. The great repayment process begins.
And, repayment is no trivial thing: medical students can easily rack up a few hundred thousand dollars in student loan debt. That can translate into huge monthly payments.
Why Medical Loans Are Harder To Pay Off These Days?
Medical loans are harder than ever to pay off. This is due to a number of factors. For one, average med school tuition costs increase every year, meaning that the education itself is just plain more expensive. Then, there is the widely-acknowledged fact that doctors are paid less than they used to; earning power is simply on the decline.
Multiple Loans Are Harder To Handle
What compounds the situation for many medical students is having multiple student loans. Having multiple loans is a hard situation to handle. There are multiple payment amounts and monthly payment due dates to deal with. There are multiple lenders. And, there are different interest rates to deal with, possibly some fixed and some variable.
One Solution: Medical Student Loan Consolidation
For medical school graduates who have multiple loans and are interested in lowering their total monthly payments, an ideal solution is to consolidate the loans. Doing so allows them to lower their payments by stretching out the loan terms over more years, to say 20 or 30 years. It also allows them to have just one interest rate, which is usually a fixed rate. And, having just one payment to make every month makes making payments that much more manageable.
If you are a medical school graduate interested in loan consolidation, these 3 tips can help:
1. Decide: Federal Or Private:
You will need to first decide whether federal or private loan consolidation is right for you. Essentially, if your existing student loans are federal loans, you will need a federal consolidation loan. If private, you will need a private consolidation loan.
2. Determine Your Ideal Repayment Period:
As mentioned above, the repayment period you choose greatly influences the amount of your monthly payments. Of course, it also increases the cost of your loans in terms of total interest paid over the life of the loan. Try to elect for the shortest repayment period possible while still being able to manage your monthly payments.
3. Apply:
For federal consolidation loans, you will want to visit the U.S. Board of Education website and apply there. For private loans, you are advised to find and evaluate up to 5 lenders. Apply to each one and see how their offers shake out. Obviously, by applying to multiple lenders, you increase your chances of qualifying for the best-possible loan at the lowest interest rate.
Medical student loan consolidation can help you simplify your financial life while lowering your monthly payments. Follow these tips to help get yourself the best deal possible for your new loan.
Author Bio: Get more info and helpful tips on medical student loan consolidation, check out: Medical Student Loan Consolidation Tips
Category: Finances
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