My student loans are listed indivdually on my credit reports with balances ranging 2K-8K. They are all positive/pays as agrees. My question is should I have these loans consolidated so they list only once vs. the 18 or so individual accounts. Which hurts/helps my score more? Thanks in advance dnsatt
What happened w/ mine was they listed each semester once, and then the total for each year-nearly tripled the amount it looked like I owed, particularly by the time that the administrator started reporting. Not sure what kind of loans you have, but since I just had staffords, and was paying only one entity, I disputed all of the individual loans as sold/tranferred. They were fixed on all 3 reports easily. I did notice score increases on 2 reports; not sure if it was this or other stuff. FYI- Consolidation for student loans right now offers a 5.9% interest rate for any Stafford/Stafford plus loans through the department of education.
Keltexx thanks for responding... I have all Staffords as well...paying Sallie Mae religiously. Great info on the consolidation rate. I wonder if I called Sallie Mae would they change the reporting to one listing. Thanks again...
Consolidation...great! but will it hurt or help my score to have the one listing vs. the multiple. I am not having trouble paying. I would consolidate just to save money on interest. I am in the rebuilding process, not sure if turning multiple positive tradeline although installment into one will help my ultimate goal....your incite is greatly appreciated. dnsatt
Well if you consolidate, all the open accounts will show paid/closed. Which would be a great thing. The only issue is that the consolidate new account would be at 100% of the original loan amount, but it doesn't seem to matter that much with installment loans as it does with revolving credit. Go for it... It certainly would not hurt to show xx paid/closed tradelines.
I agree with Bkev it will not hurt you to consolodate in the long run as it will be obvious to anyone looking that the balances were transferred. (Well, anyway, my husband did his and it didn't seem to cause any grief or harm his score in any way.) However, don't do it if you're planning or need to apply for credit anytime soon. It takes Sallie Mae FOREVER (2-3 months seriously) to get around to actually closing your old account even though they quickly open your new one. So it's likely in the very short term that you'll double the amount you owe - at least on paper. Myschae.
FYI- Consolidation for student loans right now offers a 5.9% interest rate for any Stafford/Stafford plus loans through the department of education. [/B][/QUOTE] The interest rate you quoted is not quite accurate. When you consolidate your Federally guaranteed Student Loans, the consolidator is required to use a federal formula to calculate the interest rate charged. That rate is based on when the loans were originally disbursed. Even the Direct loan program has to follow exactly the same rules and guidelines on rates. On all Stafford Loans disbursed between 7/01/95 and 6/30/98 the rate while in repayment is 6.79%. If your loans were disbursed beginning 7/01/98 to present then your repayment rate is 5.99% If you have loans from both periods then your interest rate will be somewhere in between. If you have either Stafford Loans from a different period or have a different type of Federally Guaranteed Student Loan; Perkins, PLUS, or SLS for example then your rates would be different. Consolidated loans also have the advantage of being fixed rate loans while Stafford loans are variable with a chargeable cap of 8.25%. I do Student Loan Consolidations, so you can be confident that I do know what I am talking about and if you wish to contact me off board my email is turned on. Brian
