Student borrowers who may have missed the July 1 deadline to consolidate their student loans before the interest rate increase need to know they still can consolidate at low rates especially if students are in their grace period. NextStudent, the Phoenix-based premier education funding company, advises students with federal Stafford loans issued prior to July 1 to consolidate today and automatically receive a .6 percent reduction on already low rates.

Federal student loan consolidation bundles together all of a student borrower’s loans into one easy, manageable monthly payment. Savings over the long term can add up to thousands. NextStudent’s benefits and incentives bring down interest rates even more. In addition, with federal student loan consolidation there are no charges, fees or prepayment penalties.

Lower Rates in Grace Period

For student borrowers who had student loans prior to July 1, 2006, the initial interest rate on loan consolidation with a .6 percent rate reduction while in grace period is 6.625 percent, as opposed to the new repayment rate of 7.25 percent on student loans. The 6.625 percent rate can be reduced with NextStudent’s aggressive incentives:

• An interest rate reduction of .25 percent for student borrowers when they sign up with Auto Debit and have their payments deducted automatically • An added interest rate reduction of 1 percent that is locked for the life of the loan following the first 36 consecutive on-time payments, OR an interest rate reduction of 2 percent following 48 consecutive on-time payments

It’s Easy to Apply for Consolidation

By bundling together all of a student’s loans and extending the repayment period, borrowers save time and money over the long term. Depending on a borrower’s balance repayment can be extended as long as 30 years. In addition, NextStudent offers the advantage of various options on repayment, including graduated repayment and income-sensitive repayment. There also are deferment and forbearance options available.

As consolidation rates are much lower than current student loan rates, now is the perfect time to consolidate and save money. Applying for NextStudent’s federal Student Loan Consolidation program does not take much time and easily is done online. NextStudent’s application is hassle-free and can be completed in four easy steps with Electronic Signature. There is no need for a co-signer and there are no credit checks. Student borrowers do not even need to know the details of their current student loan portfolio. Now is the perfect time for student borrowers who missed the deadline to consolidate the student loans they had prior to July 1, 2006. By consolidating before the end of the grace period student borrowers can receive a low interest rate and sign up with NextStudent for other aggressive incentives to help them save even more over the long term. Student loan consolidation can rid borrowers of too many unwanted monthly bills and help make life easier and less expensive.