Student loan consolidation

I'm almost positive two people can't consolidate their loans together. But you can consolidate loans individually if you have multiple student loans.

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Try sofi.com. I actually consolidated with them after I found out about them on here! I was able to consolidate both Private and Federal loans into one loan. The interest rate they gave me is actually just as low as my lowest rate I was paying before.

Edit: I missed the part where you were consolidating yours and your wife's loans. Yeah I am not sure if you are able to do that.

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Have you been happy with them? My rate is 6.45% and would love to reduce that.

Sofi does refinance, not really consolidation.

Consolidation basically just means rolling all your government loans into one, and the interest rate is a weighted average of your underlying loans, so you don't save any money. But, you do get a single rate and a single check to write.

Sofi basically refinances the loans - tears up the old ones and writes new ones for the total balance. Because of this, you may do both private and government loans. You will have to credit-qualify. You will get a new payment term.

There are certain benefits to government loans like IBR that you lose if you refinance with Sofi.

So... it may be a great idea or a terrible idea depending on your situation.

With the refinance you are likely going to get a 10 year term. But if you keep paying the same amount you are now, you will have it paid off in even less time than your current loan, assuming your interest-rate is lower.

LINK

So it looks like no... but I would call them an ask.

I would think if you get an MBA, you might have a loss in income while you are in school, so that route might get you some help.

Ive heard only bad thing about sofi. good to hear otherwise. I cant tell if the reviews are made up or not. Most say they got denied and have excellent credit and plenty of income, they take forever to apply, and are just stealing info.

One thing to consider for federal loans if you go private, is you will lose your deferment options, Income Based Repayment, and loan forgiveness for nurses and teachers. also when you die the loan dies.

I thought you couldn't claim interest for private but I was wrong. its only 2500$ and if your adjusted income is more than 75k, you get no break.

As far as the tax deduction for student loan interest, no difference between private and government backed.

I don't use sofi (I consolidated my loans back in 2005 and my interest rate is 1.62% fixed). But I have friends and clients who have applied. It seems like the reject rate is pretty high - you have to have really good credit and stable income.

BUT... for those few people that have made it through... they absolutely love it. They say the service is great. Most of them did save at least a couple of points in interest.

You can choose 10, 15, or 30 year plans if I remember correctly. I would recommend going to the website and filling out the application and see what you can get.