Only allowed to re-fi once?

[CargoJon]

I understand that you're only allowed to re-fi / consolidate Federal Student loans once...

 

However, what happens if I graduate, re-fi, and two years later go back for Master's Degree? Can you re-fi again after than or are you stuck with all the loans separate for that.

 

I want to re-fi as soon as I graduate to get rid of the "you have too many accounts with balances" BS on my reports...but don't want to screw myself if I go for the Masters either....

[tootie357]

hi cj. you want to make sure you refi at the lowest possible interest rate. not sure how that all works out but i just refied and they took the average of the two rates and gave me my current rate. i consolidated after my bachelor's degree and consolidated again after my first master's degree. so glad to get rid of sallie mae. second degree is cash only. learned my lesson even though it's good debt.

[CargoJon]

hi cj. you want to make sure you refi at the lowest possible interest rate. not sure how that all works out but i just refied and they took the average of the two rates and gave me my current rate. i consolidated after my bachelor's degree and consolidated again after my first master's degree. so glad to get rid of sallie mae. second degree is cash only. learned my lesson even though it's good debt.

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Thanks...so it sounds like they let you consol after each degree. That's what I was hoping

[tootie357]

yes but i think because i had different lenders. for undergrad i had sallie and for grad i had citibank (very accurate reporting for me which i really apprciate)

[ziggypop]

If you're consolidating additional loans that were not included in the original consolidation, you can re-consolidate, regardless of who the loans are with. You don't even need a new degree -- just loans that weren't originally included in the consolidation. To figure out the interest rate, though, they will take the weighted averages of the consolidation loans (i.e., the interest rate of the undergrad loans and the interest rate of the new consolidation, weighted depending on the amounts of the loans in each) and that will be your interest rate. Note that that's the current way it's done. They're talking about changing the consolidation loans to variable rate loans, and at that point, it's anyone's guess as to how it will be done, but you'd still be able to consolidate them together, regardless (assuming that they don't change that part as well -- I don't think they're looking at that part, but you never know). The change would only affect those loans consolidated after the date the change goes into effect.

 

Hope this helps!