Many lenders are offering student consolidation loan rebate to the borrowers to st that they take their student loan from them. These discounts are offered because according to ‘SINGLE HOLDER RULE’, borrowers are allowed to merge their existing loans with any bank they wish to. The original lenders surely do not want to loose their customers and so they are offering really good discounts.

The main features of student loan consolidation are:

· Reduced interest rates

· Waiver of last 6 months installment

· Reduction in principal amount

· Flexible payment options

All this rebate is offered on Stafford loans and plus loans. The most common discounts offered on student loan consolidation are:

1. 0.25% reduction in rate if your EMI gets debited from your account directly.

2. 1% waiver in default fee depending upon the guarantor for the loan.

3. Additional rebate on making timely payments.

4. 2% reduction in rate after completion of 48 months

Here is how you can get the best student loan consolidation rate:

1. The rate for student loan consolidation will depend on customer’s credit and financial state of affairs. Do a complete research and development on the rebates offered by different lenders and see which one is the lowest.

2. Go for the lender who has multiple and flexible repayment options.

3. Your lender must keep the rate fixed through out the life of the student loan. Search online and compare different type of rates offered by different lenders.

4. With a student loan consolidation, look up for the facility of increment in tenure at a later stage of the loan. Check whether the bank has such scheme or not. With loan consolidation, you can actually low down the installment amount by increasing the life of the loan.

5. If there is an “in school” facility available. If so, get your loan rate freezed while you are in school only.