NelNet Student Loan Consolidation Review

If you are considering consolidating your student loan debt, you may want to consider consolidating through Nelnet. This organization services Direct Consolidation Loans offered by the U.S. Department of Education, which allows you to consolidate your federal student loan debt to eliminate multiple payments to multiple lenders. Nelnet is a legitimate servicer of debt consolidation loans.

Advantages of Student Loan Consolidation

Other than combining multiple payments into one, there are other advantages to consolidating your student loans with Nelnet. You may be able to get a lower interest rate, which may save you money over time. In most cases, you will have lower monthly payments, because the term of the loan will be extended. Nelnet does not charge a consolidation fee, so you aren’t charged for consolidation your student loan debt.

Disadvantages of Student Loan Consolidation

Although extending the loan term will lower your monthly payments, this will also result in paying more interest over time, so you may not be saving money, even if you get a lower interest rate. You will also not be eligible for federal student loan programs such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness.

Eligibility Requirements

If you have graduated or are attending classes part-time, or you have withdrawn, you are eligible for a Nelnet student loan if you have a federal student loan. Nelnet does not consolidate private loans, so if that is the majority of your student loan debt, then you may want to consider a different lender. You can apply for a student loan consolidation online or you can mail in a paper application. The Nelnet website is extremely easy to navigate, so you may want to go online to see the details of their consolidation loans.

Stay Current with Your Payments

Although it can be difficult to stay current with multiple student loan payments, it is important to keep making your monthly payments throughout the consolidation process. Defaulting on a federal student loan may prevent you from receiving a debt consolidation loan. You are responsible for making the payments until the consolidation has been approved, and then you are responsible for repaying the consolidation loan.

While a student loan debt consolidation does have some disadvantages, many people choose to consolidate because of the lower monthly payments and the convenience of making one monthly payment. If you can get a low interest rate, then you may be able to save money over time.