According to NextStudent, the Phoenix-based premier education funding company, borrowers' credit scores may be improved through student loan consolidation . When borrowers consolidate their federal student loans , they pay off the outstanding balances on their pre-existing loans with the new consolidation loan. These "payments in-full" then are reflected on the borrowers' credit reports, revitalizing poor credit or supporting excellent credit and enabling borrowers to qualify for lower interest rates on mortgages and car loans.

Federal student loan consolidation is made possible by a program created by Congress to help students with student loan repayment by extending the loan term to 30 years to lower monthly payments by up to 60 percent. This program is intended to help the newly graduated student headed into the working world and parents concerned with cash flow.

Federal student consolidation loans are fixed-rate loans, whereby the interest rate is determined by taking a weighted average of the interest rates on all student loans to be consolidated and rounding up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent or 8.25 percent, whichever is less. Because this is a federal program, lenders must qualify to become part of the program and must use the same terms to determine the consolidated interest rate. The only real difference among lending companies offering student loan consolidation are the incentive packages they offer at consolidation.

NextStudent assigns each borrower a personal Education Finance Advisor to help guide students and parents through the consolidation loan process. NextStudent's easy online application with Electronic Signature enables borrowers to secure student loans in as little as 15 minutes. Consolidation with NextStudent is free of charge and there are no fees or prepayment penalties. Student loan consolidation is a smart financial strategy, and it is easy to qualify for the NextStudent Federal Student Loan Consolidation Program. All a student or parent needs to qualify is a total of $10,500 or more that includes at least two federal student loans. Consolidation helps borrowers manage their loans by lowering monthly payments up to 60 percent and eliminating multiple check writing. The program does not require credit checks or co-signers and is a great way to make student loans more manageable.

About NextStudent

NextStudent, federal lender code 834051, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education finance products and services including a free online scholarship search engine, federally guaranteed parent and student loans, private student loans , both federal and private student loan consolidation programs, and college savings plans.

The NextStudent Scholarship Search Engine, one of the nation's oldest and largest scholarship search engines, is updated daily, available free of charge, completely private -- and represents 2.4 million scholarships worth $3.4 billion.