Consolidate Student Loans - Those Loan Bills Are Piling Up- Don’t Tear Your Hair Out Yet

April 23, 2008 Consolidate Student Loans No Comments

 By Susan_Schmidt

Most college graduates entering the workforce today have a new bills coming in in the form of student loan payments. These student loans may have been deferred or interest-only up to now - but NOW they are coming due - Yikes!

With too many loans from too many different lenders, each with different rules and interest rates, it can be very confusing. And the interest on the loans is usually growing before the graduate is really aware how huge the student loan debt is growing. It may be time to get advice about how to consolidate student loans.

It’s never too soon to manage your finances, and the next step in organizing student loan debt is to consider a student loan consolidation.

While companies may advertise a easy way to consolidate student loans, until your new lender buys the debt all payments are still due.

There are a few things to know about before making a decision about how to consolidate student loans.

Knowing the competitive rates and likely lenders as well as the difference between federal and private loan programs is key.

It is smart to brush up on the regulations for the debt servicing for student loan consolidation. Some companies have made a specialty out of finding the companies who will perform student loan consolidations. Of course, it may also be possible that your own bank can consolidate student loans.

When you consolidate student loan debt your debt term usually lengthens but the manageability of the debt improves.

The most efficient way to consolidate student loans is to review the entire set of options available to you and check the regulations for each type. Deferments and grace periods, forbearances and program limitations will play a part in your decision to consolidate.

The steps leading to consolidate student loans may not be simple but when complete it can transform a cluster of loans with different rules and payment options into one simple payment.

So to consolidate student loans is not only good debt management, but a way to make life easier as well.

   

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HOPE Scholarship-Lifetime Learning

Tax Credits for Your Tuition Payments 

In late January or early February of each year, qualified students enrolled at EvCC in the previous year receive a 1098T notification from Everett Community College. This notification is related to the federal tax credit programs called the Hope Scholarship or Lifetime Learning Tax Credit.

These tax credit programs may be claimed against federal income taxes for the payment of qualified tuition and related expenses. It is the responsibility of the student and/or individual tax payer to determine his or her eligibility and the deductible amount of tuition/fees.p>

A A college cannot provide you with tax advice, so instead of calling us, you may wish to find out if you might be eligible by reading information at these websites:

http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/signup.jsp?sourceid=2819030

You may also wish to consult the IRS or a tax accountant for assistance. Your own check receipts, credit card statements, or your own copy of your receipt showing tuition paid at the time you registered may support your claim.

Beginning at the end of January, you can review your previous year tuition costs by generating your previous class schedules via the Student Kiosk function on our website. We strongly encourage you to do this in order to doublecheck the dollar amount shown on the 1098T. We are aware that in some cases student loans may not have been calculated properly when the 1098T was printed, so it is important for you to doublecheck.

How do I get to the "HOPE Scholarship" login?

  1. Upon entering the Student Kiosk, click on “Hope Scholarship” in the left column
  2. Enter your student ID
  3. Enter your PIN
  4. Click on “View My 1098-T Data”. You may need to scroll down to see all the information. For each quarter on the list on the screen, you can click on the quarter and see more detail.

NOTE: We strongly recommend that you change your PIN number to a secret code. You can do this by selecting Student Pin Change on the menu in the left column on the Student Kiosk page.

If you believe there is an error on your 1098T, and/or if you do not have computer access you may request written information by submitting a written inquiry (with your name, student ID number, address, phone number and signature) to Administrative Services – Hope Scholarship, EvCC, 2000 Tower Street, Everett, WA 98201.