Student loan giant Sallie Mae offers these debt-consolidating tips:

* Contact your college’s financial aid office for advice and referrals.
* Watch for false deadlines: Applications need to be in by midnight June 30.
* Know that consolidations are fee-free by law, but not interest rate-free.
* Compare borrower benefits program — they can differ significantly.
* Get accurate savings estimates.
* Enter into a lender relationship knowing it may last 30 years.
* Save time and apply online — it also catches any application errors immediately.

Also, for those borrowers who have a problem with their federal student loan or lender, the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman at the U.S. Department of Education may be able to help resolve the dispute.

© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Friday, May 5, 2006 at 10:47 am and is filed under Financial Aid, Student Loan. Tags: College, Education News, Financial Aid, Sallie Mae, Student, Student Loan, Student loan giant, U.S. Department of Education, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.