Consolidate!

[Pureride]

What are the different companies/banks that offer consolidation? I am getting ready to start my internship and I was told that they would be knocking down my door at this point. Does anyone know of a good website or any general info on consolidation companies?

Are we supposed to consolidate towards the end of the grace period or before the grace period begins?

Also, does interest accumulate on the unsubsidized loans during the grace period?

Thanks!

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[girlwithaknife]

In answer to one of your questions, unsubsidized loans always accumulate interest, whether you are in school, grace period, or deferment. It is the subsidized loans that do not accumulate interest until you go into repayment.

I have a question that maybe somebody who's in for a long residency can answer. If we consolidate now, we can keep the low interest rate from this year. However, if you're like me and don't have outstanding loans from pre-1993 or whatever, you can only defer payment on the consolidated loan for 3 years, which means either forbearance or going into repayment while we're still on a resident's salary. On the other hand, if we defer for a couple of years, and then consolidate, we can still defer for an additional three years on the consolidated loan. Of course, then we risk ending up with a much higher interest rate.

What are some of you planning on doing? I've got at least 5 years of post-grad training ahead of me, and I can't see starting $1000+ monthly payments during my 4th year of residency. On the other hand, I can't resist taking advantage of such a low permanent interest rate. Anybody else in this quandary?

I guess it would help if I knew the true meaning of "forbearance". Does it have a negative impact on your credit rating?