Re:OT but can someone fill me in... (Score 1)

Right now, Federal Stafford Loan interest rates are at the lowest that they have ever been -- 2.82% in-school, 3.42% after the loan goes into repayment. And if you consolidate the loan using a Federal Consolidation Loan, the consolidation loan gets fixed at the Stafford Loan's current interest rate (rounded to the next eighth), so you can get a 2.875% loan immune from future interest rate increases. It's pretty sweet, but note that you are also immune from interest rate decreases, so if rates rise a lot by the time you are ready to consolidate, consolidation might not be such a hot idea. (However, the interest rate could only go about 1.1% lower than it is right now, even in theory, and that would require a 91-day T-Bill at zero percent.)

But for the moment, anyway, Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Consolidation are a wonderful thing. Not as wonderful as free money, but a heck of a lot better than credit cards.

And yeah, I do student financial aid for a living, so I'd be remiss if I didn't say: be sure to check with your school's Financial Aid Office for more details.