Over $60 billion is allocated by the Federal Government every year to be given out in student loans. The first step in getting a federal student loan is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which can be done on the Internet. In order to be eligible for a federal student loan you must be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen, posses a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate and be able to demonstrate that you are in need of financial assistance for studies.

You can be disqualified from getting a federal student loan if you have a conviction on charges of doing drugs or possessing of drugs. In such cases, there may be a chance of getting student loans from the state, however. Try filling out the form anyway and verify the status later.

Its better to obtain student loan directly from the government agency and not through some private agency that may be a scam. Millions of dollars are pocketed by such frauds every year

There may come a time after taking out student loans when you feel overwhelmed by all of your student loan payments. A student loan consolidation could offer you a lower rate of interest. If you are close to defaulting on your student loans or are having trouble with paying the monthly installments on your student loans, a student loan consolidation can help you. If you consolidate while you are in school, you must give up your six month grace period however. Student loan consolidations renew your deferment options if you have already exhausted the deferment options on your existing federal student loans. Student loan consolidations can be utilized by anyone with one or more federal student loans, and it’s free of any cost!

Planning To Become Debt Free With A Consolidation Loan

If you have multiple debts, and are struggling to meet the monthly payments, then there's a good chance you will want to consider, now or later, a consolidation loan to become debt free.

If you have already studied your monthly expenditure and can see no way to make savings, and find you have no way of earning extra money, then your next option may be a free debt consolidation loan.

By free, I mean no extra charges or arrangement fee for the consolidation loan; your chances of getting an interest free consolidation loan are just about zero, unless you have a rich relative or friend. Should you go down the debt consolidation route, try to avoid any loan arrangement which involves upfront fees, or any extra fees at all for that matter. Whether that is possible will depend on where you live, but in the UK, it is not difficult to get a free debt consolidation loan.

One benefit of a consolidation loan is that it does give you a chance to plan your finances in a way that could, if you're careful, make you debt free by the end of the period of the loan. By debt free, I will be realistic and mean "debt free apart from home mortgage", which most people have little option about, and mortgage debt can be worthwhile financially anyway.
Taking out a debt consolidation loan will not, of course, make you instantly debt free. However, it may be that such a loan will give you a chance to structure your finance plan over a 3, 5 or 7 year period. With the correct attitude and perseverance, this may be an excellent opportunity to improve your finances in the long term, resulting in being debt free by the end of the loan period.

The consolidation loan will reduce your monthly outgoings, thus giving you the opportunity to save. By getting into the saving habit instead of debt habit, you will be able to set aside money to pay cash for the things you need in the future; if you are determined and disciplined, even that next car purchase can be in cash, rather than an expensive loan. The result: you become debt free.

In the financial reality of a consumer, if you cannot to afford to pay cash for something, then you probably cannot really afford it at all. The one exception is the house, where the investment potential and rent saving change the financial aspect.

Can you imagine, waking up at the end of the consolidation loan term and finding yourself debt free? What a nice feeling!