[finseth]

I have approx. 10 K in student loans at 8.5% interest and 20K at 2.7%. Does it make sense to consolidate these loans or is it better to try and pay down the 10K loan at 8.5%?

Will I be able to get a better interest rate than 8.5%. This is a private loan.

[RubyPitbull]

8.5% is high for a student loan. 2.7% is a good rate and I don't know if you will be able to match it. I would be hesitant to consolidate and lose that rate on the higher loan amount. Shop around locally and see what your options are. If you are still in school, I would go to the administration office and see if they have someone on staff who can offer advice on loan options. If you are out of school and working, stop by your human resources office and see if they have any suggestions or ideas on where you can look. If you don't have a human resource office, talk to a loan manager at your local bank. If they can't help you at the bank, they can at least give you some guidance as to where to look and what options to look for. In any event, don't give up on that 2.7% to combine the two loans into one loan with a higher rate until you run the figures on how much it would cost you at the end of the loan period.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

[Fr_Chuck]

I will agree I am not sure you can beat that 2.7 loan, but of course you can try. You should try and find someone that would refinance the one at 8.5 because it is high for a student loan. But again you said private loan, so perhaps while you call it a student loan it is really perhaps a personal loan that the money was used for education, not truly a student loan.

But one should always check and double check for lower interst rates on all of their debts just being sure to check the true cost of the loan