Going to a college or university is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your lifetime. It may determine many things that happen in the span of your life including what kind of job you will get, how good your job salary might be and also how much debt may come along with you college decision. Choosing a college based on the amount of student loan debt you will have may not seem like a big decision, but it is. Student loan debt seems to be constantly on the rise and it is very important to plan before choosing your college whether or not you think the debt will be worth the diploma. The cost of colleges has increased with inflation so make sure that you are getting proper information on the cost of classes and semesters.

The current interest rate for subsidized and unsubsidized loans that were granted between July 1998 and June 2006 currently in repayment is 2.48% and 1.88% during in school, grace period or deferment. If the loan was granted after July 2006 it is a fixed 6.80%. However the rates are currently on a decline with rates expected to be as low as 3.40% in 2011-2012 only to jump back up to 6.8% the next year. With interest rates this high it is very likely the debt will accrue very easily. There are several ways to try to decrease your student loan amount before you even start. Most high schools offer several opportunities to receive scholarships and grants to help you with funding for your college education. If you qualify for them they can prove very helpful to you down the road.

Student loan relief is available to many if you can qualify for any of the criteria. The federal government will cancel part or even all of your student loan depending on the amount covered or you participation in the specific area. Some ways to qualify for student loan relief are: military service, certain volunteer work such as the peace corps or Americorps among others, if you teach or preform medical duties in some areas you could qualify, and a few other criteria could qualify you.

There are many questions as to whether or not it is a smart idea to consolidate your student loans or if it will hurt you in the end more. When you consolidate your loan you are basically taking a few small loans and making them into one big loan. The company that you consolidate with will normally offer you a smaller interest rate than you were originally paying but not always, and also you will only have one payment on the loan since it is all wrapped into one now. So it will lower the minimum amount of money that is due each month on your loan. If you loan amounts are really small or really large consolidation might not be in your favor in the long run only because consolidation can stretch your debt out for a longer period of time. Also if you have been paying on your debt for a long period of time already consolidation could be a waste of time and effort.