Whether you are a student still in school or a new graduate facing a whole new life, one thing most of you have in common are the student loans you or your family took on to put you through college. For those of you still in school the sooner you prepare yourselves for how you will pay for your loans after graduation and understanding what your options are, the better prepared you will be to take appropriate action before you get in over your head. Securing a good job paying enough to cover your living expenses and your student loans doesn't always happen as quickly as most graduates had hoped.

For new graduates with student loan grace periods due to expire, the thoughts of a student loan refinance or consolidation may be whirling inside your head - "Should I refinance my student loans? Where do I start? Who do I contact and which option is best..?

Whatever your circumstances may be, there are things you can do to make a student loan refinance much easier. The following answers to the most common questions will help get you started.

What should I do first?

1) Find out what kind and how many loans you presently have. To do so you can either review your loan documents, contact your the lenders of each student loan, or you can obtain the information online by visiting the US Department Of Education National Student Loan Data System - (NSLDS) They allow you access to information on loan amounts and the status of your student loans.

2) Find out the "Grace Period" of each of your student loans so you know exactly how much and when your first payment is due for each loan.

3) Figure out your finances ahead of time, before you attempt to file for a student loan refinance. You must first determine whether your monthly loan payments exceed the amount you have set aside to pay your student debts with so you know up front what you can comfortably afford to do next.

Is a student loan refinance right for me?

If you're a new graduate, in most cases refinancing your student loans before all the payments come due is the best choice to make especially if securing your finances with a high paying job may not happen right away.

A student loan refinance can save you hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars before you ever start paying for all your loans. Waiting till your in financial distress is not the way to approach this situation. Student loan refinancing is only available to students and graduates who have never been late on their student loan payments or pay them on time.Once you're in default on a loan payment the chance of obtaining a student loan refinance is slim at best.

The only time a you should hesitate to refinance is if your present loans are close to being paid off. The one set back to refinancing student loans is the fact that it extends the time till the loan is paid off. Sometimes as long as 15 to 20 years!

While it's true choosing the student loan refinance option will give you extra money that you may need now, it may not be worth it in the long run if you are close to paying off the loans you have.

Once you have gone through this checklist you'll be ready to apply for a student loan refinance easily. With all your information you need to begin in hand, you can now proceed to choosing a lender

Who do I contact?

The best place to start is with your current lender as they already have your information to begin a student loan refinance for you right away. Remember, the deadline for locking in the lowest rate you will be able to get for some time to come is June 30th, 2006. The interest rate hike the US Senate put into place takes effect the following day on July 1st.