It can be overwhelming when you first sit down to tackle your student loan debt and see how much the balance has grown since you left school. You can spend hours researching repayment options, forgiveness programs, ways to reduce the interest, or whether bankruptcy is an option, only to feel like you’re trying to navigate an endless obstacle course.
This is where a student loan counselor can help. While you can do everything that an advisor would do yourself — review your debt, contact student loan servicers, change repayment plans — getting help from a person whose been in the trenches of battling student loan debt can help you quickly work through your situation or at least confirm whether your strategy makes sense.
Ahead, learn what a student loan consultant is, the benefits and cost of hiring one, and a list of the best consulta
A student loan consultant is an advisor focused on helping borrowers deal strategically with their private and federal student loan debt, including choosing the best repayment option, qualifying for loan forgiveness options, and assessing ways to minimize interest.
The consultant can be a certified student loan specialist or a financial advisor for most student loan issues. However, if you’ve defaulted on a loan, are facing a lawsuit, or are thinking of filing bankruptcy to deal with your debt, meeting with a student loan lawyer is a better option.
A student loan consultant can help you:
The quality of student loan advice you get from a consultant or financial professional can vary considerably. As a result, finding qualified student loan counseling services to help with your education debt can take time and effort. When hiring a consultant to help with your situation, look for these three factors.
Specialized certification: A financial advisor or other professional doesn’t need specialized training to help student loan borrowers. However, the student loan system is complex, and the options available to solve issues are many. Ideally, the hired person will have undergone rigorous training through a licensure or certification program like the CSLP®.
Prolonged experience: With student loans being a hot button issue in America, all types of businesses are popping up, claiming they’re capable of helping with your financial situation. To avoid being a scam victim, check to see how long the consultant has been helping student loan borrowers, what type of people they’ve helped, who their average client is, and what type of problems they’ve solved.
Client testimonials: Read the advisor’s online reviews. Pay special attention to the negative feedback or the absence of it. If an advisor’s been doing this long enough, someone, somewhere, will have shared critical feedback — no matter how great the advisor. See how the advisor addressed the critique. In addition, ask if they can share case studies or video testimonials from previous clients.
For example, here’s a video from a woman I helped settle $187 thousand in private student loan debt for $50 thousand over a few years instead of a lump sum payment.
