When you went to college, you got a check each semester for your loan
When you left college your loans showed up on your credit report once for each check you received
Yet you only make one payment not multiple payments for each semester
Why is this important?
Having so many open student loan accounts dilutes your credit reportThis makes it harder to improve your credit score when you do things like use a rent reporting service
If you have 10 open accounts and add 1 more it is only a 9% increase in payment history, if you have 3 open accounts and and 1 more its a 25% impactIt's like throwing a pebble into a pond and expecting a big splash, it wont happen
Consolidating your loans reduces your loans to 1 accountThe balance is the same, just merging the loans into one account number
Avoiding the Student Loan Pitfall
The Pitfall or ALL Pitfalls
If you do not consolidate your student loans and you end up 30 day late payment penalty one month
All of the student loans on your report will be marked 30 days late
Eight student loan accounts will = Eight 30 Day late payments
Expect your credit score to drop over 200+ points for this one mistake
