This week I received the loan application and promissory note for my private student loan consolidation. According to the letter, I’ve been “conditionally approved.” If all of my paperwork is sent back correctly and verified, I’ll be actually approved. If I’m able to consolidate these loans, I’ll cut the interest rate and minimum payment almost in half. I’ll also have a shot at paying them down in less than 5 years.

First I need to send in a long list of documents, including a recent statement from the lender with all the loan information, my latest pay stub, a copy of my driver’s license and degree, and a copy of my marriage license since the original loan is still under my maiden name.

I was on hold for an hour Tuesday night trying to get some questions answered about the documents. The list they sent me wasn’t as clear as the one above.

Once I’ve submitted all of the documents, loan processing will begin. They will verify my employment, check my references, etc. They already ran a credit check to conditionally approve me, but they may run a more detailed credit check before the loan is officially approved.

As I go through this process, I can’t help but think back to six years ago when I first took out student loans. It was a lot easier. I filled out FAFSA, which qualified me for a certain amount of student loans. Then I filled out an application, signed it, and they sent me money. They didn’t ask me any questions about employment or monthly expenses. They didn’t even ask if I fully understood the loan.

I absolutely take full responsibility for my decision to take out these student loans. It was my mistake, and believe me, I’m paying for it now. My point is just that I was only 17 years old when I started my freshman year. Because I was turning 18 within a certain number of months, they allowed me take out loans even though I was a minor.

I understand that student loans exist to ensure that every student has the chance to attend college. That’s great. However, it seems to me that if you’re going to allow a minor or even an 18 year old to take out a loan that can never be discharged, not even in bankruptcy, there should be stricter safe guards in place to prevent predatory lending, especially since repayment doesn’t begin until four or five years later. How can an 18-year-old know if they’ll be able to afford a $300+ a month payment in four years? Most of them don’t even know what their careers will be.

Student loans made it possible for me to go to college. That’s nothing to snuff at. But if I had known what I was getting myself into, I would have borrowed a lot less money than I did. I also would have stayed away from private loans and stuck with low-interest federal loans.

Obviously, I should have known better. But I didn’t, and neither do a lot of 18-year-old kids. I remember thinking that it was a lot of money as I filled out the application. I also thought, “I won’t have to worry about this for another four years. By then I’ll be a college graduate, making a ton of money!” Ha. Yeah right.

I remember how I thought about money at 18, and I think about the other 18 year olds I knew. I can’t help but think, “No wonder so many people my age are in this mess.”

Last night I called Chase to find out more information about consolidating my private student loan debt for a lower interest rate. I was hesitant to call. With the stock market rebounding yesterday, part of me wanted to wait another week or so to see if the credit market stabilizes a little.

The truth is I was just being a chicken. The economic crisis isn’t going anywhere in the next 6 weeks, so I figured I might as well get this out of the way to find out my options.

Not only do they still offer private loan consolidation, but I’m approved! I answered all of the questions over the phone, they ran a credit report, and approved me based on my credit score, income, etc. Now they’ll send me a loan application and promissory note, which I’ll sign and return with the necessary legal documents.

Honestly, just finding a lender who is willing to issue this type of loan was the hardest part. I’ve worked hard over the past year to raise my credit score, and it seems to be paying off. I doubt I could have gotten this loan in this economic market without a good credit score to back me up.

Depending on the interest rate they offer me, I could see a 50% decrease in my current interest rate. That’s going to translate into thousands of dollars by the time the loan is paid off. It will also mean a lower monthly payment. We’ll continue to send the amount we’ve budgeted for debt repayment ($325 a month plus additional snowflakes), but more of our payment will be going toward the principal instead of interest.

This is a huge relief. I’m hoping now that I’ll be able to get the loan processed without any kinks so I can finally start paying off this debt.

For the past 2 years these student loans have been the source of a huge amount of anxiety for me. They’ve been in voluntary forbearance, which means my credit score has not be adversely affected even though I’m not currently making monthly payments, but the interest has continued to compound. I hated that they were continuing to accrue interest, but I just couldn’t pay both my credit card debt and student loan debt at the same time under our previous financial situation.

I decided it would be best to put the student loans on the back burner so I could focus on getting out of credit card debt. Credit card companies aren’t as forgiving of missed monthly payments as student loan lenders, and they don’t offer voluntary forbearance. They also have higher interest rates.

Watching this debt grow as the interest has continued to compound and knowing that I’m not doing anything about it has been the hardest part. Now that I’m on my way to paying it down, I already feel a lot better. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve managed to get out of credit card debt, which was once equally overwhelming, so I’m feeling encouraged.

I just hope it continues to go smoothly!