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| Student Loan Debt Lowering |
 Rule #2: Shop around
Be smart about what sources of funding you select to make up the gap, if you know your financial aid package won't cover all your school costs and living expenses. It is better not to rely on high-interest rate credit cards. Be careful about taking out private loans because unlike federal loans, they have variable interest rates, are usually costlier loans, contain no loan forgiveness or cancellation features, and are unsubsidized (You have to pay the interest on your loans immediately, while you're in school. If you have a subsidized federal loan, the government pays the interest on your debt while you're enrolled at least half-time). Be sure you shop around and get the best possible deal from your lender, whether you select a federal or private loan. Look for lenders that offer few or no loan origination fees, lower interest rates for automatic deductions, or better rates for making a specific number of payments on time. A lot of lenders will cut your interest rate after you've made 48 timely payments. Some of them will even slash your student loan interest rate after you've made 10 on time payments. Lender My Rich Uncle discounts federal loan rates by up to 1.75% right upon repayment. You get a lower interest rate as soon as you begin repaying your loans, not years later.
Rule #3: Be wise about consolidating
Be sure you don't consolidate in ways that could hurt you in the long run. For example, don't consolidate  private and federal loans together. If you want to consolidate Perkins loans, they have better forgiveness benefits for people who go into teaching, and you can lose those benefits if you consolidate them.
Rule #4: Demand rational behavior and accountability from schools
Not long time ago, the New York Times reported on a trend about how many schools were artificially raising the price of tuition to help their college rankings and to appear more attractive to students and families. These schools think: if we cost more, prospective students and their families will automatically assume we're "better" schools. But this crazy logic has worked. One of the reasons colleges get away with charging sky-high tuition rates is that they know many parents will do whatever it takes, and make sacrifices - even unwise ones - just to help their children obtain a college degree. Be aware of these kinds of tactics. Speak with your school officials and find out if what they charge really covers the cost of education or if that money's going elsewhere.
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