 TITLE: What Are the Current Interest Rates on Student Loans? CONTENT: How to Reduce Student Loan Interest Rates\n-----------------------------------------\nWhether your student loan is federal or private, there are a few ways to reduce the rate you have.\n*   **Consolidate**. If you have federal loans with interest rates that are higher than what is currently being offered, you may repackage them with a federal direct consolidation loan to get a lower overall rate. There is no extra fee to do this, but you can't include private loans in the mix.\n*   **Refinance.** If you have an excellent credit history, you may also be able to refinance your existing private student loans with a new loan at a lower rate. There could be an origination fee involved, but it can still work out in your favor if the interest rate is significantly lower.\n*   **Pay on Time.** Want to be rewarded for being responsible? You will be if you pay your federal student loans on time. You could receive an interest rate reduction of 1% after 36 months of perfect payments, and 2% after 48 months.\n*   **Enroll in Direct Debit.** To ensure on-time payments, the vast majority of lenders, from federal student loan servicers to private lenders, will give you a break if you enroll in automatic payment systems. The payment is debited from your checking account on a certain day of the month, then delivered to the lender without you having to do anything but monitor your statements. As an incentive, the lender may reduce the interest rate by .25% or even .50%.\nStudent Loans and Your Credit Report\n------------------------------------\nYour student loans will appear on your credit report as soon as they're granted, so it's extremely important that you keep them in good standing and monitor your reports and scores to make sure there are no errors. Your student loans will have a positive impact on your credit scores when you manage them well. You can guarantee that will happen by maintaining a perfect payment history—and as the balance recedes, your credit scores will likely rise! END