Once you graduate, you are faced with a hard truth: You are going to have to start paying back your student loan debt. This is a sobering thing to think about. You have a lot of options, but the best two are student loan debt consolidation and student loan debt refinance.

Both are good options, and deciding on which to go with really only comes down to how many loans you have and what type of loans they are. The right plan of attack is going to be based on your interest rates and how many loans you have and how many are federal student loans versus private student loans.

If you have a large number of loans, probably from getting separate financing each semester, there is a high likelihood that you have private loans. If you do have private loans, there is a good chance that the interest rates on them are both high and adjustable.

These loans are best for a student loan consolidation.

In these scenarios, you will actually accomplish quite a few positive goals. First of all, your payments will be lowered just by eliminating multiple payments. However, you will also be able to change all of the adjustable rates into fixed rates. When the economy rebounds and interest rates rise again, you will be unaffected by the shift and locked in at today is financing rate. You will also get the added benefit of getting to miss two months worth of payments on all of the loans.

If you only have one large loan, the best option will be to refinance your student loan debt. It is more than likely that you will run through your deferment time well before you are making enough money to comfortably make your payments. When your deferments run out, it is time to look at the state of your current loan. There are only two reasons to go through with the refinance. If you have an adjustable rate, it is almost imperative that you refinance, and if you are able to lower your interest rate by at least a percentage point, then it will make sense.

If you are not able to accomplish either of these goals, then you are going to be better off with the loans that you already had. You can try to get forbearance, but you are probably already as good as it will get in terms of your actual loan scenario.

There are options for managing your student loan debt. Either through student loan debt consolidation or through refinance you should be able to get your interest rates to a very low rate, and most importantly, get them on fixed rates.