What Is Federal Student Loan Consolidation?

So, the time has come for you to start refinancing your college loans.  You’ve graduated from college, the celebration has passed, and then it hits you.  It’s time to take responsibility and pay for your student loans.  But how do you go about it?  It can be pretty difficult: making all those monthly payments to all those lenders on time.  Why don’t you consolidate your student loans? 

Yes!  Federal Student Loan Consolidation is a refinancing program that combines all your existing federal student loans into one new loan at a fixed interest rate.  Consolidating your loans is really a great tool that will help you manage your finances.  It provides immediate payment relief and other long term benefits. 

So now, you don’t have to worry yourself about coming up several monthly payments to several lenders.  You only pay a single monthly payment to one lender at a lower and fixed interest rate. 

What is payment relief?

In federal student loan consolidation, one of the key benefits is payment relief.  When you combine all of your student loans into one consolidated loan, you can extend your repayment period for the usual 10 years for up to 30 years!  But of course, this depends on the total amount of your school debts.

And by stretching your repayment term, your monthly payment is sure to decrease dramatically.  Now, you will have the money to meet other living expenses such as housing expenses, car payments, and other career-related necessities.  And, since there are no penalties for overpayments or prepayments, you can make larger payments even before the scheduled time when it becomes affordable for you. 

What qualifies for federal student loan consolidation?

This may include Federal Stafford Loan consolidation, Direct Loan Consolidation PLUS Loan consolidation, and also HEAL Loans, Perkins Loans, and all other Federal FFELP and Direct Loans taken to pay for your college education.

Can I include my eligible private student loans?

For that, you could go for a private student loan consolidation.  But this is different because then you will lose your federal loan benefits if you consolidate your federal student loans into a private loan consolidation.    

Where can I apply for a federal student loan consolidation?

You can go online to check out the websites of the different dealers.  In fact, online application is even available at some of these sites, so you can start consolidating your loans in just a matter of minutes. 

Overall, you should try federal student loan consolidation to aide you in refinancing your education loans.