Loan Consolidation

If you have more than one loan, especially if you have them from more than one lender, you should probably check into consolidating your loans. That lets you make one payment instead of several each month.

Consolidation generally extends the repayment period, resulting in a lower monthly payment. This may make it easier for you to repay your loans. However, you’ll pay more interest since you’ll be making payments for a longer period of time.

You can consolidate your federal loans into a Federal Consolidation Loan. If you also have private student loans, you can’t consolidate those under a Federal Consolidation Loan. In that case, you should check to see if a private lender offers a refinance loan that lets you consolidate both federal and private loans into one private loan.

Remember that private loans generally have fewer options than federal loans when it comes to forbearances and deferments.

Contact the Direct Loan Consolidation Center for more information at 1.800.557.7392, TTY for the hearing-impaired at 1.800.557.7395.