Consolidating federal stafford student loans

04-Sep-2020 11:13

One option you have when you begin tackling your student loan debt is to explore student loan debt consolidation.

But before you head down that road, here’s what you should know.

For more information on student loan consolidation and to determine if this option is right for you, check out our student loan consolidation guide.

default on their student loans and though the average repayment time varies by amount owed, it’s safe to say it’s probably going to take at least 10 years and might take as long as 30 years.

The Direct Consolidation Loan allows you to consolidate multiple federal student loans into one.

You combine all your student loans, take out one big consolidation loan and use it to pay off all the others.

Choosing to consolidate your loans is an individual choice and the right decision will depend on the specifics of your loans — the types of loans, interest rates, balances, borrower benefits, and more — as well as your current financial situation.

It’s important to remember that there are different types of loans — most significantly, there’s a big difference between federal loans (those issued by the U. government) and private loans (those issued by a bank, credit union, or other lending institution).

Hopefully, you tried to take advantage of financial aid in college — specifically, federal student loans — before turning to private loans, which often carry a higher interest rate and come with fewer borrower benefits.

If you did, you may want to learn how to specifically consolidate these federal loans.Unlike federal loans, these loans are not managed by the government.