Federal Student Loans are easier to pay and brings less long term hassle and panic if these debts are converted into Federal Student Loan Consolidation. Consolidating your loan means that all the different types of student loans you acquired will be combined in one loan. Doing so has many advantages. Since federal student loan interest rates are currently at their lowest, loan consolidation actually means that the interest rate used for the whole duration of your loan is fixed.However, there are also disadvantages when one avails student loan consolidations. It all depends on you, really. If you think it would take you a longer time to pay off your student loan, you will then consequently pay more interest during the course of your whole loan repayment. However, since in consolidating your loans, there are really no penalties in prepayment and if you continually pay the same amount of payments before actually consolidating your loans, the interest you will incur would not increase. You will be able to pay the student loan off faster than when you did not consolidate your loans.One category you could take into consideration regarding federal student loans is availing of the FFEL consolidation loan. This loan program helps any borrower via multiple repayment schedules. Through the FFEL loan consolidation program, only one payment is made each month. In the FFEL program, the student loan consolidation you will be acquiring will be made by a commercial lender, after which credit bureaus will tell you that you already have a zero balance in your account, after doing so you will then sign a fresh promissory note indicating that you will have a new interest rate and schedule of repayment. But, in order to avail of the FFEL student loan consolidation, you must currently be in repayment on the loan you defaulted or that you have been able to make at least three voluntary and on time monthly payments in full.Again, refinancing student loans depends on the borrower. The United States Department of Education does not in any way allow any borrower to refinance a student loan consolidation. But if in case a borrower has an additional federal loan that is not originally included in the loan consolidation, these debts may then be added and calculated again into a another Federal Consolidation Loan. Another advantage when one avails of student loan consolidation is that there are no fees or charges incurred. The United States Department of Education does not in any way make charges or collects any fees to any borrower who avails of the student loan consolidation.So now that the details and advantages have been outlined, the following is a basic list of some student loans that are eligible to be consolidated: PERK – Federal Perkins Loans, formerly Nations Defense/National Direct Student Loans (NDSL), PLUS – Federal PLUS (Parent) Loans, SCON – Subsidized Federal Consolidation Loans, UCON- Unsubsidized Federal Consolidation Loans, SLS – Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (formerly Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students (ALAS) and Student PLUS Loans), SS – Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans & Guaranteed Student Loans (GSL), DSS – Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans, DUS – Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, DPLUS – Direct PLUS Loans, DUCON – Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loan, including Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans.Student loan consolidation has another advantage. A borrower is still entitled to avail of the same Federal benefits. This is because student loan consolidation is a federal program. And being it a federal program, a borrower is more than welcome and is entitled to various benefits such as deferment, interest that is tax deductible and forbearance. Plus, the student loan is guaranteed by the government and is insured federally.

Student loans are undoubtedly a great financial aid for those who cannot afford to fund their education. However, these multiple loans burden students with overwhelming debts soon after they graduate from college. Writing more than one repayment check every month, in the very beginning of a career, is next to impossible. In most cases, failure to make multiple payments within the stipulated time period causes the debts to accumulate. Consequently, interest rates keep escalating and the student eventually falls into a debt trap!If you want to avoid this situation in future, you should apply for a Student Loan Consolidation, which would allow you to merge all your current loans into a single loan with lower interest rates and a very flexible repayment plan. However, before applying for it, there are certain important facts that you should be aware of and a few guidelines you should follow:1) Is this Option Right For You?:You should opt for loan consolidation if and only if you are finding it difficult to make monthly repayments of your current loans in time. In case the total balance amount left on all your loans is very less and you are close to paying it off soon, do not opt for consolidation as it might not be worth it at all.2) Interest Rates:The interest rate for the consolidated loan is estimated by taking out the average of the interest rate of all your current loans and then rounding it up to the next 1/8th of a percent. The maximum interest rate is 8.25 percent. Also, the interest rate is fixed and does not increase with time. You can also use online mortgage calculators to calculate your interest rate.3) Repayment Amount:- If you wish to reduce your monthly repayment amount and save big on consolidating your loans, it is necessary to extend the repayment duration of the loan. By extending your repayment plan, you can even reduce your current monthly payments by 54%.- Usually, the repayment period is 10 years, but it can be extended to as long as 30 years. However, this largely depends on the balance amount you are consolidating.- Although extending the repayment term is beneficial, you will have to pay more in interest as you would take a little longer to repay the entire loan. However, the good news here is that no pre-payment penalties are charged in case you choose to pay off the loan early.4) Eligibility:Following criteria should be met to meet the eligibility requirements for loan consolidation:- Should be having loans from at least two lenders
- Your current student loans have not been consolidated earlier
- The total balance loan amount on all loans to be consolidated should exceed $7,500
- You should be in your six-month grace period of your loans after your graduation or you should have started making the repayments.5) Loan Approval Process:The entire loan consolidation process usually takes a month. Sometimes, you might have to even wait for more than 45 days. Therefore, it is better to plan for it accordingly.6) Types of Loans that can be Consolidated:- Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans and Federal PLUS Loans
- Direct Consolidation Loans and Federal Consolidation Loans
- Guaranteed Student Loans
- Federal Insured Student Loans
- Federal Supplemental Loans for Students
- Auxiliary Loans to Assist Students
- Federal Perkins Loans
- National Direct Student Loans
- National Defense Student Loans
- Health Education Assistance Loans
- Health Professions Student Loans
- Loans for Disadvantaged Students
- Nursing Student Loans7) Choosing the Lender:- If all your current loans have been acquired from a single lender, it is better to consolidate with the same lender.- Alternatively, you can get the student loan consolidation either through the U.S. Department of Education or through a financial service that is registered in the Federal Family Education Loan Program.Thus, with the help of the above facts and guidelines, you can get the best deal on a student loan consolidation at the right time from the right lender. Consolidating education loans is a simple way to get relief from the overwhelming debts, and should definitely be considered to ensure a secured future.