01.21.10 | Can I consolidate my federal and private student loans together?
Almost all graduates with both federal student loans and private student loans would love to be able to consolidate all of their loans into one smaller monthly payment. Unfortunately, federal student loans and private student loans do not mix well and cannot be consolidated together. The rules of consolidation have changed drastically over the past few years and many lenders have removed themselves from the consolidation market all together. There are still ways to consolidate both federal and private loan; it just has to be done separately.
Federal student loan consolidation is done through the department of education. There is an application process involved, but generally everyone who wants to consolidate their federal student loans can. Federal consolidation extends the life of your student loans and can cut your monthly payments by up to 50%. Consolidation is a great option for anyone having trouble meeting monthly payments.
Private student loan consolidation is a little bit trickier. Unlike federal loan consolidation, private loan consolidation is not automatically granted to everyone who applies. In fact, one of the only lenders doing private consolidations today is Wells Fargo. If you can get a private student loan consolidation it can significantly lower your monthly payments, but you will probably end up paying a lot more in interest over time.
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