Private Loan Consolidation
Consolidating private educational loans after college may be beneficial for those students who have borrowed from more than one private loan lender. Private loan consolidation enables a borrower to refinance their multiple private loans into a new loan. This loan will have a new set of terms and conditions determined by the consolidation lender. In the Private Loan section of our website, we have denoted the lenders that offer private loan consolidation. A student should never consolidate their federal student loans with their private educational loans. Doing so would negate all the benefits that are offered under the federal loan programs. This includes deferment and forgiveness options.
We encourage you to ask the following questions of the lenders you are considering for private loan consolidation:
- What is the interest rate of the private consolidation loan and how it is calculated?
- Is the interest rate fixed or variable?
- Are there fees associated with orignating or disbursing the private consolidation loan?
- What is the length of the repayment term?
- Do prepayment penalties exist?