Student Loan Debt Consolidation: An Authoritative Guide — Debt.com

What is student loan debt consolidation?

Consolidation refers to the process of rolling multiple debts into a single, simplified repayment schedule. In this case, you combine your school loans into one or more repayment plans that work for your budget. There are several ways to consolidate student debt, depending on the types of loans you have, your budget and your credit.

Consolidating private vs. federal school loans

When you’re talking about consolidation, student loans fall into two categories:

For the purposes of consolidation, it doesn’t matter if you have subsidized or unsubsidized loans; both consolidate in the same way. However, if you use federal loan consolidation options, those only apply to your government-backed debt. In other words, you can use federal consolidation and repayment plans for private student loans.

By contrast, if you consolidate through a private (for profit) lender, you can include both your private and federal school loans. Just be aware that if you use private consolidation for your federal loans, you lose eligibility for federal relief programs. You can’t use government offered repayment plans or loan forgiveness. You need to consider your…