Consolidation FAQs
What’s a student loan consolidation ?
A student loan consolidation is federally guaranteed student loans that allow qualifying borrowers to combine their eligible federal college loans into a single fixed-rate student loan.
By consolidating your federal parent or student loans, you may be able to get more time to repay, and you could substantially lower your monthly loan payments.
Any borrowers with federal student or parent education loans can apply to consolidate, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.
How do I apply for a student loan consolidation?
Just click here. Applying online is fast, easy and secure. And there’s no credit check or application fees.
For more details, visit our page on Applying for a Federal Consolidation Loan.
Which student loans can I consolidate?
You can consolidate any Title IV federal education loans, including Federal Direct Loans, Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, Federal Grad PLUS Loans and Federal Perkins Loans.
How many student loans can I consolidate?
You can consolidate ALL your outstanding student loan debt—there’s no maximum student loan amount for federal student loan consolidation.
But you’ll need to have a minimum of $20,000 in qualifying federal college loans to consolidate your parent or student loans with NextStudent.
My credit isn’t the greatest. Will this affect my ability to consolidate my student loans?
Not at all! There’s no credit check when you apply for a Federal Consolidation Loan. Student consolidation loans aren’t credit-based student loans, so you don’t have to worry about credit problems, income or finding a co-signer. You just need to meet the student loan consolidation eligibility requirements.
I already consolidated my student loans. Can I consolidate them again?
It depends. If you’ve taken out a new student or parent loan since you consolidated, or if one of your student loans was left out of the student loan consolidation, then absolutely! You’re ready to consolidate again.
But if all your student loans were already consolidated and you haven’t taken out any new student loans since then, you won’t be able to re-consolidate.
I only have one federal student loan. Can I still consolidate?
Yes! Even if you only have one federal student loan, you can still consolidate that student loan and take advantage of all the benefits of federal student loan consolidation with NextStudent.
I have a student loan in default. Can I still consolidate my student loans?
You won’t be able to consolidate any defaulted student loans with NextStudent. But if you’ve got other federal student loans that aren’t in default, we can still consolidate those. You just won’t be able to include any currently defaulted student loans in the student loan consolidation.
Both my spouse and I each have PLUS loans. Can we consolidate our loans together?
No. You can consolidate your PLUS loans into one loan, but your spouse will have to consolidate her or his PLUS loans into another student loan consolidation.
I’m a parent with PLUS loans. Can I consolidate my PLUS loans with my child’s student loans?
No. You can consolidate your PLUS loans into one loan, but your child will need to consolidate her or his student loans into another consolidation loan.
Can I consolidate my student loans with my parents’ PLUS loans?
No. You can consolidate your student loans into one loan, but each of your parents will need to consolidate her or his PLUS loans into another loan.
How much does student loan consolidation cost?
Nothing! There are no fees for applying for a Federal Consolidation Loan, and there are no fees to consolidate your student loans.
What if I have trouble making my payments?
If you’re unemployed or experiencing financial difficulties, you may qualify for deferment or forbearance benefits. You can also request an in-school deferment if you decide to go back to school at least half time.
With the deferment and forbearance benefits that come with your Federal Consolidation Loan, you may be allowed to temporarily postpone making payments without affecting your credit rating.
You can also choose from different repayment options, such as income-sensitive and extended payment plans, which could help make repayment more affordable. For more details, see our answer to “What are my repayment options?” on this page.
If I’m temporarily not making any student loan payments because I’m in deferment or forbearance, am I still being charged interest?
That depends on the types of student loans you consolidated and on whether you’re in deferment or forbearance.
When your student loan consolidation is in deferment, you won’t be charged interest on that portion of your consolidation loan that was originally a Perkins loan or subsidized Stafford loan. During deferment, you’ll only be charged interest on that portion of your student loan consolidation that was originally a PLUS, Grad PLUS or unsubsidized Stafford loan.
When your student loan consolidation is in forbearance, you’ll be charged interest on the full principal balance of your consolidation loan, regardless of the types of student loans you consolidated.
Any unpaid interest that accrues during a deferment or forbearance period will be added to the principal of your Federal Consolidation Loan for you to repay once your repayment resumes. If you want to avoid having any accrued interest added to your principal consolidation loan balance, you can choose to make interest-only payments during either of these postponement periods.
What happens if I decide to pay my student loan consolidation off early?
Then you’ve paid off your student loan consolidation early! There are no prepayment penalties on Federal Consolidation Loans, so you’ll never be charged extra fees for making more than the minimum payment or paying your consolidation loan off before it’s due.
How will my student loan consolidation interest rate be calculated?
Your consolidated interest rate will be based on the weighted average of the interest rates of the student loans being consolidated.
That’s just a complicated way of saying that the interest rates on your larger student loans will affect your consolidated rate more than the interest rates on your smaller student loans. (If you want to know exactly how the weighted average interest rate is calculated, see below.)
The weighted average is then rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, with a maximum rate of 8.25%. This will be your fixed interest rate on your Federal Consolidation Loan.
To calculate your weighted average interest rate:
1. Add up the outstanding loan amounts on the student loans you’re consolidating to determine your total student loan Consolidation Amount. For example, if you’re consolidating three college loans:
Loan 1 amount + Loan 2 amount + Loan 3 amount = Consolidation Amount
2. Divide each outstanding loan amount by the Consolidation Amount you calculated in Step 1 to determine the Weighted Percentage for each loan being consolidated:
Loan 1 amount ÷ Consolidation Amount = Loan 1 Weighted Percentage
Loan 2 amount ÷ Consolidation Amount = Loan 2 Weighted Percentage
Loan 3 amount ÷ Consolidation Amount = Loan 3 Weighted Percentage
3. Multiply the interest rate on each student loan being consolidated by that loan’s Weighted Percentage (which you calculated in Step 2) to get the Weighted Interest Rate for each loan:
Loan 1 interest rate x Loan 1 Weighted Percentage = Loan 1 Weighted Interest Rate
Loan 2 interest rate x Loan 2 Weighted Percentage = Loan 2 Weighted Interest Rate
Loan 3 interest rate x Loan 3 Weighted Percentage = Loan 3 Weighted Interest Rate
4. Add up the Weighted Interest Rates from Step 3 and divide that total by the number of student loans being consolidated to get your Weighted Average Interest Rate, which will determine your student loan consolidation rate:
(Loan 1 Weighted Interest Rate + Loan 2 Weighted Interest Rate + Loan 3 Weighted Interest Rate) ÷ 3 = Weighted Average Interest Rate
Round your Weighted Average Interest Rate from Step 4 up to the nearest 0.125%. That rounded number or 8.25%, whichever is less, will be your fixed student loan consolidation rate.
How long do I have to repay my student loan consolidation, and what are my repayment options?
When you consolidate, you could get more time to repay your student loans. The repayment term on your student loan consolidation can range from 10 to 30 years and will depend on the total dollar amount of your outstanding student loan debt.
You can also choose an alternate payment plan that could help make repayment more affordable:
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Extended Repayment: This repayment plan allows you to extend your repayment period up to a 25-year term, depending on your student loan amount. This option is available to you if your education loans total more than $30,000 and if you received your first student loan on or after October 7, 1998.
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Graduated Repayment: With this payment plan, your monthly payments start out lower and gradually increase over time.
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Income-Sensitive Repayment: With this payment plan, your monthly payments are based on your income. You’ll have to submit income documentation to qualify, and you have to requalify each year.
Why student loan consolidation?
Which college loans can I consolidate?
