-- Posted by davjs at 1:42 am on Mar. 16, 2007 Students Beware Many unscrupulous credit companies in the US are trying to lure you into additional debt after college. Yes, you will almost undoubtedly need student loans unless you are really rich, but it's important to remember that the US Government has school loan consolidation programs available to you that offer lower payments and fixed interest rates to ease the burden of student loans by combining them into one low-payment. More Information about Federal Loans "In the United States both the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP) include consolidation loans that allow students to consolidate Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans into one single debt. This results in reduced monthly repayments and a longer term for the loan. Unlike the other loans, consolidation loans have a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan. Consolidation loans have longer terms than other loans. Debtors can choose terms of 10–30 years. Although the monthly repayments are lower, the total amount paid over the term of the loan is higher than would be paid with other loans. The fixed interest rate is calculated as the the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated, assigning relative weights according to the amounts borrowed, rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, and capped at 8.25%. Some features of the original consolidated loans, such as post-graduation grace periods and special forgiveness circumstances, are not carried over into the consolidation loan, and consolidation loans are not universally suitable for all debtors." Source: Wikipedia Note to Moderators: Do not rename or combine this sticky with another sticky without David's permission. -- Posted by jiminic2 at 1:46 pm on May 18, 2007 I would like to reinforce the above post.  Make sure the new consolidated loan is FFELP.  I've had many "requests" in the mail to consolidate.  I used a company recommended by ACS to consolidate the loans.   -- Posted by donilson at 9:34 pm on Aug. 13, 2007 It's amazing that so few people are aware of the whole student loan consolidation process. I was one of only a few of my friends that consolidated without having to be prodded into it. You can save a lot of money. I think it's great that this is the first thread inside this forum! The other thing I'd add, however, is that not all consolidation companies are the same. A lot of them sell out the loans they get and leave their customers basically screwed. I've had a good experience with the Educational Loan Company (can't complain with a 2.5 interest rate reduction for prompt payment) but a friend of mine went through a larger competitor and had quite a bit of trouble when they shopped out her loan. This is a huge, dangerous industry that requires a lot of research before you make a decision. Supposedly some reform is planned, but I doubt this will help, other than make it harder for current students to get good rates.   -- Posted by macois at 8:39 am on Aug. 29, 2007 I suggest the Federal Stafford Loan Site for consolidation: http://www.StaffordLoan.com/consolidation Other lenders will tell you anything to get your loan - not mentioning what might happen later. -- Posted by donrobert at 6:46 pm on Feb. 19, 2009 no to consolidation!!!