Should you consolidate your U.S. government student loans? Here are some advantages and disadvantages to government student loan consolidation.
If you're a U.S. college student who is approaching graduation day or a recent college graduate, no doubt you've been contacted by student loan consolidation services about government student loan consolidation. As you wade through all this student loan consolidation information, it can be hard to get a straight answer to a simple question: is federal loan consolidation right for you?
First of, what is student loan consolidation? This simply means that if you took out more than one federal student loan during your time as a college student, you can combine all of these loans into one.
If you also owe private student loans that weren't part of your financial aid package, you can consolidate these as well. However, lenders recommend that you don't consolidate federal student loans and private student loans together. If you do this, the new consolidated loan will count as a private loan, and you will lose all the benefits that come with your federal student loans, such as student loan deferment if you go to graduate school.
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of consolidating your federal student loans? This questions depends partly on how much you owe, how much you've already paid, and other personal financial variables. In a nutshell, here's the pros and cons:
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