Loan Consolidation, also called a Consolidation Loan, combines several student or parent loans into one single loan from a single lender, which is then used to pay off the balances on the other loans. Consolidation loans are available for most federal loans, including Direct loans and FFELP (Stafford, Parent and Graduate PLUS, and SLS), FISL, Perkins, Health Professional Student Loans, NSL, HEAL, and Guaranteed Student Loans. Some lenders offer consolidation loans for private loans as well.
Each loan you wish to consolidate must be in repayment status (i.e. not in an in-school status) to be included.
Student borrowers at USF may want to consider their options for consolidating their federal loans to take advantage of locking in lower interest rates for the life of the loans, lowering their monthly student loan payments, and simplifying their payments by having one bill, with one lender.
Whether you are graduate or undergraduate, have Direct or FFELP loans, we recommend that students consult with their current lenders to receive up-to-date information on available consolidation options.
You may also find helpful information about loan consolidation from the Federal Direct Loans Consolidation Center and from Edfund, a California guaranty agency.
The USF Financial Aid Office has counselors available to answer general questions about loan consolidation as well.
