Private Student Loan Reconsolidation

As you get ready to reconsolidate student loans, you'll have to decide whether federal or private student loan consolidation is right for you. If you have private student loans you would like to consolidate, here are some things you should know.

Private Loan Consolidation Explained

Before you reconsolidate student loans, you need to determine if your student loans came from federal sources, private sources, or both. You will only be able to reconsolidate student loans with a government-backed consolidation program if your student loans were issued by the federal government. If you have private student loans, you can still reconsolidate with private student loan consolidation. You can even take advantage of both federal and private loan consolidation if you have both types of loans in your debt portfolio.

Why Reconsolidate Private Student Loans

If you want to reconsolidate student loans, private student loan consolidation is a good option to consider for the following reasons:

• Get first-year rates at historic lows
• Cut your payments by as much as 45% in the first 12 months
• Release your co-signer after you make 48 payments on time
• Get a quarter of a percent rate reduction just for signing up for automatic withdrawal
• Extend your repayment period to up to 30 years without a prepayment penalty
• Enjoy the option of making interest-only payments for first two years

How You Qualify

When you reconsolidate student loans with private consolidation, the terms are a little different from federal student loan consolidation. For one, private student loan consolidation is credit-based, meaning your credit will determine your eligibility and the rate you receive. Also keep in mind that private consolidation loans are issued by an individual lender and are not federally-guaranteed. Here is what you will need to qualify:

• A good credit history or a co-signer who is creditworthy
• You are in the repayment period of your private student loans
• You are not in default on any of your loans

The Application Process

Our private loan consolidation application is very easy and does not require that you fill out any FAFSA forms. Click "apply now" anywhere on our site to fill out our free application. You can get a loan decision in as little as ten seconds, in some cases. You will then be contacted by an Education Finance Advisor to guide you through the process.

For the answers to the most commonly asked questions about student loan reconsolidation, see our FAQ page.