What Types of Student Loans Can Be Consolidated
Just about any federal loan - whether from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program or the Federal Direct Loan program - can be consolidated. Another common category of student loans is "private loans"- which come from private lenders such as banks and are not subsidized or guaranteed by the government. These loans cannot be consolidated under federal loan consolidation guidelines, but you can find private consolidation loans.
Also, if a student took out loans in his or her name, those loans cannot be combined in a consolidation loan with loans that a parent took out for the student. If the borrowers are different, the loans have to stay separate.
Almost any federal education loan can be consolidated, including the following:
- Stafford Loans ("subsidized" and "unsubsidized")
- Direct Student Loans / "Ford" Loans ("subsidized" and "unsubsidized")
- Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
- Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (Direct PLUS)
- GradPLUS Loans
- Direct GradPLUS Loans
- Perkins Loans
- Federal Consolidation Loans
- Federal Direct Consolidation Loans
…plus some other less common types of federal loans.
Private student loans (or alternative student loans) can also be consolidated but they must be consolidated separately from federal student loans.
