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It’s important that you continue making your existing payments as you complete the consolidation process. Until you’ve been informed that your loans have been paid off and your consolidation loan has taken effect, you are legally required to make those payments. Most federal student loans do qualify, but it’s important to make sure that all of your individual loans will be included. The following loans qualify:  Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans Direct PLUS Loans PLUS loans from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Supplemental Loans for Students Federal Perkins Loans Federal Nursing Loans Health Education Assistance Loans Go to https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action. The application process is simple, since the Department of Education will already have all of your personal information and records of all your federal loans. Again, you should avoid consolidating your federal loans through private lenders. If you do not stay with the Department of Education, you’ll lose access to many resources and benefits, and you will probably pay more. Once you’ve completed the application process, the Department of Education will provide you with a summary sheet, which lists all of the loans you are consolidating. Review this document carefully.  If everything looks correct, you don’t need to do anything. After fifteen days, the Department of Education will process your loan. If anything looks amiss – if the numbers are off, or if any of your federal loans aren’t included – contact the Department of Education within fifteen days of the date on the summary sheet. Once your consolidation loan is approved, you must choose a repayment plan. If any of your loans were in default, you’ll choose one of the three income-based options – either IBR, Pay-As-You-Earn, or ICR. If none of your loans were in default, you can choose any of these six plans:  Standard Repayment. You’ll make regular payments that are calculated so that your loan will be paid off within ten years. Many people who consolidate find that they cannot afford the standard plan, but if you can, it’s the most cost-effective option. Graduated Repayment. You’ll make payments that start out low and increase every two years, so that you pay the entire balance in ten years. If you don’t make much money but expect your income to increase regularly with time, this is a solid, cost-effective option. Extended Repayment Plan. You’ll make lower payments, but you’ll continue making them for 25 years. This option is only available if your loan amounts to more than $30,000. Income-Based Repayment (IBR). You’ll make payments for twenty-five years, and after that, any remaining debt will be forgiven. Your payments will not exceed 15% of your discretionary income. Pay-As-You-Earn Repayment. You’ll make payments for twenty years, and after that, any remaining debt will be forgiven. As with IBR, your payments will not exceed 15% of your discretionary income. Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). You’ll make payments for twenty-five years, and after that, any remaining debt will be forgiven. Your payments will not exceed 20% of your discretionary income. Now that your federal loans have been consolidated, it’s important not to neglect your payments. If you go into default, your credit rating will suffer, and you’ll lose your access to further federal student aid – in short, you’ll reverse the positive effects of your consolidation.
Continue making your payments. Determine whether your loans qualify for consolidation. Apply online. Read your summary sheet carefully. Make arrangements for repayment. Make your payments as required.