The federal student loan program offers no penalty for prepayment, so paying your loans early will help you save money on interest. Even paying the interest on Unsubsidized Stafford Loans while you are in school will save you money on capitalization costs. Click here to use the Loan Repayment Calculator to determine how you can save money on prepayment.

Loan Consolidation

Loan consolidation is a repayment alternative that makes multiple federal student loans more manageable by allowing you to combine federal loans and possibly extend the repayment period, thus lowering your monthly payments. Student loans that may be eligible for consolidation include:

• Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
• Federal Perkins Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Federal SLS
• Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Direct PLUS Loans
• Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL)
• Nursing Student Loans (NSL)
• Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL)
• Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
• Federal and Direct Consolidation Loans

Repayment on consolidated loans begins within 60 days after the consolidated loan is disbursed and can extend up to 30 years, depending on your total loan debt. If you want more information or just want to review the advantages and disadvantages, click here to link to CSLF's consolidation section.