Interest rates for consolidating student loans consolidating credit card debt your own

You can’t consolidate private loans in the federal Direct Consolidation Loan program, but some private lenders allow you to consolidate federal and private loans together. Your rate is determined by the weighted average of the interest on the loans being consolidated rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of 1%.

The Direct Consolidation Loan program is the right choice if your goal is to simplify the process for repaying federal loans and keep your options open for the many repayment plans available for federal loans. If you’re using private lenders for student loan consolidation, there is a chance you could get a better interest rate and possibly lower monthly payments. That’s because federal loan rates are so low – fixed rates of 4.45% for undergraduates, 6% for graduates in 2017-2018 – that it’s difficult for private lenders to beat the rates and make a profit.

Still, some companies, like So Fi and Lend Key, have found a way to offer students a competitive rate and a variety of repayment conditions.

These are private loans where credit score and other conditions are weighed in.

To contact your student loan servicer log into your federal student aid account and look for contact information.student loan refinancing programs available in the private sector.If you sign and date the application, it is a binding contract.If you submit it without signing, the application can’t be processed.So Fi’s success is tied to innovative services that start with putting the entire loan application process online and making it fast. It takes just a few minutes to fill out the application and even less time – usually about two minutes – to receive an answer on whether you’ve been approved.One other feature that distinguishes So Fi is the pause button for customers who lose their job.