Federal loan consolidation

Federal loan consolidation allows you to consolidate your outstanding federal education loans into a single new loan, even if your loans are currently held by more than one lender and are of different loan types. By consolidating your student loans, you can significantly lower your monthly payments by lengthening the term of your loans and locking in a low fixed interest rate. Most importantly, you can save thousands of dollars during the entire repayment term.


Additional Federal Loan Consolidation Benefits:
Fixed rates as low as 6.75%
Extended repayment term with lower monthly payments
No fees
No credit checks
No prepayment penalties
Seven flexible repayment plans
Turn several monthly payments into one
Deferment and forbearance available


Fixed rates as low as 6.75%

By locking in the current low rates, you can lock in a fixed rate as low as 6.75%!

Extended repayment term with lower monthly payments

By consolidating your loans you can extend your repayment term up to 30 years, depending upon your loan balance. This has the added benefit of lowering your monthly payments, so you are left with more money in your pocket each month.

No fees

There are no fees or costs whatsoever for a federal loan consolidation with EdFed.

No credit checks

There are no credit checks whatsoever for a federal loan consolidation with EdFed. As a matter of fact, consolidating your loans can actually improve your credit rating, as a result of having lower monthly payments. This can actually make it easier for you to qualify for mortgages and other major loans.

No prepayment penalties

Although you have the option of extending your repayment term, you will not be charged any fees or penalties for paying off your loans early. This means that if you take advantage of the low consolidation interest rates, you can save thousands even if you pay down your loan early.

Seven flexible repayment plans

EdFed offers seven different repayment plans for your consolidation loans, giving you extreme flexibility for your repayment. We offer the following plans:

Equal Payments: This option provides equal monthly payments over the term of the loan.

Select 2/Graduated Payments: This option allows for interest-only payments for the first 2 years of repayment. In the third year, payments increase to level installments of principal and interest payments for the remaining term of the loan.

Select 5/Graduated Payments: This option allows for interest-only payments for the first 2 years of repayment. In the third through fifth years, payments increase to include a portion of principal. In the sixth year, payments increase to level installments of principal and interest payments for the remaining term of the loan.

Income-Sensitive Payments: This option provides for payments to be adjusted annually, based on your expected total monthly gross income from employment and all other sources. Your account will initially be disbursed at the Select 2/Graduated repayment plan. After the consolidation loan is disbursed, you must contact your servicer to qualify. Once eligibility is determined, your servicer will calculate your new payment.

Extended Equal Payments: This option allows up to a 25-year repayment term of equal payments.

Extended Select 2 Payments: This option allows up to a 25-year repayment term with the Select 2/Graduated Payment plan.

Extended Select 5 Payments: This option allows up to a 25-year repayment term with the Select 5/Graduated Payment plan.

All extended repayment plans are for qualified borrowers with more than $30,000 in eligible loans. Applicants interested in any of the extended repayment plans should contact one of our counselors to determine eligibility.

Combine several monthly payments into one

If you are currently making payments to more than one lender, consolidating your loans allows you to eliminate the complications of having to make multiple payments. Instead, you can combine those payments into one easy monthly payment.

Deferment and forbearance available

Loan consolidation with EdFed is done through the federal loan consolidation program, and thus you retain government benefits such as deferment and forbearance. Like your current federal loans, federal loan consolidations are guaranteed and insured by the federal government.

A deferment is a temporary suspension of loan payments for specific situations such as reenrollment in school, unemployment (up to 3 years only), or economic hardship (up to 3 years only). Forbearance is a temporary postponement or reduction of the payments on your consolidation loan for a period of time due to financial difficulty.