A Direct Consolidation Loan is a federal loan made by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that allows you to combine one or more federal student loans into one new loan. As a result of consolidation, you will have to make only one payment each month on your federal loans, and the amount of time you have to repay your loan will be extended.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to consolidation, and you should carefully consider whether loan consolidation is the best option for you.
Student Debt Manager will automatically alert you of any important considerations on how consolidation may impact your potential student loan solutions. Your Student Debt Manager calculator can also give you important information on monthly payments over time and the total amount of interest that a given plan may cause you to incur.