Archive News — In the wake of the growing awareness that in America student loan debit has surpassed credit card debt, the United States Department of Education is currently offering the possibility to consolidate your Federal Student Loans into a Special Direct Consolidation Loan. This offer became available in January of 2012 and ended on June 30 of 2012.
Who to Contact about this Opportunity
Actually you will not be reaching out at all. If you are eligible for this opportunity, lenders acting on the behalf of the Department of Education will be reaching out to you directly. Expect to be contacted by one of the following servicers: NelNet, SallieMae, Great Lakes, or FedLoan Servicing.
In the meantime, do not complete an application for a traditional direct consolidation loan at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/ if you meet the criteria for the special consolidation. Once you apply for the traditional consolidation, you will no longer be eligible for the special consolidation.
Eligibility Criteria
An eligible borrower will need to have
- at least one student loan that is currently owned by the United States Department of Education
- at least one loan that is currently owned by a private lender through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program
- loans need to be up to date, and not in default (however, payment schedules that are less than 270 days past due are able to be included)
The actual loans eligible for consolidation under the Special Direct Consolidation Loan program are the FFEL program loans that are being serviced by private lenders.
Benefits of this Opportunity
- Special Consolidated Loans will maintain their original repayment schedule
- Borrowers will have only one bill to pay to one lender
- Interest rate reduction of .25%
- Fixed interest rates
- Additional possible repayment options through the Direct Loans program**
The Direct Loans program offers loan repayment options that may be able to take your current income into consideration.
For more information, you can visit this webpage.
For more detailed information on Special Direct Consolidation Loans, you can visit this webpage.
