I often hear from borrowers that they want to include Private Loans with there Federal Loan Consolidations. This is something that simply cant be done at all because you can not turn Private Loans into Federal Loans. You can however consolidate Federal Loans into a Private Loan Consolidation although this is HIGHLY Discouraged. Why? When you consolidate these loans together all of the loans then become Private and your Federal Loans are no longer backed by the Government. Federal Loan Consolidation carries benefits such as Loan Forgiveness, Discharge, Fixed Interest Rates, and Deferments or Forbearances. Private Loan Consolidations on the other hand are entirely Credit Based, stay a a Variable Interest Rate and are rarely ever Fixed, do not necessarily have Deferments or Forbearances, and can most often not be discharged. Do the benefits that Federal Loans have sound like something you want to give up? I would say most often not! What you can do though is consolidate both with the same company. Contact The Student Loan Network to find out how to apply for Federal and Private Loan Consolidation.

The Student Loan Network: Stafford Federal Student Loans, Parent PLUS Loans, Student Loan Consolidation, Private Student Loans, Education Loans/College Loans