This means that if you have 2 or more U.S. government loan during your time as a college student, you can combine all of them into just one.

1. When you consolidate a loan you can reduce your monthly payment, but If you take an extended payment plan, you will you pay more interest in the long run. Particulary If your loan is large, this means that you may have to pay thousands of dollars in interest rates and have a negative impact on your financial future.
2. Of course consolidation is not an option if the student loan rate is higher than the interest rates on your other loans.
3. If you've already paid off a large chunk of your student loans, consolidation may not be worth the money or effort.
4. If you consolidate your loans during the six month grace period after graduation, you lose the remainder of the grace period.

There are many benefits that you can have by consolidating your student loan debt, far beyond the convenience of one simple loan and one monthly loan payment. Here are some examples:

1. Save thousands of dollars in loan interest fees over the life of the loans by locking in low fixed interest rates.
2. Put more cash in your pocket. With the savings you could pay down other debt, put a down payment on a new home or start your own business.
3. Lower your monthly payments and improve your cash flow by extending your repayment terms. You can lower even more your monthly payments through deferment or forbearance.
4. If there aren't prepayment penalties you can pay off your loans sooner without any extra charges or fees. As your earning power increases, you can reduce your outstanding student loan debt faster without fees or charges.
5. Student loan consolidation interest is tax deductible, lowering your cost of borrowing even more.
6. You can improve your overall credit rating by consolidating your student loans. By doing this you reduce the number of creditors on your credit history, thereby enhancing your overall credit score.