If you are receiving unsolicited phone calls from an entity pretending to be ACCC (a trusted non-profit credit counseling agency), please be assured that ACCC’s policy is NEVER to contact you unless you’ve explicitly requested us to call you. Also be cautious of emails from an unusual or unfamiliar domain. ACCC’s domain extension is @consumercredit.com, and any emails using a different extension should be treated with suspicion.

×

ACCC’s Client Login allows current clients to access their program information, including the due date, program benefits, and other documents.

Select a Client Login below based on the service that you are currently enrolled in:

Debt Management Program

Client Login

Not yet a client, but looking to get started?

ACCC offers debt relief options to individuals and families that are suffering from stress related to credit card debt by providing effective credit counseling, helping to consolidate debt, and advising on debt management.

Get Started

Wait!

You are now leaving the Consumer Credit website and are going to a website that is not operated by ACCC. We are not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites.

Are you sure you want to leave?

No, return me to the previous page.

Yes

When Consolidating Student Loans Works

If you have student loan debt, don’t panic! There are a number of repayment options to help you eliminate that debt responsibly. The faster you can do this, the better off your finances and future options will be. Learn more about when consolidating student loans works.

ACCC is here to explain how consolidating student loans works.

ACCC is here to explain how consolidating student loans works.

How Consolidating Student Loans Works

You may have heard of debt consolidation from friend family or even the TV. Let’s take a deeper look at debt consolidation when it comes to student loans and what it means for your student loan payment.

What Is Debt Consolidation?

Student loan consolidation takes all your federal student loans or all your private loans and creates one new loan, with a simpler repayment plan. Borrowers with loans from multiple sources or several loans from one lender might consider consolidation.

Those with federal student loans can apply for a Direct Consolidation loan. And borrowers with private loans also have options to consolidate through their loan servicer or a competitor.

Student loan consolidation may or may not reduce your interest rate. You will typically also have a longer repayment schedule which means paying more interest over time. While one student loan payment is nice, do the math before consolidating to make sure it’s the best option for your loans.

Check out this video on student loan consolidation!

What details do I need to know about my loans?

Make sure you know all of the following information about your student education loans:

  • Private, federal or a mix of both
  • Repayment start date
  • One loan payment or multiple
  • Career field
  • Income expectations
  • Interest rates

Each of these items can make your loans a better or worse candidate for consolidation.

When Consolidating Student Loans Works

Consolidating student loans works best in a few scenarios. Remember that these are general tips; please consult your financial adviser for specifics on your unique scenario.

Here are a few scenarios when consolidating student loans works:

  • You have all or a number of private loans, plus a good credit score. When consolidating your loans, your credit score needs to be good enough so your new loan terms will be favorable.
  • You have federal student loans and want a simpler repayment plan. Additionally, you don’t need any of the federal student loan repayment benefits, like the Public Service Forgiveness Program.

If you’re struggling to pay off debt, ACCC can help. Sign up for a free credit counseling session with us today. 

ABOUT AUTHOR / Michelle

Michelle is a regular contributor to Talking Cents. She has taken several financial courses on debt management and is ready to circulate what she has learned from them as well as lessons from her own life- family to DIY projects to student loan debt.

View all author posts →

creditU

Your Ultimate Money Management App

Meet CreditU, the ultimate one-stop debt and financial management app! See your full financial overview, including debts, income, expenses, and savings.

CreditU Apple App Store
Dev Tool:

Request: blog/when-consolidating-student-loans-works
Matched Rewrite Rule: blog/([^/]+)/?$
Matched Rewrite Query: post_type=post&name=when-consolidating-student-loans-works
Loaded Template: single.php