Many or all companies we feature compensate us. Compensation and editorial research influence how products appear on a page. Student Loans Student Loan Repayment How to Consolidate Private and Federal Student Loans Together: Your 8 Next Steps Updated Apr 29, 2025 3-min read Expert Approved Expert Approved This article has been reviewed by a Certified Financial Planner™ for accuracy. Written by Megan Hanna Written by Megan Hanna Expertise: Personal loans, home loans, credit cards, banking, business loans Dr. Megan Hanna is a finance writer with more than 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and banking. She spent 13 years in commercial banking in roles of increasing responsibility related to lending. She also teaches college classes about finance and accounting. Learn more about Megan Hanna Reviewed by Kerry O'Brien, CFP® Reviewed by Kerry O'Brien, CFP® Expertise: Financial planning, retirement planning, tax planning, education planning, small business planning Kerry O'Brien, CFP®, is passionate about financial planning and going beyond the numbers to help people live the life they want. Her mission is to help people gain and maintain optimal financial health—and to support living with overall wellness and intention. Learn more about Kerry O'Brien, CFP® Yes, you can consolidate federal and private student loans—but only through private student loan refinancing. This means giving up federal loan protections, like income-driven repayment and forgiveness options, so it’s important to weigh the trade-offs. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to decide if refinancing makes sense for you, when to do it, and how the process works step by step. Table of Contents 1. Consider the pros and cons of consolidation. 2. Consider whether you’re willing to lose your federal loan benefits. 3. Determine how much you can afford each month. 4. Make sure your credit is in the best possible shape. 5. Find a student loan refinance lender. 6. Apply for the refinance online. 7. Provide any required documentation. 8. Get approved and receive your new loan. Final thoughts 1. Consider the pros and cons of consolidation. Pros It’s easier to pay your bills each month. Rather than several monthly student loan payments, you’ll only need to make a single payment. Your payment may be lower. Depending on the refinancing option you choose, you may be able to choose a longer repayment term—for instance, 10 years versus three years. This could result in a lower monthly payment. You could get a lower interest rate. If your credit score or financial situation has improved since you took out your private student loans, you may qualify for a better interest rate. Cosigners might be removed from your student loans. You may be able to eliminate cosigners from your student loans if you can qualify for the loans on your own. Cons Federal student loan forgiveness programs go away. You’ll lose access to federal student loan benefits, such as public service loan forgiveness and other forgiveness programs, if you refinance your federal student loans with a private lender. Income-driven repayment plans won’t be an option. If you refinance your federal student loans with a private lender, you’ll no longer qualify for the federal government’s income-driven repayment plan. Forbearance and deferment plans will no longer be available. After refinancing your federal student loans with a private lender, you can’t access federal forbearance and deferment plans that lower or pause your payments if you experience hardship. Maximum repayment terms might be shorter. Depending on the size of your federal student loans, you may qualify for a repayment term as long as 30 years. You must pay off most private student loans in no more than 10 years. 2. Consider whether you’re willing to lose your federal loan benefits. Before you go through with the refinancing, make sure you’re comfortable giving up access to federal benefits. 3. Determine how much you can afford each month. Evaluate your budget to see how large of a student loan payment you can afford. Although your payment will be bigger with a shorter repayment term, you’ll pay the least interest over time. 4. Make sure your credit is in the best possible shape. Check your credit score to see whether you qualify for the consolidation loan. Fix any issues on your credit to ensure it’s in good shape. This may include paying off or reducing credit card balances and curing past-due amounts. Read More How to Improve Your Credit Score 5. Find a student loan refinance lender. Search for a lender to consolidate your private and federal student loans. Evaluate whether you meet the lender’s qualifications (such as credit score) and it offers the repayment terms you want before proceeding. Read More Best Student Loan Refinance Companies of April 2025: Top Lenders and How to Get Low Rates 6. Apply for the refinance online. Once you’ve identified a lender, you can apply for the refinance online. Most lenders will run a soft credit check to determine whether you qualify and let you know the rates you can get. A full credit check will happen after you agree to the terms. 7. Provide any required documentation. After you’re prequalified and decide to proceed with the refinance, your lender may ask for documentation about your income, such as pay stubs, and details about the student loans you’re refinancing, including account numbers. 8. Get approved and receive your new loan. You’ll accept the terms and sign the loan documents when your loan is approved. Your new lender will pay off your current student loans with the new one. If there’s any chance you might need to use the federal loan benefits, it may be best to keep your federal student loans. Final thoughts If it doesn’t make sense to consolidate your federal and private student loans, you can refinance them separately. You can also refinance one type of student loan—for example, consolidate your federal student loans without changing your private student loans.