A consolidation loan is a loan that has a number of loans bunched together as one big loan. Such type of loan helps to lower interest rates and payments or they allow you to extend your return payments paying time. Many banks and financial institutions offer these types of loans. The students and parents who have borrowed more than one type of education loan, these loans are specially designed for them. These loans work on the same line as that of credit card consolidation loan only they are for education loans. The interest rate of the loan is fixed and is roughly the average of the all the loans taken. 8.25% is the upper limit for the loan and will not exceed this in any case.

Consolidation loans are of two types Direct and Feel. The department of education, US Government, gives the Direct Consolidation loan. There are three types of the direct loan- Direct Subsidized Consolidation Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loans, or Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans. Credit unions, banks and other lenders give the FEEL Consolidation Loans. The two types of FEEL loons are Subsidized FEEL Consolidation Loans and Unsubsidized FEEL Consolidation Loans.

To get any of the Consolidation Loans you should contact the consolidation department, a lending institution, or a lender. You need to be careful when you opt for Consolidation Loans if you have too much debt. Because if you are not cautious you may have to pay more interest rate and will be in more debt than you started off. Therefore, your priorities should be clear-cut. Firstly to get the lowest interest rate possible and secondly to pay back the loan in minimum time possible roughly three to five years time. It is better to find a fixed level monthly payment plan and to commit to the plan every month. Make it a habit and you will not have to pay for too long.