Consolidate student loans more than once – both student and parent borrowers can consolidate their education loans. Students and parents cannot combine their loans through consolidation, since only loans from the same borrower can be consolidated. But they can consolidate their loans separately.
Can I consolidate my student loans? Multiple refinances are possible with strong finances. Multiple consolidations may be an option to consolidate your student loans.
Students can consolidate their education loans only during the grace period or after the loans enter repayment. Loans that are in default but with satisfactory repayment arrangements may also be consolidated. Students can no longer consolidate while they are still in school. Parents, however, can consolidate PLUS loans at any time.
Consolidation loans often reduce the size of the monthly payment by extending the term of the loan beyond the 10-year repayment plan that is standard with federal loans. Depending on the loan amount, the term of the loan can be extended from 12 to 30 years. The reduced monthly payment may make the loan easier to repay for some borrowers. However, by extending the term of a loan the total amount of interest paid over the lifetime of the loan is increased. Looking for all the information is the best way to find a loan.

Take A Look At The Latest
- Ready for repayment? Forbearance ends Dec. 31, 2022
- Do you have a new servicer? Student loan servicer changes
- Will PSLF work for you now? Key forgiveness updates
- Keep your guard up: How to spot a loan scam
You can potentially save money by consolidating your student loans, even if you have already done so in the past. This is what you need to know about debt consolidation.
There are many benefits to student loan consolidation, especially if you have federal loans. By consolidating your loans, you can change your term and loan servicer while still keeping the borrower protections and payment options that federal loans offer. Additionally, if you consolidating student loans more than once can help you reduce your interest rate and you have the option to transfer private student loans to federal loans.
To consolidate your student loans, there are a few things you should know. First, consolidation is different for private and federal loans. If you have private loans, the process is called student loan refinance. This can reduce your interest rate, change your loan term, and switch your loan company. Student loan refinancing is always with a private company and allows you to combine federal and private loans.
Consolidating Federal Student Loans? You Can Do It More Than Once
There are two scenarios in which you can consolidate your government student loans more than once:
- You previously consolidated loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP, consolidation program.
- You have federal loans that weren’t included in a previous consolidation.
If you are struggling to make payments on your FFELP loans, consolidating them into a Direct consolidation loan can help get you out of default. If you have FFELP loans and want to enroll in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, consolidation is also necessary.
There are plenty of other options available if you don’t qualify for consolidation but still want to lower your payments. Get in touch with your student loan servicer to explore income-driven repayment, extended student loan repayment, or forbearance.
Refinancing student loans
There are a few things to consider if you want to lower your student loan payments. You might be able to consolidate your loans again or look into other repayment options like income-driven repayment, extended student loan repayment, or forbearance. Talk to your student loan servicer to see what might work best for you.

However, refinancing moves federal loans to a private company, and doing so will cost you any benefits associated with government student loans.
This is what you’ll typically need to qualify for student loan refinancing:
- A credit score in at least the high 600s.
- Steady income.
- A ratio of debt-to-income below 50%
Consider refinancing with a co-signer who meets the lender’s requirements, if you do not qualify on your own.