36half-time. The same is true for <strong>student</strong>s who might have opted to consolidate their federal <strong>loan</strong>s receivedwhile in college thus having a prior Federal Consolidation Loan. Payments on either an Early Repaymentor Prior Consolidation <strong>loan</strong> can be deferred while enrolled in school (or for any other eligible defermentcriteria the borrower might meet). However, once that deferment expires, the borrower will enterimmediate <strong>repayment</strong>.If you’re unsure whether or not you did an Early Repayment Consolidation Loan or previously borrowed aFederal Consolidation Loan, borrowers should use NSLDS. Borrowers can also access National StudentLoan Data System at www.NSLDS.ed.gov, which tracks all FFELP, Perkins and Direct Loans including(Federal Stafford, Federal Direct, Federal Perkins and Grad PLUS and federal consolidation <strong>loan</strong>s)received by the borrower. Your Summary <strong>of</strong> Indebtedness (received during your exit interview with theFinancial Aid Office) will also note any Federal Consolidation Loans.Note that if you are still enrolled in school at the time that your consolidation <strong>loan</strong> comes due, you willneed to contact your <strong>loan</strong> servicer to request an in-school deferment form. If you have completed yourrequirements yet you are unable to make payments, consider applying for Economic Hardship Defermentor Forbearance (in that order).Private Loan ConsolidationStudents that have borrowed private education <strong>loan</strong> <strong>loan</strong>s <strong>of</strong>ten ask if they can consolidate their private<strong>loan</strong>s. The Financial Aid Office would discourage a borrower from doing this unless the privateconsolidation program <strong>of</strong>fers better terms than your existing private education <strong>loan</strong>s. If all <strong>of</strong> your privateeducation <strong>loan</strong>s are from one lender, your <strong>loan</strong> servicer will most likely only send you one bill per monthand expect to receive one payment for all <strong>of</strong> the <strong>loan</strong>s. Electronic (ACH) payments can also be establishedbetween you and your <strong>loan</strong> servicer in the event that you have borrowed multiple <strong>loan</strong>s from differentlenders. Again, unless there’s a real compelling reason why a borrower may need to consolidate theirprivate education <strong>loan</strong>s, it’s usually discouraged.Internet ToolsThe internet is a tremendous resource for information for <strong>student</strong> <strong>loan</strong> borrowers. We encourage borrowersto access their <strong>student</strong> <strong>loan</strong> account information via their <strong>loan</strong> servicer’s website by obtaining apassword/user ID with their <strong>loan</strong> servicers. This will allow you to review your account information, obtaindeferment forms and apply for forbearance, as well as other useful tools such as online calculators. Inaddition, <strong>loan</strong> servicers provide financial management information, debt management tips, information oncredit history and how to prevent identity theft. Your <strong>loan</strong> servicer’s contact information, including theirwebsite address, is included in your <strong>student</strong> <strong>loan</strong> counseling exit packet. Other websites borrowers mightfind helpful are as follows:www.<strong>loan</strong>consolidation.ed.gov: Offers information and <strong>repayment</strong> calculators for the FederalDirect Consolidation Loan program as well as an online application.www.finaid.org: Offers general information on financial aid, <strong>student</strong> <strong>loan</strong>s and various onlinecalculator toolswww.IBRinfo.org: Provides information on the Income-based Repayment Schedule and PublicService Loan Forgiveness program including <strong>loan</strong> <strong>repayment</strong> calculatorswww.nslds.ed.gov: The National Student Loan Data System* tracks FFELP borrowing historyfor each borrower. History includes information on Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford,Federal Direct Loans, Federal Consolidation and Grad PLUS. For those who borrowed <strong>loan</strong>s in
college yet forget who the <strong>loan</strong> servicer is, contact information can be found on NSLDS’website. It also provides outstanding principal and interest balances on Grad PLUS, FederalConsolidation and Stafford Loans. Access requires using your FAFSA on the Web PIN, but youcan request your PIN if you’ve forgotten it.*NOTE: NSLDS does NOT track HPSL, LDS, <strong>Tufts</strong> Loan or any other private education <strong>loan</strong> or privateconsolidation <strong>loan</strong>. If you are interested in <strong>loan</strong> consolidation, your lender will utilize your NSLDSinformation to pre-populate your consolidation <strong>loan</strong> application but if adding <strong>loan</strong>s such as HPSL and LDSto the consolidation <strong>loan</strong> will require you to <strong>manual</strong>ly update the consolidation <strong>loan</strong> to include those <strong>loan</strong>s.37
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