Can student borrowers consolidate their loans while they are still in school?
Before July 1st, you may be eligible to consolidate your loans while you are still in school. Before choosing this option, however, you should determine whether it might affect your repayment grace period after leaving school. Can borrowers consolidate Perkins loans? Students who have borrowed Perkins loans, which carry a fixed interest rate of 5 percent and offer loan forgiveness to graduates working in certain fields such as teaching or social work, should carefully consider whether or not consolidation is right for them. If Perkins loan borrowers consolidate their loans, they lose their loan forgiveness benefits. For more information, borrowers should contact the U.S. Department of Education at 1-800-557-7392, at http://www.ed.gov/students/college/repay/2006-changes.html, or at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/consolidation.jsp?tab=repaying. Democrats vs. Republicans on Student Loans Democrats have been working hard to assist students and parents with the skyr
