The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) or "Direct Loans," is aUnited States Department of Education program that provides loans and helps students pay for education after high school. The Department of Education acts as a lender.Theyare providing funds for Stafford loans andPLUS loans in the same amounts as the Stafford and PLUS loans offered through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

Consolidation is a great tool for managing your finances - providing immediate payment relief and long term benefits.Federal student loan consolidation,a fixed-rate refinancing program combines all of your existing federal student loans into one new loan. With our fast and convenient eSignature, your application will be complete in just a few minutes.

The Federal Loan Consolidation Program was created in 1986. In 1998, the United States Congress changed the interest rate to the aforementioned fixed rate weighted mean, effective February 1, 1999. Consolidation loans taken out before that date had a variable interest rate, determined by the individual FDLP loan origination center (e.g., in the case of a university, that university) or FFELP lender (e.g., a third party bank)

Federal Student Loan Consolidation Payment Relief

One of the key benefits of consolidating your federal school loans is payment relief. By combining all of your student loans into one consolidated loan, you can lengthen your repayment term from the standard 10 years to up to 30 years, depending on the amount of your education debts. With a lower monthly payment, you'll have more money available to meet other living expenses, including car payments, housing expenses, and career-related necessities. Because there are no penalties for overpayment, you can make larger payments and reduce your repayment term when it becomes affordable. Learn more about how student loan consolidation works in this step-by-step tutorial.