Loan Consolidation

Loan consolidation basically means that you can combine all your loans of a specific type into a single loan! This can work for federal direct student loans, federal gradPLUS loans, direct PLUS loans, and private loans, but you can’t combine federal loans and private loans. Call us at the Hardin Simmons Financial Aid office, we would love to help! Visit studentloans.gov to learn more about federal loan consolidation, including specific instructions.

Loan Forgiveness

Loan forgiveness is the term used for when the federal government cancels a student loan. This all began in 1958 with the first National Defense Education Act of 1958. Since then, tons of repayment and forgiveness programs have started. The info we listed here is by no means comprehensive, but it is a small snapshot. All of the loan forgiveness programs have a few similarities:

• Only federal loans are eligible for federal forgiveness programs. Private educational loans are not included.
• Federal loan forgiveness is only available to students when they have graduated, and any post-graduation grace periods have been completed.
• None of the federal loan forgiveness programs are automatic. The eligible borrower must complete and submit all required forms and documents for the forgiveness process to begin.

When and if loans are forgiven, the borrower has to report the canceled loans as income when their tax liability for the year is calculated. If you are a part of volunteer work, military, teaching, or practicing medicine, you could meet the requirements for several federal loan forgiveness programs.