Stevens' students who have taken Federal Direct loans during their undergraduate and/or graduate career have the opportunity to consolidate their Federal loans after graduation. The Higher Education Act (HEA) provides for a loan consolidation program under the Direct Loan Program. Under this program, a borrower's Federal Direct loans are paid off and a new consolidation loan is created. These programs simplify loan repayment by combining several types of Federal education loans (that may have different terms and repayment schedules) into one new loan. The interest rate may be lower than on one or more of the underlying loans. In addition, the monthly payment amount on a consolidation loan is usually lower and the amount of time to repay may be extended beyond what was available in the separate loan programs. These features should result in more manageable debt and should make borrowers less prone to default. Further information on consolidation can be found at http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/. Please note that this information pertains to Federal Direct loans and not private, alternative loans. A great resource for information on private student loan consolidation is the website FinAid at http://www.finaid.org/loans/privateconsolidation.phtml.  A consolidation loan comparison chart is included.  Please be sure to check the current Prime Rate, LIBOR Rate and any individual lender fees so that you can make an informed decision. For additional information on consolidating private student loans, please contact your preferred lender or Stevens' Student Service Center at 201-216-5555 or sscenter@stevens.edu.