Student Loan Consolidation: Overview

Because of the additional benefits of federal student loans, federal and private loans must be consolidated separately. If you have both types of loans, it’s recommended that you begin
by consolidating your federal student loans first, as this will result in the greatest cost savings.

Step 1: Verify your current loan standing

Your current student loans must be in good standing and not in default status. If they are, you’ll need to make the payments required to get them paid up to date before consolidating student loans.

Common questions and concerns:

Q. My loan is in forbearance or deferred; is this considered being “in good standing?”
A. Yes, as long as you have not defaulted on your loans, you can consolidate with ScholarPoint.

Step 2: Gather required information

You’ll need the contact information of 2 friends or family members and the names and addresses of your current loan companies. To save yourself a step, ScholarPoint can instantly access all of the necessary information about your current lenders from the National Student Loan Database system during the application process with your permission.

Common questions and concerns:

Q. Will those I list as references be responsible for paying my loan if I default?
A. No, your references are not cosigners. Like any lending institution, we collect reference information just in case we can’t reach you by mail or phone once you have a loan with ScholarPoint.

Step 3: Apply online

It’s important to note that just because you submit an application with ScholarPoint to consolidate student loans; this does not mean that you’re required to accept the loan. If, and only if you like the rates and payment terms, you can electronically sign for acceptance of the consolidation loan via ScholarPoint’s secure system. If you’d prefer to physically sign the application, you can print, sign, and mail it directly to ScholarPoint for processing.

Common questions and concerns

Q. The application asks for my social security number, will you run a credit check to consolidate my federal loans?
A. No – there is no credit check required at any point during the process of consolidating federal student loans.