Federal education loans eligible for consolidation include:

• Federal Direct loans
• Federal Stafford loans
• Federal Perkins loans (see note below)
• Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
• Federal Consolidation loans (see note below)
• Health Professions Student loans
• Nursing student loans
• Federal insured student loans
• Auxiliary Loans to assist students
• Federal Supplemental Loans for students (SLS)
• National Direct Student Loans (NDSL)
• Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL)

A note about consolidating Perkins loans: a Perkins loan has a fixed low interest rate of 5 percent. Because of its fixed low interest rate and extensive cancelation provisions, it is often advisable NOT to consolidate a Perkins loan. See the Perkins loan section for the list of loan cancelations.

A note about consolidating existing federal consolidation loans: federal consolidation loans may be re-consolidated as long as an additional eligible loan is included in the re-consolidation. The additional loan must not be in repayment to be eligible.