Student loan consolidation is basically the combining of two or more student loans. The point behind this is to allow the student to pay only one low monthly payment, based on what they can afford. This allows people who are in a bad financial situation to live a little easier.

If you just take a look around you can find hundreds of options for student loan consolidations, as well as other consolidations for other types of debt.

Looking at , you will find that there are two major types of student loan consolidations. They are the federal student loan consolidation and private student loan consolidations. Though you are able to combine federal loans with private loans it is a bad idea. When you combine the two different types, you lose all of the benefits that you are offered with federal student loans but can't get from using private loans.

First and foremost, with federal student loan consolidation the interest rates you pay can be tax deductable. That is a good benefit that you would have no chance at getting if you were to consolidate them with private loans, or if all you had were private loans.

Next comes the possibility of being forgiven for certain federal loans when you go to consolidate them. Again, if you were to combine them with private loans, or if all you had were private loans, you would not have a chance at this.

And finally, for some who might need this, there is a possibility for you to defer your payments if you need to go back to school. You again can't take advantage of this benefit if you have just , nor if you mix private with .

If at all possible, you want to use only federal student loans. Remember that when you go to get student loans consolidated, you need to be sure to keep federal loans separate from private loans.

When you decide on a student loan consolidation, you need to pay close attention to the interest rates they charge. If all of your rates are the same, then it will be slightly higher, but you will have no extra fees, and you will have a monthly price set based on what you can afford. If the rates are different then they will calculate an interest rate that will land somewhere between your highest rate and your lowest rate. When they tell you that your interest rate will be lower, it isn't really true. It will just be lower than your current higher rate.

If you come across a place that asks for an up-front fee then you should be wary. These are scams. That's not to say that everything that has a fee is a scam, just the ones that ask for the fees in the very beginning.