Financial aid has helped a number of students graduate from college. One form of this aid is student loans. A student may have more then one loan with different lenders. Having more then one loan, each loan having it’s own due date to be paid and interest rate. Having more then one loan with different billing cycles and interest rates would be confusing. So many loans could lead to some not being paid on time, eventually leading to a bad credit report. One of the best ways to handle these loans is student loan consolidation. Student loan consolidation allows you to combine multiple student loans into one new loan. This new loan is handled by one company or creditor. The creditor pays the loan in full to the respective creditors leaving only the new loan. Because of this, once approved this cannot be undone. Loan consolidation gives you the convenience of paying one loan to one creditor or company instead of paying multiple loans with different due dates and interest rates. Loan consolidation offers fixed interest rates and a longer payment period, usually 10 to 30 years. A student can get his/her loan consolidation from the U.S. Department of Education or any credit union or bank that is part of the Federal Family Loan. Once a student graduates, they have six months before they have to start paying back their loan. In those six months they are expected to find a job and should be able to pay their debt.