I really wish I had an affiliate link for this…

Federal student loan rates go up this weekend, jumping from 4.75% to 6.75%. If you haven’t consolidated, you will need to do so before the close of business Friday the 30th of June, or else your rates will go up by 2%. That’s a lot of money if you have sizeable loans or are paying them off slowly.

If you have a lot of loans, this will save you a huge amount of money. I just consolidated with Graduate Loan Center. They have an online application, but since it’s last-minute, it’s best to call them instead: 1-866-Grad-Loan. I spoke with Dave, who was obviously exhausted from all the last-minute consolidations like mine, but was very helpful.

There are no fees for consolidation, and as far as I know all the companies have the same terms, since consolidation loans are highly regulated. I chose Graduate Loan Center because my mom used them to consolidate my brother’s loans, and they have never sent me deceptive junk mail, so they’re OK with me.

Two things you should know if you’re in medicine, education, or AmeriCorps:

• Perkins loans become ineligible for cancellation if you consolidate them - Amy and I can have our Perkins loans forgiven since we teach in eligible schools. More info from the Dept of Education
• Stafford loans can still be cancelled after consolidation. I didn’t know this, which is why we never consolidated. More info