In most cases, as soon as a student gets out of college, he or she is immediately confronted with instant debt - in addition to anything he or she has accrued during four (or more) years in college. Unless a student has been paying interest on subsidized loans during their enrollment in school, and thus know a little bit of what to expect six months after graduation, then the oncoming burden of repaying financial aid starts to weigh on the mind about six months before graduation. The transition between graduation and What Comes Next - because, in a lot of cases, whether graduating from undergraduate school or graduate school, a student just needs some time to not feel so burned out - can be very worrisome. The knowledge of immediate debt does nothing to make it any easier.

Loan consolidations, however, can help make it less overwhelming. While it is true that federal loan repayments are renowned for their flexible repayment options, federal loans are not necessarily the only loans a student has to pay back, and since they are likewise well-known for their generally low interest rates, it only makes sense to be able to make sure that it remains a flat amount. After all, with some of those federal loans, the payments still raise over time. Furthermore, there are any unsubsidized federal loans to consider - the unsubsidized Stafford Loan, for example. Again, unless a student began paying during his or her enrollment instead of deferring the interest to the principal, then lowering the monthly payment, which can be so much higher than that of subsidized student loans, is an excellent option. Not only that, but with some consolidation companies, even the lower payments can be deferred for up to three years, should the need arise. This is ideal for graduates who cannot get a job right away, or for those who intend to go straight to graduate school.

Students have the option of student loan consolidation as early as right after graduation - some companies even offer special deals if students consolidate their loans before the sixth month grace period after graduation ends. Many companies also offer flexible repayment options and students are not penalized if, at any point, they get their loans paid off early, meaning that when they get into better financial straights and are able to pay more, they can increase their payments so that the loans are paid off sooner than anticipated in the initial consolidation plan.

Student loan consolidation can relieve recent graduates of an incredible amount of worry and anxiety. Deciding what they want to do with their lives after college is one of the most daunting experiences of attending college. Like entering into university life, exiting from the college experience is a time of extreme transition and change. Financial worry adds to the burden, and student loan consolidation for federal loans can ease that burden tremendously. There is really nothing to lose, because even if a loan consolidation plan offers payments at a rate which mean it will take years to pay back federal loans, there is no penalty if a student is able to pay the amount in full, ahead of time.