Hi,

I have two sons each with a parent plus loan for about $30k each at the fixed 8.5% interest rate. It looks like consolidating through the federal goverment won't help me on the interest rate at all. Is it possible to get a private loan and then repay the PLUS loan with that all at once. This would let me shop around for the best private rate.

Thanks

You can actually benefit, but only on a small scale, by consolidating your Parent Plus Loans. The consolidation rate cap is 8.25%, so you would at least save a quarter of a percent.

As for your private loan query there is not a black and white answer to your question. Most private lenders will not make your federal loans private and buy them out, however, there is no restriction in place. You would have to call around and see what each lenders policy is. You may want to start at a local credit union.