Consolidate your student loans

To qualify for a Discover Private Consolidation Loan, you must:

• Be a US citizen or permanent resident with a US-based address.
• Be 18 years or older at the time you apply.
• Pass a credit check.
• Have no more than $150,000 in aggregate student loan debt. Higher limits may apply for specific fields of study.
• Have verifiable income sufficient to support your debts and show a positive repayment history.
• Be the primary borrower on the loans you want to consolidate.

Yes. The following student loans aren't eligible for consolidation:

• Loans for K-12 education,
• Post-graduate loans (e.g., bar exam loans, residency loans) and private parent loans,
• Loans that weren't used for qualified education expenses (Custom Career Loans),
• Loans taken out while enrolled less than half-time,
• Loans originated and/or serviced outside of the United States, and
• Loans that weren't used for qualified education expenses for yourself, your dependent, or your spouse.

Processing times may vary after you apply, but generally we expect to complete the process within 30 to 45 days. During this time, we will complete the credit review process, you (and your cosigner, if applicable) will sign the loan documents, and we will ask you to obtain payoff statements from your current loan servicer(s). If you prefer, we can schedule a call with you and your current loan servicer(s) to verify the loans you want to consolidate.

Once these steps are complete, we will notify you when your loan(s) are consolidated and provide your new minimum monthly payment amount and due date. Please continue making your monthly payments on your existing loan(s) until we notify you that your consolidation loan has disbursed.

You need to qualify for the consolidation loan on your own. If you choose to apply with a creditworthy cosigner, you may receive a lower interest rate on your consolidation loan.

If you choose to consolidate loans that currently have a cosigner, your cosigner will no longer be responsible for the loans you include in your new consolidation loan.

• A fixed interest rate is set at the time of application and does not change during the life of the loan unless you are no longer eligible for one or more discounts.
• A variable interest rate may change quarterly during the life of the loan if the rate index changes. This may cause the monthly payment to increase, the number of payments to increase, or both.

The variable rate for student loan applications received on or after November 14, 2021, is based on the 3-Month CME Term SOFR index. 3-Month CME Term SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) is a rate index based on what the market expects rates to be over the next three-month time period. You can find more information on 3-Month CME Term SOFR at CME Group.

Get a 0.25% interest rate reduction while enrolled in automatic payments. To enroll, log in to your secure account or call us at 1‑800‑STUDENT.
Auto Debit Reward Policy

A repayment period is the period of time during which scheduled payments are required to be made to repay the principal balance and interest on a loan. Your repayment period can be 10 or 20 years, based on your creditworthiness.

APR examples

If you go back to school and are enrolled at least half-time, you may be eligible for an in-school deferment. In addition, you can also defer payments while:

• On active military duty (up to 3 years)
• In public service with certain eligible organizations (up to 3 years)
• In a health professions residency program (up to 5 years)

Deferment options

If you are experiencing financial difficulties and you are unable to make your student loan payments, we have options to help. To learn more about your repayment assistance options and determine if you qualify, please call our Repayment Assistance Department at 1-800-STUDENT.