Anyone w/any suggestions on consolidating private college loans? The interest rate is HIGH.?

I took two large private college loans and the consolidation companies won't consolidate because they're not "federal" loans. They're Nellie Mae and Key Bank college loans. anyone With any idea how I can lock in somewhere at a low interest rate while paying?

The good news is that you can consolidate private loans. The bad news is that you aren't going to get a low interest rate on a private loan consolidation. Private loans don't offer much "wiggle room" with respect to borrower benefits. Still, research as many private loan consolidators as you can and see who offers the lowest rate.

www.finaid.org (a great resource) offers a list of private loan consolidators, as well as some sound advice. Here is their list: http://www.finaid.org/loans/privateconsolidation.phtml... {Note: Sallie Mae recently came out with a private loan consolidation product which finaid.org doesn't have listed yet.}

Not to push a certain company, BUT, of the companies listed above, you might look first at Sallie Mae, Key Bank, Wells Fargo, and NelNet, as they are established education loan lenders. Some lenders on www.finaid.org's list may no longer offer private consolidation; others may require at least some of your loans to have been borrowed through them to begin with. Key Bank's program does not require that you have loans with them in order to consolidate with them now.

Take advantage of as many benefits as you can: consider having your payments automatically deducted from your checking/savings account each month -- it can often save you .25% off your interest rate.

Check with Sallie Mae. They are pretty much the be-all when it comes to student loans.