Borrowers who are having difficulty with private student loans, from lenders like Sallie Mae and others, have fewer options.Today we are going to take a look at the programs available to private student loan borrowers.Instead, you should look at options to avoid a default on student loan debt.This is particularly important if you have Federal loans.You can’t consolidate private loans in the federal Direct Consolidation Loan program, but some private lenders allow you to consolidate federal and private loans together.The Direct Consolidation Loan program is the right choice if your goal is to simplify the process and keep your options open for the many repayment plans available for federal loans. Your rate is determined by the weighted average of the interest on the loans being consolidated rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of 1%.

We have created the most complete list of lenders currently willing to refinance student loan debt. Don’t worry about the impact on your credit score of applying to multiple lenders: so long as you complete all of your applications within 14 days, it will only count as one inquiry on your credit score.

As of February 2015, the post now contains new information about the three lenders that were originally listed here (Discover, Wells Fargo and Sallie Mae), along with details about other big private lenders.

Most importantly, we’ve also added new guidelines presented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

OUR GUIDE Student Loan Refinancing: Variable vs Fixed Rate Whether you choose a fixed or variable rate, it’s always important to remember to pick a loan that is right for you and your particular financial situation.

Remember that interest rates could rise higher than the past highs.