On the 16th floor of the Boston University School of Law building one recent afternoon, three law students took a break from their studies to eat lunch and reflect. They discussed classes that could have been better, the impending bar exam, and the foremost question in their minds: how to pay off their student loans.
Each was looking at the attractive option of consolidating her debt by locking in the current low interest rate for up to 30 years, either with the U.S. Education Department or a private lender that provides government-backed loans. But the students had plenty of questions and concerns.