When Jeremy Hynd graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2004, he applied to consolidate $44,000 in student loans. With interest rates then at record lows, consolidation offered the opportunity to lock in a 2.5% rate for the life of the loan. But Hynd discovered that $27,000 of his loans weren’t eligible for federal loan consolidation because they were private student loans. Private loans are the fastest-growing sector of the multibillion-dollar student loan industry.
Office of Strategic Communication