The other reason is that
consolidating certain federal loans (like PLUS loans) opens up some new benefits that you may have been ineligible for under the terms of your original loan.
Those with a higher income who want to pay off their loans as quickly as possible may be able to use a private consolidation loan to reduce the amount of interest paid
on certain federal loans.
Keep in mind that interest on the student loan continues to accumulate during deferment, making your total overall repayments more costly (except in the case
of certain federal loans such as Perkins Loans and Federal Subsidized Loans).
In contrast, if you have
a certain federal loan that the program does not forgive, you may consolidate it with other types into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for forgiveness.
It's important to note that, when you consolidate your federal student loans into a private loan, you give up
certain federal loan benefits.