Some of these exclusive federal loan protections include: (1) fixed (and typically lower) interest rates, (2) deferment and forbearance options, (3) eligibility for Income - Based Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, (4) option to consolidate multiple federal loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan, which offers many benefits, (5) possibility of loan
subsidization during a grace period, which is usually not offered for private loans, (6) etc..