Income Based Repayment(IBR)....whats the scoop?

Originally Posted by Dermologue

That being said, do we still have an option to consolidate with the gov vs. a private company?
No. As of July 1, 2010, all federal student loan consolidations are now processed by the U.S. government through the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP).

Direct Loan offers an up-front interest rate rebate as long as you make your first 12 payments on time once you’re in the repayment period. If not all payments are made on time, the rebate amount will be added back to the principal loan balance and will have to be repaid. As for FFELP it is different among lenders and you can shop around as to which benefits fit your lifestyle best.
This used to be true, but the rules changed. Direct loan no longer offers that interest rate rebate (although they still have the incentive for autodebit)
Some websites were saying it is better to consolidate with a private company because they have to compete with each other and will offer you perks in repayment whereas the gov doesn't have to/won't...but I'd tend to trust the gov consolidation more than a private for-profit free market company?This was true in the past when each of the private lenders was looking to make money off us. The government would bail out anyone that didn't pay so it was a great deal for the private companies but a crap deal for the government so they stopped it.

***Also, why are some of our loans serviced through GREAT LAKES and some by the dept of education itself? if you click on each of your loans individually, while logged into the NSLDS website (financial aid review option), you will see that not all loans are serviced by Great Lakes...I don't get that...

Don't know the answer to this one.

I still don't know if I should consolidate everything.

You may not qualify for the PSLF, but what is your other plan? Consolidating will allow you to extend the repayment period (lowering your monthly payments to a level you might be able to afford), or you can do the IBR which will keep payments at a level they feel is affordable (which for many people it would be if they kept their other expenses down). If you don't consolidate and can't make each of the various payments you will have to do paperwork for each loan servicer to get a different repayment plan or forbearance. There really isn't a big downside to consolidating (after you use up your grace period which is the one thing you do lose out on if you consolidate before it is up)

Hope this helps.