In the past year, several lenders have introduced the ability for students to consolidate their private loans. The philosophy is the same as the FCL in that this private consolidation loan pays off the underlying private loans into a single private consolidation loan. Generally, they allow for up to a 30-year repayment period. Not all lenders offer a fixed rate option and many only offer them to domestic students. In addition, most price out the loan based on FICO scores, debt/income ratios and various interest rate indices.