Student loan consolidation center work to get students out of debt. A good student loan consolidation center maintains relationships with creditors, so they would know what the standard rate reduction should be. Many of these centers charge students an upfront fee. This upfront fee is partially refundable at the end of a program. Most student loan consolidation centers usually take up both private and federal student loan consolidation. Typically, private student loans cannot be included in with a government student loan consolidation. However, in some cases, loan institutions may allow students to include a private student loan, but it is not advisable to include a private student loan with a government student loan consolidation. When a private loan is included with a federally funded loan, it becomes subject to the same rules and restrictions as the federally funded loan.