Many college students find that the debt of going to college is too much of a burden to expect their parents to pay for alone. As a result, many students turn to the government or banks to loan them the money they need to pay for the expenses of college during the 4 or more years they are attending. Once the loans have been made and the student has graduated from college, he or she may make the decision to consolidate private student loans. Instead of dealing with several different loans or a “portfolio” of loans, the student can make things easier to manage with one loan payment.