Short answer
Not necessarily, this year. In past years the usual advice was to consolidate right away to start the clock on PSLF. In 2026, a consolidation that finishes processing after the new RAP plan launches in July may leave RAP as your only option, when you might want IBR. Talk to financial aid before you do it.
A short clip from his webinar for residents and fellows, with captions.
Watch the full webinar from 3:52What changed
A direct consolidation takes all your loans and lumps them into one big loan with a weighted interest rate. In past years, the advice would likely have been to do one and get the clock going toward public service loan forgiveness as quickly as possible.
We're in an entirely different landscape now. A new program called RAP rolls out in July 2026. If you consolidate now and it takes a few months to process, and it gets processed after July, RAP may be the only option for you, when you might actually want to be in IBR (income-based repayment).
If you're leaning toward IBR
You may want to consider waiting out your grace period. Connect with your financial aid department or a student loan specialist, bring them up to speed on your situation, and they should be able to weigh in on the best play.
Where Jay covers this
Jump to each moment in his webinars.