In this report, the author and his colleagues respond to a mandate in the Higher Education Opportunity Act requiring GAO (Government Accountability Office) to study the feasibility of developing a national clearinghouse of federal and private student loans on the Department of Education's (Education) Web site. They addressed the following questions: (1) What are some options for establishing a tool on Education's Web site that provides real-time information on federal and private student loans, and what is the perceived need for such a tool?; and (2) What challenges would Education need to address in implementing such a tool? In summary, they found: (1) Education has a range of options for providing prospective borrowers with a Web-based tool containing real-time information--such as interest rates and loan terms--on federal and private student loans, but such a tool may be unnecessary. Providing information on private student loans also may not align with Education's role in administering and promoting federal student aid; and (2) To implement such a tool, Education would have to address several challenges--including securing a high rate of lender participation and ensuring completeness, accuracy, and objectivity of information presented--to avoid the appearance of bias or endorsement. Furthermore, minimizing costs to the federal government would be challenging because developing a tool would require a considerable investment, and many stakeholders ruled out a system funded by lenders. Appended are: (1) Briefing Slides; (2) Comments from the Department of Education; and (3) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 2 footnotes.)