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Student debt repayment assistant
Before you start, it will be helpful to have a list of your loans, as well as the required monthly payment amounts. If you don’t have this information, don’t worry.
While our Student Debt Repayment Assistant can’t give you advice for your exact situation, we hope it can point you in the right direction and help you learn about some of your options.
Question 1: Federal, non-federal, or both?
Are your student loans federal, non-federal, or a mixture of both?
If you aren’t sure what kind of loans you have, visit the National Student Loan Database System for Students and select “Financial Aid Review” for a list of all federal loans made to you. Click each individual loan to see who the servicer is for that loan (this is the company that collects payments from you). It’s very important to know your servicer. This might be a different company from the original lender.
Federal loans
Probably has a name like Stafford, Grad PLUS, Direct, or Perkins
Non-federal loans
Issued by a bank, credit union, your school, or other lending institution
Might use names like “private” or “alternative”
Issued by a non-profit or state agency
If you’re not sure whether you have non-federal loans, contact your school’s financial aid office since they may have this information on file.
Question 2: Are you confident you can make the full payment?
When you consider your current income and loan payments, are you confident that you can make your monthly payments?
Be sure to consider all loan payments and other living expenses (like rent, food, and transportation), and not just your student loan payment.
If you’re not sure what your monthly payments are, contact your servicers (or log on to their websites) to view your account. For more information about how to find your loan servicers, go back to Question 1.
You’re well on your way as long as you keep up with your loan payments.
Helpful advice
Consider contacting your loan servicer to set up direct debit. Your servicer will automatically withdraw money from your bank account so you’re less likely to miss a payment. Many lenders offer an interest rate reduction for those who set up direct debit, which could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of the loan!
Even if you set up direct debit, check your account periodically to make sure everything is being processed correctly. Be sure you have enough funds in your account or you might face fees from your bank and your student loan servicer.
If your budget allows for it, and you have already set aside some funds for emergencies, then you could consider making a payment for more than what is required. You’ll pay off your loan faster and pay less in interest. For most federal loans and non-federal loans, you can make additional payments at any time without a penalty.
If you do pay more than the minimum payment, be sure to make these payments to your loan with the highest interest rate first. Generally speaking, this will be the best way to make a big dent in your debt.
Remember, you might also have other options. The best way to learn about all of them is to contact your servicer.
Call your non-federal loan servicer and ask what options are available to you. Most of the big lenders say that they have alternate payment programs for borrowers who might not be able to make a full payment. You can often find out about these options on your servicer’s website.
Helpful advice
If you can afford to make partial payments, you may want to ask about graduated repayment or extended repayment. Not all non-federal loan servicers offer these programs, but some do.
Graduated repayment has low payments in the early years that increase over time. This option can be good for those who are comfortable with their payments changing over time.
Extended repayment increases the time you will take to pay off the loan, so each individual payment is smaller.
Remember, both of these programs increase the total amount you pay in interest over the life of the loan, often substantially.
If you can’t afford to pay at all, some of the most popular programs for temporarily stopping your payments are deferment and forbearance. Unlike federal loans, your non-federal loans don’t have a common set of consumer protections when it comes to deferment and forbearance.
Generally speaking, you may be able to get a deferment if you’re heading back to school. This will freeze payments on your loans (though interest might still be adding up).
Forbearance will also pause your payments. Again, interest might still add up. Watch out for fees when enrolling in forbearance programs.
You are eligible to have federal loans deferred for a certain period of time if you are:
A student continuing your education
An active duty member of the military serving in a military operation or national emergency
Learn more about deferment for students, servicemembers, and other special situations from the Department of Education.
To get a deferment, contact your servicer and ask about this option directly. Once you’re in deferment, you can still make a payment if you get some extra cash.
Remember, you might also have other options. The best way to learn about all of them is to contact your servicer.
This is one of the best options to staying on the road of repayment for federal loan borrowers. IBR ties your payment to your income and family size. (The chart below gives you an idea of your approximate payment.)
For most borrowers, IBR provides the security of knowing that you can afford your payments:
You can always pay more if you can and want to.
If you have a lot of debt and you work in a field with moderate salaries, IBR has another added benefit. If you are enrolled in IBR for 25 years, any remaining balance will be erased.
If you work or plan to work in public service for 10 years, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness programs when enrolled in IBR.
To get started on IBR, contact your servicer. Check your servicer’s website to learn how to enroll. Just a heads up, your servicer will probably ask for proof of your income to determine your payment. You should have a tax return or a pay stub you can provide.
Use this chart to see what your approximate monthly payment would be given your income and family size. Check out the Department of Education’s IBR calculator and IBR fact sheet for precise amounts and more information.
Income-based repayment guidelines
Annual income
Family size
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
$10,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$15,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$20,000
$46
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$25,000
$108
$37
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$30,000
$171
$99
$28
$0
$0
$0
$0
$35,000
$233
$162
$90
$18
$0
$0
$0
$40,000
$296
$224
$153
$81
$9
$0
$0
$45,000
$358
$287
$215
$143
$72
$0
$0
$50,000
$421
$349
$278
$206
$134
$63
$0
$55,000
$483
$412
$340
$268
$197
$125
$54
$60,000
$546
$474
$403
$331
$259
$188
$116
$65,000
$608
$537
$465
$393
$322
$250
$179
$70,000
$671
$599
$528
$456
$384
$313
$241
If you’re not eligible for IBR, or if your payment is already lower than this chart says it would be, check out this Department of Education fact sheet on repayment plans for federal loans. You may be able to find a plan that reduces your payment.
Remember, you might also have other options, like deferment and forbearance. The best way to learn about all of them is to contact your servicer.
