by Repayable | Mar 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
Read this article if you’re unsure which student loan repayment plan you’re in. Estimated read time ~3 minutes.
Figuring out your current repayment plan is quick and easy. It’s the first step you need to take to decide if you’re in the smartest repayment plan for your financial situation. Read on to figure out which repayment plan you’re in and to find the key pieces of information you’ll need to decide if it’s the right plan for you.
Contact Your Loan Servicer
Your loan servicer can tell you which repayment plan you’re in. If you don’t know who your loan servicer is you can find that out by logging in to your Federal Student Aid account.
Key Information About Your Repayment Plan
- Duration of repayment. How long will it take you to repay your loans according to this plan with no missed or extra payments?
- Eligibility for loan forgiveness. Are payments made under this repayment plan eligible for loan forgiveness?
- Monthly payment compared to income. Is your repayment plan a fixed monthly amount or does it vary depending on your income?
- Advantages and disadvantages. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this plan? For example, some plans minimize the amount you pay in interest and help you repay your loans more quickly but have high monthly payments. Others have low monthly payments but stretch out the time it takes to repay your loans which means you pay more interest.
- The target borrower. Who is the ideal candidate for your repayment plan? It’s helpful to compare your financial situation and decide if the plan makes sense for you.
Now that you know which repayment plan you’re in, do you think it’s the right plan? I’m happy to help navigate plan differences and answer any questions you have. Leave a comment below or post your thoughts on the Repayable Facebook page.
Additional Resources
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans
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by Repayable | Mar 6, 2017 | Getting started, Money Matters
Read this article if you don’t know your total amount of student loan debt. Estimated read time ~ 2 minutes.
The first step to making your student loan debt repayable is to know exactly how much of it you have. While it’s easier to deny reality and maintain only an estimate of your total debt load, it’s imperative to take control of your debt by facing the exact number.
Start with Federal Loans
To figure out the total amount of federal student loan debt you can go to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website. This website is operated by the Department of Education and serves as a central data base for student aid. NSLDS gets their information from schools, the Direct Loan program and other Dept of Ed programs. This is your one stop spot to find your federal student loan total.
You will need your FSA ID to access the NSLDS. If you don’t have that you can set one up. One thing to note is that the information on the NSLDS tends to be older (up to 120 days) so you will want to obtain a balance from your loan servicer if you’re making payments.
Contact your Loan Servicer(s)
This works for both federal and private student loans. You can find out who your lender is by checking your credit report, your lender will be listed, or by asking your college’s financial aid office for help. Either way your current loan servicer will have the most accurate and up-to-date information on your loan balance.
Now that you’ve empowered yourself with a real number what’s the verdict? Is it more, less, or about the same amount you thought it was? I remember when I graduated I thought I had borrowed $118,000 then realized $10,000 of interest had accrued on my unsubsidized loans… it was such a bummer but very quickly helped me realize the financial burden of interest! Right now I owe $81,799.82. Share your experience with owning your number on the Repayable Facebook Page or in the comments below!
Additional Resources:
https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/public/SaFaq.do
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/how-much-do-i-owe-in-student-loans/
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