Loans
A Federal Direct Student Loan is money you borrow from the federal government and must repay to your loan servicer.
To be considered, you must submit the FAFSA. Your eligibility for Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Loans is based on your Student Aid Index (SAI) and grade level. You must also be degree-seeking and meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements.
If offered a loan, you must review and accept the Terms and Conditions in your financial aid award. Federal Direct Loans include an origination fee, which is deducted from your loan before funds are disbursed. This means you will receive slightly less than the amount you borrow, but you are responsible for repaying the full loan amount.
For current origination fee details and additional loan information, visit studentaid.gov.
First-Time Loan Borrowers
- Instructions for Accepting Loans/Awards
- Complete Entrance Counseling
- Complete Master Promissory Note (MPN)
Student Loan Options
- Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
- Federal Perkins Loans
- Private (Alternative) Loans
Loan Basics
- Interest Rates and Fees
- Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment
- Master Promissory Notes
- Entrance Counseling
- Accept a Loan
- Exit Counseling
- Reviewing Your Loan History – Students can view their Title IV data (grants and loans history), and loan servicer contact information by logging into their Student Aid Account. This new dashboard allows students to access information initially available on a national database formerly known as the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) overseen by the U.S. Department of Education.
Federal Loan Repayment Options
- Loans begin to go into repayment when a borrower does the following:
- Graduates from school
- Drops below half-time enrollment
- Withdraws from school
- Takes a Leave of Absence
When repayment begins, you’ll need to choose a repayment plan. Your monthly payment and repayment length will depend on the option you select. Consolidation Loans may have different repayment terms.
Missing payments can lead to delinquency and, after 90 days, may be reported to the three major credit bureaus. This can negatively impact your credit and make it harder to borrow money in the future.
If you’re struggling to make payments, review the repayment options below or contact your loan servicer to discuss lowering your monthly payment.
| REPAYMENT PLAN | ELIGIBLE LOANS | MONTHLY PAYMENT & TIME FRAME | ELIGIBILITY |
| Standard Repayment Plan |
|
Payments are a fixed amount
Up to 10 years |
All borrowers are eligible for this plan.
You’ll pay less over time than under other plans. |
| Graduated Repayment Plan |
|
Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years
Up to 10 years |
All borrowers are eligible for this plan.
You’ll pay more over time than under the 10-year Standard Plan |
| Extended Payment Plan |
|
Payments may be fixed or graduated
Up to 25 years |
If you’re a Direct Loan borrower, you must have more than $30,000 in outstanding direct loans.
If you’re a FFEL borrower, you must have more than $30,0000 in outstanding FFEL Program loans. Your monthly payments will be lower than under the 10-year Standard Plan or the Graduated Payment Plan |
| Revised Pay As You Earn Payment Plan (REPAYE) |
|
Your monthly payments will be 10% of discretionary income.
Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income and family size. If you’re married, both your and your spouse’s income or loan debt will be considered, whether taxes are filed jointly or separately (with limited exceptions). Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 20 or 25 years. |
Any Direct Loan borrower with an eligible loan type may choose this plan.
Your monthly payment can be more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven. Good option for those seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). |
| Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE) |
|
Your maximum monthly payments will be 10% of discretionary income.
Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income and family size. If you’re married, your spouse’s income or loan debt will be considered only if you file a joint tax return. Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 20 years. |
You must be a new borrower on or after October 1, 2007, and must have received a disbursement of a Direct Loan on or after October 1, 2011.
You must have a high debt relative to your income. Your monthly payment will never be more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. You’ll pay more over time than under the 10-year Standard Plan. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven. Good option for those seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). |
| Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR) |
|
Your monthly payments will be 10% or 15% of discretionary income.
Payments will be recalculated each year and are based on your updated income and family size. If you’re married, your spouse’s income or loan debt will be considered only if you file a joint tax return. Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 20 or 25 years. You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven. |
You must have high debt relative to your income.
Your monthly payment will never be more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. You’ll pay more over time than under the 10-year Standard Plan. Good option for those seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). |
| Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR) |
|
Your monthly payment will be the lesser of:
Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. If you’re married, your spouse’s income or loan debt will be considered only if you file a joint tax return or you choose to repay your Direct Loans jointly with your spouse. Any outstanding balance will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 25 years. |
Any Direct Loan borrower with an eligible loan type may choose this plan.
Your monthly payment can be more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. You may have to pay income tax on the amount that is forgiven. Good option for those seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Parent borrowers can access this plan by consolidating their Parent PLUS Loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. |
| Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan |
|
Your monthly payment is based on annual income.
Up to 15 years |
You’ll pay more over time than under the 10-year Standard Plan.
The formula for determining the monthly payment can vary from lender to lender. |
Forbearance
If you can’t make your scheduled loan payments, but don’t qualify for a deferment, your loan servicer may be able to grant you a forbearance. With forbearance, you may be able to stop making payments or reduce your monthly payment for up to 12 months. Interest will continue to accrue on your subsidized and unsubsidized loans (including all PLUS loans).
Deferment
A deferment is a period during which repayment of the principal and interest of your loan is temporarily delayed.Under certain circumstances, you can receive a deferment that allows you to temporarily postpone or reduce your Federal Student Loan payments. Postponing or reducing your payments may help you avoid default.
You’ll need to work with your loan servicer to apply for deferment. Be sure to keep making payments on your loan until the deferment or forbearance is in place. You are eligible for an In-School Deferment if you are enrolled at least half-time in school and your loan has been fully disbursed. During a deferment, you do not need to make payments. In addition, depending on the type of loan you have, the Federal Government may pay the interest on your loan during a period of deferment.
Consolidation
Federal Consolidation Loans allow the borrower to combine ALL federal student loans into a single loan and extend repayment for up to 30 years.
- Federal Consolidation Loans have one fixed-interest rate based on a weighted average of the current rates on your existing loans.
- Borrowers must be in repayment to qualify
- Borrowers who are delinquent or in default must meet certain requirements before they may consolidate their loans
- Parent PLUS Loans are eligible for consolidation once they are fully disbursed.
- Private loans are not part of the Federal Loan Consolidation program.
Why Consolidate?
- If you currently have federal student loans that are with different loan servicers, consolidation can simplify loan repayment by giving you a single loan with just one monthly bill.
- Consolidation can lower your monthly payment by giving you a longer period of time to repay your loans
- A consolidation loan has a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan
- Consolidated loans have several different repayment plans
- If your loans are held by multiple lenders and/or servicers, consider consolidating
- If your loans are held by the same government servicer but are both Stafford and Direct Loans, consider consolidating.
When to Consolidate?
- We recommend that you begin the consolidation process 4 months after graduating or leaving school so that the consolidation takes place at the very end of your statutory 6 months grace period. (It can take 6 weeks for the consolidation process to be completed)
- When, based on your personal situation, you have determined that consolidation is right for you.
Additional Questions?
- For additional information on loan consolidations, please visit Federal Student Aid – Loan Consolidation or by calling the Student Loan Support Center at 1-800-557-7394.
How to Start the Consolidation Process?
- Review your loans and who your loan holders are by logging into the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS) to access your loans and servicer information
- For the online Loan Consolidation Application, please create or access your Federal Student Aid account.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives the remaining balance on your Federal Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
- Employment with the following types of organizations qualifies for PSLF:
- Government organizations at any level (federal, state, local, or tribal)
- Not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- Other types of not-for-profit organizations that provide certain types of qualifying public services
- Serving in a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps position also counts as qualifying employment for the PSLF Program.
You may use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness tool to see if your employer and your loans qualify for this program.
Log In to Public Service Loan Forgiveness Tool
- The following types of employers do not qualify for PSLF:
- Labor unions
- Partisan political organizations
- For-profit organizations
- Non-profit organizations that are not tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that do not provide a qualifying service
More About Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Federal Direct Loans Sample Repayment Schedule
Direct loan repayment varies by student. Your monthly payment amount is determined by how much you borrowed when the funds were disbursed, when your loan enters repayment and the type of repayment plan you choose.
- To give you an idea of repayment, let us assume we have an undergraduate borrower with the following loans:
- 1st year Subsidized Loan of $3,500 with an interest rate of 4.66%
- 2nd year Subsidized Loan of $4,500 with an interest rate of 4.29%
- 3rd year Unsubsidized Loan of $4,500 with an interest rate of 3.76%
- 4th year Unsubsidized Loan of $5,000 with an interest rate of 4.45%
- For a total amount of loans borrowed of $17,500 with a weighted average interest rate of 4.3%
Assume the student enters repayment immediately following the end of their six-month grace period, and they have an annual salary of $32,000. The gird below shows the different repayment options available to the borrower and lists the monthly payment, the length of time it takes to pay off the loan, and the total amount paid for the loan.
| Payment Plan Name | Monthly Payment | Total Amount Paid | # of Months in Repayment |
| Standard | $180 | $21,556 | 120 |
| Graduated | $101 – $303 | $22,575 | 120 |
| Revised Pay As you Earn (REPAYE) | $115 – $242 | $22,653 | 132 |
| Pay As you Earn (PAYE) | $115 – $180 | $22,822 | 143 |
| Income- Base Repayment (IBR) | $172 – $180 | $21,600 | 121 |
| IBR for New Borrowers | $115 – $180 | $22,822 | 143 |
| Income- Contingent Repayment | $119-143 | $24,207 | 186 |
- The example above does not take into consideration the interest that accrues on the Direct Unsubsidized Loan while the student is in school.
We recommend that you log into the Repayment Estimator at StudentLoans.gov with your FSA ID credentials to get an estimate using your actual loan data.
Federal Direct Loans (Stafford and PLUS)
If you have a Federal Direct Loan, please send your payment to your loan servicer. You may log into the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS) to access your loan servicer information.
Federal Perkins Loans
If you have a Federal Perkins Loan, you can access your loan account, update your personal information, and make payments online at Heartland/ECSI.
Payment can also be mailed to –
Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI)
PO Box 718
Wexford, PA 15090
Phone: 888-549-3274
Private Education Loans
If you have a Private Educational Loan, please contact your lender for payment information.
