Preparing for Repayment
In a few short months, the time will come to start paying back your loans. But where do you start? Follow these next steps to get you headed in the right direction.
Next Steps to Take
Find Out What Happens During Grace
Understand what grace is, when it begins, and get helpful hints on what to do and look for during those 6 months.
Review Your Loan Information
The easiest place to get all your loan information is in Account Access. Through this online tool you can:
- Get loan balances
- See interest rates
- Make payments
- Update your personal information
Don't Have an Account?
Understand Interest
For some loan types, interest accrues daily. It can save you money in the long run if you pay on this interest during your grace period.
Estimate Your Monthly Bill
Creating a plan for repaying your student loans is much easier when you know what your monthly bill will be. Use our Repayment Schedule Estimator to get an approximate monthly payment.
Your First Bill
During the last month of grace, you will receive your first bill approximately 20 days before your first payment is due.
Get Help Understanding Your Bill
If you aren't sure about some of the information on your monthly bill, visit our interactive resource to get specific details about your statement and its different parts.
Lower Your Payments
If your monthly payment is too high, don't worry. We have repayment plan options that can help, such as Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans in which payments can be as low as $0 per month.
Lowering Your Payments
If your loan payments are too high, we offer options to help reduce your monthly bill to fit your financial situation.
Consolidation
If you have multiple federal loans and/or high loan debt, one option to consider is consolidation. When you combine all your loans into one, it will give you a fixed interest rate, a lower monthly payment, and more. Our Consolidation Quiz will help you determine if this option is right for you.
Repayment Plans
Our Repayment Schedule Estimator helps to determine what repayment plan may best fit your needs. Some are even based on your income and loan debt and payments could be as low as $0 per month.
Save Money—Make Payments in Grace
Making payments while in your grace period will lessen the total amount that you pay over the life of your loan.
Grace Calculator
See how much you can save if you make payments during your 6-month grace period.
How to Pay
The fastest and easiest way to make payments while in grace is online through Account Access.
Target Your Payments
If you have specific loans you want to pay down first, you can choose where the money will go.
Let us guide you through the IDR application and how to fill out each section with our interactive tool in Understanding Your Correspondence.