Free Repayment Guide » In Grace » Manage Student Loan Accounts » Choose Repayment Schedule

Choose Repayment Schedule

One of the keys to effectively managing your student loans is to find the repayment option that best meets your particular cash flow and budgetary needs.  There are repayment plans that provide payment relief when you first leave school and repayment plans that lower your monthly payments by extending your repayment term.  Just remember that any time you extend your repayment term beyond 10 years, you will end up paying more for your loans.  There are four classes of repayment plans:

The Department of Education Web site has a summary of the available plans, as does FinAid!, and both sites have useful calculators as well.

Special Tips:

• There is never a penalty for paying off a federal student loan early.
• The longer it takes to repay a loan, the more it will cost you.
• With a few restrictions (see your loan servicer), borrowers may switch repayment plans.  If you select one plan and it turns out not to be the best one for you, you can talk with your loan servicer about switching plans.

Once you've decided on your repayment plan, you can enact that decision on your student loan servicer's Web site.

Chaperone Assist ⇒ Your Student Loan Chaperone can help you decide which repayment plan is best for you.

• Subtask Complete!