US Federal Student Aid
Repaying Your Loan
Once you graduate, leave school or drop below half-time enrollment (fewer than 8 credits), you will enjoy a few weeks of a ‘grace period’ before you begin repaying your student loans. Of course, during this time you will need to find information about your loans such as the amount owing, the name of the loan servicer or lender and all your payment options.
Access to all this information is provided by the U.S. federal government at their website:
From this site you can log into My Federal Student Aid which links you to the government loan database, NSLDS, which provides - in addition to other information - the dollar value of the loans you received, the name of your loan servicer or lender AND when your first payment should be made. This login uses your federal Student Aid PIN.
Or if you prefer to speak with someone over the telephone, you can call:
Federal Student Aid Information Center
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).
The most current information on the Direct Loan interest rates as well as a repayment calculator is published by the U.S. federal government at http://www.direct.ed.gov/calc.html.
Your loan servicer or lender will be able to explain options available to you in a repayment program - even if your funds are limited. It’s important to keep in contact with your lender; they want you to be successful in repayment of your loans!