You must begin repayment on most types of federal student loans six months after you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment. However, if you would like, you can start repaying your loans early while you are still in school. Making payments before you have to reduces the amount you owe and the amount of interest you will have to pay over the life of your loan. Regardless of when you start paying back your loan, the process involves finding out where to send payments and how much to send.
Instructions
1. Log on to the National Student Loan Data System website and enter your personal information in the financial aid review area to find out what company services your federal student loans (see Resource). This might be the Department of Education or a private lender who manages the federal loan.
2. Go to your loan servicer's website, and log on using your account number so you can manage your loan payments online. If you would prefer to manage your loan offline, call the loan servicer to get paper statements mailed to you.
3. Choose a repayment plan that best fits your budget and goals. You can do this online or over the phone. In general, the income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment plans have the lowest monthly payments, but you end up paying the most interest. If you want to repay your loans quickly, the standard 10-year repayment plan is best.
4. Write a check and mail it to the loan servicer each month before your due date. If you prefer to make a payment online, enter your bank account information in the online payment area. You also should be able to set up automatic monthly payments so you do not have to initiate the payment each month.
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