Your Payments
Repayment of most subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans begins
six months after you have graduated, or are no longer enrolled in school at
least half time. The period between those events and repaying your loan is
a six-month grace period. For Perkins Loans, the grace period is nine months.
Repayment on Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans begins 60 days after
the loan funds are fully disbursed. However, borrowers of Parent PLUS and
Grad PLUS loans may request deferment of repayment while either the borrower
or the student for whom the loan was borrowed is enrolled at least half time
and for six months thereafter.
Your loan servicer will mail you a repayment
schedule (which may be in the form of a billing statement or coupon book)
approximately 30 days before your first loan payment is due. In addition,
you will be provided with a choice of repayment plans including standard,
graduated, income-contingent), income-based, or, if applicable, an extended
repayment plan.
If you do not notify your loan servicer of your selected
repayment plan within 45 days, or do not provide the required documentation,
your loan will be set up on a standard repayment schedule.
It is very
important that you keep the loan servicer of your loan informed of your current
address and contact information so that you will receive the repayment information.
The repayment schedule will reflect the total balance of your loan, your interest
rate, the amount and due dates of your monthly payments based either on a
standard repayment plan or the repayment plan you selected, and the address
to which you must send your payments. Carefully review all the information
on your repayment schedule to make sure that it is correct. If the information
is not accurate, or you do not receive this document, contact your loan servicer.
You can learn about your federal student loan, including the total
amount of your loans, through the U.S. Department of Education's Student Loan Data System SM (NSLDS).
It
is in your best interest to pay your student loans in a timely manner.
Income-Based
Repayment (IBR)
IBR is designed for borrowers experiencing a "partial
financial hardship" and a high debt relative to their income, and is available
for repayment of the major types of federal student loans.
For more
information on Income-Based Repayment, visit: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp