You can view information about the federal loans you have borrowed on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The site displays information on your federal loan amounts, outstanding balances, loan status and loan servicer.
Repayment of your Direct loan begins six months after you graduate, withdraw from school or drop below half-time enrollment. This six-month period, called a grace period, gives you time to assess your financial situation and adjust your budget to prepare for repayment.
Before the end of your grace period, youll get a repayment schedule from your loan holder that includes detailed information about your balance, interest rate, fees and available repayment options. Contact your loan holder if you dont receive this information.
You are responsible to repay your loan even if you have not received the statements in the mail. Default has serious consequences that can include the garnishment of wages, loss of tax refunds, loss of student aid eligibility, damaged credit ratings, and more.If youre struggling to make part or all of your student loan payment, contact your loan holder as soon as possible to discuss your options.
You may want to consider a different repayment option, like graduated repayment, which allows you to make smaller payments when you start repaying your loan, and gradually increases the amount of your payment over time. If you cant make a payment at all, you may want to consider deferment or forbearance.
It is important to find out the many Repayment Optionsthat may be available to you.
You can use this loan calculator from finaid.org to help you estimate your future loan payments.