
Student loan debts need to
be repaid even if your economical circumstances are difficult, you don’t find
the job you had expected or you haven’t completed the education you paid for
with the loan. Or even if you think the education received is not useful to you.
Remember that the student loan is yours, and it’s a legal and real loan. You
have to repay the principal amount borrowed and whatever interests have
accumulated.
Apart from filling in the FAFSA application at
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
you must also sign an IOU document by which you oblige yourself to repay the
total sum lender to you plus interest.
Get well informed on the conditions you are accepting
by signing the loan application and don’t lose contact with the financial
institution granting it, especially if you have trouble to make a monthly
payment or your personal situation changes. Every financial institution will be
able to help you by reviewing your repayment terms and conditions, offering you
a consolidation loan or deferring payment, so don’t hide from your financial
institution: that will only make the problem worse.
Don’t forget to communicate to the holder of your loan any
changes in your present circumstances, like:
- Change of university
- Leaving studies
- New graduation date
- Becoming a part-time student
- Address, name or phone changes
- Payments to be deferred
- Not being able to make payment
The NSLDS (National Student loan debt Data System) allows you
access your data (federal loan and grant status, loan repayment, etc.) as well
as to view your current loan balance and details of pending payments. Go to
http://www.nslds.ed.gov
How to check the status of the student loan. To access to the
Student Loan Data System is necessary the PIN (Personal Identification Number)
that appears in the SAR document received after completing and submitting the
FAFSA form. If you don’t know or you have forgotten the PIN number, you can
apply for it on internet site http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp
Ways of repayment
Your monthly repayment amount will depend on how much you
borrowed and on the total length of the loan.
You will have a “Grace Period” before starting to pay your
student loan debt, after you graduate or leave the college. Each Student loan
has different “Grace Period”:
- Six Months for Federal (FFEL) or Direct Stafford Loans.
- Nine Months for Perkins Loans.
- 60 Days for Federal or Direct Plus Loans for Parents.
Your loan holder will notify you when your repayment loan is
due to start.
These documents explain the existing repaying options.
They include examples of how monthly repayment sums are calculated, and they
also provide information on other issues that need to be addressed when
considering a loan:
How to repay your student
loans
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/fund_ed_high.pdf
Electronic payment
The student’s bank will charge him or her the fixed amount on
a regular monthly basis. This is the easiest way to pay. You avoid mistakes,
forgetting to pay and involuntary delays). Some banks will give you a discount
on interest if you choose this option.