Repaying Your Student Loans

Regulations require all students who have borrowed a federal loan participate in loan exit counseling. Loan counseling:

  • Helps you understand your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower;
  • Provides useful tips and information to help you manage your loans.

You can complete your federal direct loan exit counseling at

If you borrowed a federal Perkins loan, please visit the Financial Aid Office to complete your loan exit counseling.

When you sign a loan promissory note, you are promising to pay the lender all loan amounts disbursed, plus interest and other fees that may become due. The amount of your payments depends on the interest rate you are charged and the total amount you borrow. Visit the following website to estimate your monthly payment amount:

There are several loan repayment plans: standard, extended graduated, and income contingent, income based, and pay-as-you-earn. How much you pay and how long you take to repay your loans will vary depending on the repayment plan you choose. Consolidation loans also have varying repayment plans. Visit the following website to determine your repayment amounts under each of the different plans:

If you have several loans at different loan servicing centers you may want to consider consolidating your loans so you have just one monthly payment to one servicing center. Alternative, or private, loans cannot be consolidated with federal loans. Please visit the following website to determine if this is a good option for you:

Another helpful link is the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). This is the U.S. Department of Education's central database for student aid. NSLDS receives data from schools, guaranty agencies, the direct loan program, and other Department of Education programs. NSLDS Student Access provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and grants so that recipients of Title IV aid can access and inquire about their Title IV loans and/or grant data.