Repayment
No payments due while you’re in school.
You don’t have to start repaying your Stafford loans until you’ve graduated or dropped below half-time enrollment-so you can focus on your classes instead of on how you’re going to pay back your student loans.
And once you do leave school or drop below half time, you have a six-month grace period before you have to start making any payments on your Stafford loan.
Get more time to repay.
The standard repayment term for a Federal Stafford Loan is 10 years.
But consolidate your Stafford loans, and get up to 30 years to repay.
You’re eligible to consolidate your Stafford and other federal college loans once you’ve left school.
Repay early with no prepayment penalties.
You won’t be ever be charged for making more than the minimum payment or for paying off your Stafford loan early.
What if I have trouble making my payments?
Once you’ve entered your repayment period on your Stafford loan, you can choose from different repayment options, such as income-sensitive and extended payment plans, which can help make repayment more affordable.
If you’re unemployed or experiencing financial difficulties, you may qualify for deferment or forbearance benefits. With the deferment and forbearance benefits that come with your Stafford loan, you can temporarily postpone making payments without affecting your credit rating.
If I’m temporarily not making any loan payments because I’m in school, in my grace period, in deferment or in forbearance, am I still being charged interest?
That depends on the type of Stafford loan you have and on the type of postponement you’re taking.
While you’re in school, in deferment or in your grace period, you won’t be charged any interest on your subsidized Stafford loans. However, interest will accrue on your unsubsidized Stafford loans, and you’ll be responsible for paying that interest.
When you’re in forbearance, you’ll be responsible for all interest that accrues on both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans.
Any unpaid interest that accrues during a postponement period will be added to the principal of your Stafford loan for you to repay once your repayment starts or resumes. If you want to avoid having any accrued interest added to your principal Stafford loan balance, you can choose to make interest-only payments during any of these postponement periods.
What are my repayment options?
You have four repayment plans available to you for your Federal Stafford Loan. Besides the standard 10-year repayment plan, once your repayment period starts, you can also choose one of three alternate payment plans that could help make repayment more affordable:
- Standard Repayment: the typical repayment period for a Federal Stafford Loan is 10 years. For a fixed-rate Stafford loan in a standard repayment plan, your monthly payment amount will remain the same throughout your repayment period.
- Extended Repayment: a repayment plan that allows you to extend your repayment period up to a 25-year term, depending on your student loan amount. This option is available to you if your student loans total more than $30,000 and if you received your first student loan on or after October 7, 1998.
- Graduated Repayment: a repayment plan that allows you to start with a lower monthly payment and then gradually increases the monthly payment amount over the repayment term. The payment amount generally increases every two years and must be at least enough to cover the monthly interest.
- Income-Sensitive Repayment: a repayment plan that bases your monthly payment amount on your monthly income. The monthly payment must be at least enough to cover the monthly interest. You’ll need to submit income documentation to qualify for this repayment plan, and you need to requalify each year.
