How Long Do Student Loans Last

How Does Paying Back Student Loans Work?

Student loans are a fact of life for most college graduates. In fact, research from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 71% of college students graduate with an average debt load of $29,400. If you’re one of those people, you might be wondering how this process works and what you can do to make sure you don’t fall behind on your repayments.

What Is A Student Loan?

A student loan is a loan taken out by a student or their parents in order to pay for the cost of their education. It’s important to note that this is not the same thing as a student credit card—those are only intended for purchasing items like textbooks and school supplies that aren’t covered by financial aid.

How Does Paying Back Student Loans Work?

Payments are made every month until all of your loans have been repaid in full. At that point, they will be officially paid off and no more payments will be due unless something changes in your financial situation (such as losing your job or getting divorced). The amount that you pay each month depends on how much money is owed on each individual loan and how long it has been since the first payment was made (the longer

How Long Do Student Loans Last

However, there are very specific eligibility requirements you must meet to qualify for loan forgiveness or receive help with repayment. Loan forgiveness means you don’t have to pay back some or all of your loan.

You never know what you may be eligible for, so take a look at the options we have listed below.

1. Teacher Loan Forgiveness

If you teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in certain elementary or secondary schools or educational service agencies that serve low-income families, and meet other qualifications, you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 on eligible federal student loans. Get the details about Teacher Loan Forgiveness here.

2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

If you work full-time for a government or not-for-profit organization, you may qualify for forgiveness of the entire remaining balance of your Direct Loans after you’ve made 120 qualifying payments—that is, 10 years of payments. To benefit from PSLF, you should repay your federal student loans under an income-driven repayment plan. Learn more about PSLF now! If you’re interested in PSLF, contact FedLoan, the PSLF servicer, as soon as possible at 1-855-265-4038.

If you have been denied loan forgiveness under PSLF because one or all of the payments you made on your Direct Loans were under a nonqualifying repayment plan, you might be eligible for Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF). Learn more about TEPSLF and how to apply for this first come, first served opportunity.

3. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan

If you repay your loans under a repayment plan based on your income, any remaining balance on your student loans will be forgiven after you make a certain number of payments over a certain period of time. Learn more about IDR plans and how to apply.

4. Military Service

In acknowledgment of your service to our country, there are special benefits and repayment options for your student loans available from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Defense. Benefits include interest rate caps under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and Department of Defense student loan repayment programs. Learn more about federal student loan benefits for members of the U.S. armed forces.

5. AmeriCorps

The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is a benefit received by participants who complete a term of national service in an approved AmeriCorps program—AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, or AmeriCorps State and National. After you successfully complete your service, you are eligible to receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, which can be used to repay qualified student loans.

6. Other Options

Check out the “Student Loan Forgiveness” page for information about other types of loan forgiveness and discharge that might be available if you meet certain conditions.

If the options listed above don’t apply to you, but you need help making your federal student loan payments, contact your loan servicer about the option to

how do private student loans work

Private student loan volume grows when federal student loan limits remain stagnant.

Private student loan volume grew much more rapidly than federal student loan volume through mid-2008, in part because aggregate loan limits on the Stafford loan remained unchanged from 1992 to 2008. (The introduction of the Grad PLUS loan on July 1, 2006 and the increases in the annual but not aggregate limits had only a modest impact on the growth of private student loan volume. The subprime mortgage credit crisis of 2007-2010, however, limited lender access to the capital needed to make new loans, reining in growth of the private student loan marketplace.) The annual increase in private student loan volume was about 25% to 35% per year, compared with 8% per year for federal loan volume.

Then the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 increased the annual and aggregate loan limits on the federal Stafford loan starting July 1, 2008. This shifted significant loan volume from private student loan programs to federal. Private student loan volume dropped in half in 2008-09, according to the College Board’s Trends in Student Aid 2009.

Private student loan volume is expected to return to the 25% annual growth rate unless there is another increase in federal loan limits or an expansion of the availability of federal student loans. For example, the proposal for expanding Perkins loan funding from $1 billion a year to $8.5 billion a year will cause a significant decline in private student loan volume. But so long as federal loan limits do not increase every year, private student loan volume will continue to grow at double-digit rates.

If current trends continue, annual private education loan volume will surpass federal student loan volume by around 2030. Accordingly, it is important that students have tools they can use to compare different private student loans.

BEST PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS

As a general rule, students should only consider obtaining a private education loan if they have maxed out the Federal Stafford Loan. They should also file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which may qualify them for grants, work-study and other forms of student aid. Undergraduate students should also compare costs with the Federal PLUS Loan, as the PLUS loan is usually much less expensive and has better repayment terms. Grad students can find the best graduate loan options on Finaid as well.

The fees charged by some lenders can significantly increase the cost of the loan. A loan with a relatively low interest rate but high fees can ultimately cost more than a loan with a somewhat higher interest rate and no fees. (The lenders that do not charge fees often roll the difference into the interest rate.) A good rule of thumb is that 3% to 4% in fees is about the same as a 1% higher interest rate.

Be wary of comparing loans with different repayment terms according to APR, as a longer loan term reduces the APR despite increasing the total amount of interest paid. Finaid’s Loan Comparison Calculator may be used to generate an apples-to-apples comparison of different loan programs.

The best private student loans will have interest rates of LIBOR + 2.0% or PRIME – 0.50% with no fees. Such loans will be competitive with the Federal PLUS Loan. Unfortunately, these rates often will be available only to borrowers with great credit who also have a creditworthy cosigner. It is unclear how many borrowers qualify for the best rates, although the top credit tier typically encompasses about 20% of borrowers.

Generally, borrowers should prefer loans that are pegged to the LIBOR index over loans that are pegged to the Prime Lending Rate, all else being equal, as the spread between the Prime Lending Rate and LIBOR has been increasing over time. Over the long term a loan with interest rates based on LIBOR will be less expensive than a loan based on the Prime Lending Rate. About half of lenders peg their private student loans to the LIBOR index and about 2/5 to the Prime lending rate.

Some lenders use the LIBOR rate because it reflects their cost of capital. Other lenders use the Prime Lending Rate because PRIME + 0.0% sounds better to consumers than LIBOR + 2.80% even when the rates are the same.

It is not uncommon for lenders to advertise a lower rate for the in-school and grace period, with a higher rate in effect when the loan enters repayment.

Federal student loans are not available for expenses incurred by law, medical and dental students after they graduate, such as expenses associated with study for the bar or finding a residency. There are two types of private student loans for these expenses:

• A Bar Study Loan helps finance bar exam costs such as bar review course fees, bar exam fees, as well as living expenses while you are studying for the bar.
• A Residency and Relocation Loan helps medical and dental students with the expenses associated with finding a residency, including interview travel expenses and relocation costs, as well as board exam expenses.