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Most students give little time or attention to their student loans while they’re in school.
And who can blame them? Between classes, working, and everything else in life, students are busy.
Once you’re a college grad, though, time is ticking and the six month grace period for federal and private loans flies by. Before you know it you’re in repayment.
Whether your loans have already entered repayment or you are in a grace period, it’s important to understand the details of your loans.
Instead of using this post to give an exhaustive overview of student loans, I’ll focus on key things you need to know about your loans. We will focus on gathering the details of your student loans and a couple other actions you can take to make the best choices for repayment.
Find Your Student Loans
It might seem obvious that knowing the details of your student loans is important, but most students and many graduates don’t have all the details of their student loans in one place. There are advantages and disadvantages for each type of student loan. Knowing the exact types of loans, the interest rates, and other details can help you make the best choices when it comes to repayment.
Before we get the details of your student loans I want you to download a spreadsheet I created specifically to record all this information. Fill out your email address below to get it sent to your inbox.
For full transparency, by downloading the spreadsheet you will receive my regular emails with tips and hacks for improving your finances. Don’t worry – you can unsubscribe at any time.
Join our Online Community to Receive your FREE Student Loan Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet has the following columns and is pre-populated with a few examples.
- Type of Loan (Federal, Private, State, etc.)
- Loan (Direct Subsidized Stafford, Direct Grad Plus, etc.)
- School
- Servicer
- Principal
- Accrued Interest
- Principal Remaining (includes interest)
- Interest Rate
- Variable/Fixed
- Person (in case you are filling this out with a partner)
- Last Updated
- Payment
- Notes
Did you download your spreadsheet? Great! Time to move on to gathering the details of your student loans.
There are a few different types of student loans including federal, state, private, and Perkins (issued by your college). The majority of student loans are federal, though private student loans have been increasing in popularity recently, due to a combination of ever-increasing tuition costs and the amount of money you can save through refinancing.
Federal Loans
Go to the National Student Loan Data System website at https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds to find your federal loans. You will need to create a Federal Student Aid identification number (FSA ID) if you don’t already have one.
Once you are logged in you can see your various loans. Clicking on a loan will give you additional information including the loan servicer, interest rate, and the history of your loan including when it went into repayment. Add all this information to your spreadsheet.
Private Loans
If you haven’t kept documentation of your private student loans, you will want to pull your credit report to find them. You are entitled to a free credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus. The website you should go to is www.annualcreditreport.com. We have a post that provides more detail on how to go about this process.
Loans issued by your State or school will also be on your credit report. In fact, all federal loans will be on your credit report as well, but it’s much easier to get the details for these from the National Student Loan Data System website.
One thing to note is that it may not be obvious from looking at your credit report that you have a student loan issued from your State. For example the loan on my credit report that was issued by Minnesota is simply listed as FIRSTMARK. I know it’s a student loan because the Loan Type is listed as “Student Loan.”
The bottom line is this: even if you have limited information or documentation of your student loans, you can always default to the the National Student Loan Data System website and your credit report. From there you can track down additional information from the specific loan servicers.
What Do I Do With This Detail?
Once you’ve entered all your student loan details into your spreadsheet, stop and take a deep breathe. It’s not uncommon for your total debt to be surprising or shocking. There are many who are deep in debt from student loans, so if you are in that situation you are not alone.
The good news is you’ve already taken initiative by documenting all the details of your student loans, which is more than most graduates can say. There’s additional steps you can take to gain more control over your situation. Knowledge is power.
If you haven’t entered repayment – or are entering repayment after a period of deferral or forbearance, you may be curious what your monthly payment will be under a standard ten-year repayment plan. You can enter your loan amount, interest rate, and ten years in this tool to get the estimated monthly payment for each loan. Don’t forget to add this to your spreadsheet.
Another proactive step you can take is reviewing your repayment options.
When you enter repayment you will automatically be put in a standard ten-year repayment plan, but it may not be the right plan for you. The options available to you will vary depending on whether you have federal student loans, State student loans, or private student loans.
Federal student loans offer the most repayment options, including income-driven repayment plans. Income-driven repayment plans may lower the amount of student loans you have to pay, and in some cases may even help avoid default. Federal student loans also offer potential for full or partial student loan forgiveness.
You can review your repayment options for federal student loans on StudentAid.Ed.Gov.
Check with your loan servicer on your repayment options if you have student loans issued by a specific State. Be sure to also check the State’s website to make sure you are getting accurate information from the loan servicer.
Private student loans have less repayment options, and sometimes have higher interest rates that are variable and can fluctuate over time. If you have private student loans consider refinancing at a lower rate.
See how much you can save refinancing your private student loans at Citizens Bank. It can’t hurt to get a rate quote.
Take extra caution before refinancing federal student loans, as you will be giving up your right to income-driven repayment plans and potential student loan forgiveness. With that being said, if you are certain you are going to pay back your loans in ten years or less and are comfortable giving up the additional rights that come with federal student loans, refinancing with a private lender could save you money.
Like most things in personal finance, student loans come down to effort. The more effort you put into understanding your student loans, including your repayment options, the more likely you are to make the best financial decisions. Set aside time to learn and understand your loans.
Ready to take control of your student loans?
This book is for you.
Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of your Student Loans and Financial Life
What questions do you have about your student loans? Share in the comments section and we will answer as many as we can!
