Alumni Repayment Information, Loan Status, Deferment & Repayment

While the Financial Aid Office asks most graduating students to attend Exit Counseling Sessions in person, we recognize that there is a lot of information to hold on to. Additionally, when circumstances change for individuals, it is even harder to remember what options are available to borrowers. In order to help you navigate the possible loan repayment options, we have included here some basics about where to find information about your loan history, how to check your loan status, where to get more information about deferment and forbearance options, and the repayment plans for which you may be eligible.

Need to know who your lender is, what kind of loans you have, or how much you owe?
Visit http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/. (You will need the PIN you use to sign your FAFSA.)
NSLDS tracks your loan history, listing your outstanding balance, lender, service provider, and other useful information.

Need to request your PIN?
You may request it at www.pin.ed.gov.

Stafford Loans and PLUS Loans
To check the status of your Stafford or PLUS loan, contact your service provider. (If you are not sure who your service provider is, you can find this information by logging into NSLDS and clicking on a specific loan.)

Through the servicer, you can also get more information about automated “AutoChek” payment plans, check interest rates, access deferment and forbearance forms, and access loan calculators to determine which repayment plan works best for you.

Perkins Loans
We have recently changed our Perkins servicing agency, having switched from Campus Partners to ECSI.  Students who currently have Perkins loans will no longer have access to Campus Partners’ website or phone line as of midnight, July 31.  Students who would like to check the status of their Perkins Loan, apply for deferment or forbearance, or receive other information may contact ECSI by:

Standard Repayment Plan
With this plan a borrower’s monthly payments will be the same throughout the repayment period. Depending on the amount of loan debt, the term may be less than 10 years, with minimum monthly payments of $50. The loan term cannot exceed 10 years (excluding in-school, grace, deferment, and forbearance periods). This is the automatically assigned plan for borrowers who do not select another plan.

Extended Payment Plan
Similar to the Standard Repayment Plan, the Extended Plan, however, allows a term of 12 to 30 years, depending on the total loan debt. While this plan reduces the size of each monthly payment, overall it increases the amount to be repaid during the lifetime of the loan. It is available to FFELP and Direct Loan borrowers with loan debt greater than $30,000.

Graduated Repayment
This plan begins with reduced payments, increasing gradually every two years. Depending on the amount borrowed, the loan term may be extended 12 to 30 years. The monthly payment may not be less than 50% or more than 150% of the Standard Repayment Plan monthly payment. The monthly payment must be at least the amount of accrued interest, with a minimum payment of $25.

Income-Sensitive Repayment
Available to FFELP borrowers. Monthly payments under this plan range between 4% and 25% of the borrower’s monthly gross income (and must be at least the amount of accrued interest). Borrowers must reapply each year, and payments are adjusted annually. The loan term is 10 years, but this plan may be combined with the Extended or the Graduated Repayment plans to increase the loan term and reduce monthly payment amounts.

Income-Contingent Plan
Available to Direct Loan borrowers. Under this plan, monthly payments are based on the borrowers’ monthly gross income and the amount of the borrower’s loan debt. The loan term is 25 years, and after that time any outstanding debt will be discharged (forgiven). This plan may be combined with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, reducing the loan term to 10 years, after which time outstanding loan debt will be forgiven.

Income Based Repayment (IBR) NEW!
This repayment plan went into effect on July 1, 2009, and is available to both FFELP and Direct Loan borrowers. (Parent PLUS loans, and Consolidation Loans containing Parent PLUS loans are not eligible; Perkins loans are not eligible unless a part of a Consolidation Loan). Monthly payments are based on borrower’s discretionary income and family size, but not the amount of loan debt. Most borrowers’ monthly payments will be less than 10% of their gross income. The maximum repayment period is 25 years or, if combined with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, 10 years, after which time any outstanding loan debt will be discharged. Borrowers must reapply annually, submitting application and most recent tax return information. Borrowers with multiple holders (lenders) will need to contact each holder to request IBR.

View “Debt Gremlin” IBR explanation on YouTube:

To research this repayment plan option further, check out http://www.ibrinfo.org/

To calculate your possible monthly payments, visit: http://www.ibrinfo.org/calculator.php

Need more information on Loan Repayment details?
http://www.finaid.org/loans/repayment.phtml

Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Forgiveness occurs after 120 monthly payments (deferment and forbearance periods are not counted in this calculation), as of October 1, 2007. Borrower must be employed full-time in an eligible public service job (see website for further details). Available to Direct Loan borrowers (if you have FFELP loans, you will need to consolidate under Direct Loans to be eligible).

To research this topic further, visit: http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml

Consolidation
Consolidation Loans may be valuable to students as they can bring all of one’s student loans into a single loan, and depending on your level of debt may allow additional years for repayment. For more information about Loan Consolidation, please read “Plain English Explanation of Consolidation Loans” and visit http://www.finaid.org/loans/consolidation.phtml.

To calculate the monthly payment and total interest on a Consolidation Loan, visit: www.cslf.com/ConsolidationCalculator.htm

To consolidate one’s loans with the Department of Education (direct loans) as one’s lender, go to: http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov

**When a Consolidation Loan is made you lose your grace period. Repayment (or a deferment, if you apply for one) begins immediately.**

Need to know if you have FFELP or Direct Loans?
Federal school loans, such as Stafford and PLUS, are available through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program ("Direct Loans") or the Federal Family Education Loan Program ("FFEL Program" or "FFELP"), depending on the college. Naropa is currently enrolled in FFELP, but students may also have Direct Loans if a previously attended school participated in that program. FFELP loans are funded by banks and lending institutions (i.e. CitiBank, CollegeInvest, USBank, etc.) while the funds are guaranteed by the federal government.

For more information about the differences between FFELP and Direct Loans, please visit: http://www.finaid.org/loans/dl-vs-ffel.phtml

Other useful links:
www.finaid.org
http://studentaid.ed.gov
www.nasfaa.org

Financial Aid

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