Repayment Options

With any graduate student loan, you are given a choice of repayment plans once your loan enters the repayment period. It is important that choose the plan that best meets your individual needs. Some lenders allow borrowers to make payments electronically (and perhaps save money) and provide rewards for paying on time.

The repayment options described below are what you can typically expect to be offered from your lender. We recommend contacting your lender for specific details and to discuss other repayment options not listed below.

Standard repayment

Also called level repayment - principal and interest payments are due each month throughout the loan repayment term.

Graduated repayment

Payments are smaller at the beginning of repayment and step up at specified periods and in specified amounts over the term of the loan.

Income-based repayment:

Monthly loan payments are based on a percentage of the borrower's monthly gross income and the total outstanding loan amount.

Extended Repayment:

Extended Repayment provides eligible Federal Stafford, Federal PLUS and Alternative loan/Federal Consolidation loan borrowers with payment relief through a lengthened repayment term of up to 25 years.

Serialization and consolidation:

With serialization, the loan holder purchases your loans held by other institutions and services them in one account. You make one monthly payment but retain the original terms and interest rate. With our consolidation program, the borrower may refinance multiple loans. The original loans are paid in full and a new loan for the combined balance is originated, for a new term, often at a new interest rate.