Repay Your Loans

When you’ll start repaying loans depends on the type of loan you choose. Some require you to start paying them back while you’re still in school, while others start after you graduate. But all loans must be repaid.

Don’t be fooled by federal maximum loan amounts. Those are the maximum limits for all borrowers and aren’t related to your own personal earning potential. The maximum amount you’re eligible to borrow may be more than you’re able to repay. If you aren’t able to repay your education loans, you could seriously damage your credit rating. That could make it hard to get other types of consumer loans.

Learn strategies for borrowing less

Loan exit counseling

When you’re about to graduate, or if you drop below half-time enrollment, you’ll be asked to complete loan exit counseling. This is an interactive tool that will give you the information you need to know about repaying your federal student loans.

We’ll send you email to let you know how to get started with your exit counseling.

Learn more about exit counseling

Exit counseling for a Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Perkins Loans are managed by University Collections and Loan Services, and the exit counseling process is different.

Complete Perkins exit counseling

See it in action

Ray is a freshman and needs to take out an unsubsidized loan, but he’s not sure how much deferring interest payments for four years will cost him. Here’s how he worked out the numbers:

By paying interest while he was still in school, Ray saved $316 in interest charges.