Know Your Loans

How you tackle repaying your student loans will largely depend on the types of loans you have borrowed. For example, if you have a private student loan with a high interest rate it may be better to pay extra money towards that loan rather than other federal student loans (such as Stafford, PLUS) with lower interest rates. Knowing the types of loans you have and what the interest rates are on those loans can help you build a better student loan repayment strategy.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)
NSLDS (www.NSLDS.ed.gov) is a federal database of student borrowers, including a list of the federal loans they’ve borrowed. You can use NSLDS to access information about your federal student loans such as the types of loans you have borrowed, the amount owed on each loan and the interest rate of each loan. To access this information you'll need to have your FAFSA Pin. Don't have your FAFSA Pin? You can re-establish it at www.pin.ed.gov

You may also use your student loan statements or Servicer's website to track down your student loan information. This will be the only way to gather information about your private student loans since NSLDS only provides data on federal loans.

Once you have a good picture of all your student loans you can determine the best repayment plan for your situation.