Repayment Plans

When it comes time to repay your Federal student loans you'll want a monthly payment that fits your budget. We can help you find the right plan to afford your monthly student loan payments.

Standard Repayment
Under this plan your monthly payments include both principal and interest and are fixed over the life of the loan (a maximum of 10 years). Among the repayment plans, this plan has the highest monthly payment amount, but the lowest total interest cost. Estimate your monthly payments under this plan using the Department of Education's repayment calculator.

Note: With the following repayment plans, you will pay more interest over the life of the loan, making the total cost of the loan higher than the Standard Repayment plan.

Graduated Repayment
This repayment option allows you to have a lower monthly payment for the first few years and then an increased monthly payment thereafter. For example:

• For the first 2 years monthly payments are interest-only.
• For the next 3 years payments are slightly higher, including interest and some of the principal.
• For the remaining life of the loan payments will be made on a standard repayment plan.

Estimate your monthly payments under this plan using the Department of Education's repayment calculator.

Income-Sensitive Repayment (For FFELP Loans)
With this plan you can lower your monthly payment by tying it to a fixed percentage of your gross monthly income. At minimum your payments on this plan must equal the interest that accrues. Also, you must apply for this plan every year (up to 5 years) and your payments are adjusted annually to reflect changes in your income.

Income Contingent Repayment (For Direct Loans)
With this plan your monthly payments are lowered based on your adjusted gross income and recalculated every year. Your monthly payment will be the lesser of:

• The amount you'd pay if you repaid your loan in 12 years multiplied by an income percentage factor that varies with your annual income, or
• 20% of your monthly discretionary income

Income Based Repayment
This plan caps your monthly payments at 15% of the difference between your adjusted gross income and 150% of the applicable poverty level, taking into consideration your income, family size, and your total amount borrowed. Your monthly payment amount is adjusted annually based on changes in your income and family size. Unlike the Income Sensitive Repayment plan, there is no minimum monthly payment amount, and therefore, the minimum monthly payment amount can be lower than the monthly interest charges. To find out if you qualify and to estimate your monthly payments under this plan visit the Department of Education's IBR repayment calculator.

Extended Repayment
With this plan you can lower your monthly payment by extending your repayment term to 25 years. You must have more than $30,000 in federal student loans to qualify for this plan. Estimate your monthly payments under this plan using the Department of Education's repayment calculator.