Deferment

You are entitled to defer your student loan payments when applicable criteria are met. Through deferment you can postpone your scheduled student loan payments for various reasons, such as unemployment, economic hardship, and school enrollment. Your lender or servicer determines if you meet the requirements for a deferment. Below are links to eligibility criteria for available deferments.

• Deferment for Federal PLUS Borrowers (dependent in school or in rehabilitation training)
• Disability deferment
• Education-related deferment
• Family deferment (Parental Leave/Working Mother)
• In-school deferment
• In-school deferment extension forms for Federal Stafford and Federal PLUS Loans
• Public service deferment
• Unemployment deferment
• Economic hardship deferment

Forbearance

Forbearance is a temporary postponement or reduction of payments for a period of time, if agreed by you and your lender, because you are experiencing financial difficulty. Forbearance will provide you relief from paying for certain periods and help you maintain a good credit rating. However, your loan balance may increase since interest will continue to accrue on your loan during forbearance periods. Below is a link to eligibility criteria for forbearance.

• Forbearance

Repayment Options

The standard repayment period is ten years (or 120 months), with approximately the same payment amount due throughout the entire repayment period. If you find that your monthly payment amount is more than you can afford, there are other payment options that temporarily lower your bill.

• Graduated repayment offers borrowers a lower payment amount in the beginning of repayment and steps up at specified periods in specified amounts over the term of the loan. The total amount of interest repaid over the life of the loan may be greater with this option than with the standard repayment option.



• Income sensitive repayment offers a monthly payment amount, which is based on a percentage of the borrower's monthly gross income and is adjusted annually.



• Extended repayment offers eligible borrowers payment relief through a lengthened repayment term of up to 25 years.

Auto Debit

Set up your monthly education loan payments to be automatically deducted from your checking or savings account.

Consolidation

With consolidation, the borrower refinances multiple education loans. The original loans are paid in full and a new loan for the combined balance is originated, for a new term, and often at a new, fixed interest rate.

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