flexible repayment

The repayment period for education loans is usually 10 years.

• However, depending on the amount you borrowed, you may be eligible to lower your monthly payments by taking as long as 25 years to pay back your loans.

• You can temporarily reduce the amount you pay when facing difficulties.

• You can even postpone repayment if you meet certain qualifications (such as economic hardship or unemployment).

BUT…the longer you take to pay off a loan, the more you pay. That's because additional interest accumulates over time.

You begin repaying federal education loans after you finish college. You even have a grace period after you finish your studies (six months for both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans) before payments are due.

If you have an unsubsidized loan, you may owe a lot of interest even before you begin repayment.

(Parents must begin repaying PLUS loans as soon as they borrow them.)