How to Use Our Student Loan Calculator
To get an accurate estimate, you’ll need a few key pieces of information about your loans. If you have multiple loans, you can either calculate them one by one or add their balances together for a total estimate.
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Total Loan Balance: Enter the total amount you borrowed. You can find this information by logging into your account on StudentAid.gov for federal loans or on your private lender’s website.
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Interest Rate (APR): Enter the annual interest rate on your loan. Federal loans have fixed rates, while private loans may have fixed or variable rates. If you have multiple loans with different rates, you can use a weighted average for a close estimate.
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Loan Term: Enter the number of years you have to repay the loan. The Standard Repayment Plan for federal loans is 10 years, which is the most common term. Other plans can extend this to 20-25 years.
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Grace Period (Months): This is the time after you leave school before your first payment is due, typically 6 months for federal loans. Interest often accrues during this time, even though you aren’t making payments.
Understanding Your Results
Your results are based on a standard, fixed-payment repayment plan. This provides a clear baseline for what you can expect to owe each month.
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Estimated Monthly Payment: This is the amount you will owe each month to pay off your loan within the specified term.
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Total Interest Paid: This is the total cost of borrowing the money. It’s the amount you pay on top of the original loan balance.
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Total Repayment: This is the sum of what you originally borrowed (principal) and the total interest you will pay over the life of the loan ($Principal + Interest$).
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Payoff Date: This is the month and year you will make your final loan payment and be debt-free.
Seeing the “Total Interest Paid” can be surprising, but it highlights the power of paying more than the minimum when possible. Every extra dollar you pay goes directly toward your principal balance, which reduces the amount of interest that can accrue in the future and helps you get out of debt faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does interest work on student loans while I’m in school?
This is one of the most important concepts to understand, and it depends on your loan type:
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Federal Subsidized Loans: The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on these loans for you while you’re in school at least half-time, during your grace period, and during periods of deferment. You are not responsible for interest that accrues during these times.
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Federal Unsubsidized Loans & Private Loans: Interest begins to accrue on these loans from the day the money is sent to your school. You are responsible for paying all of it. While you’re in school, this interest is added to your loan balance (this is called “capitalization”). This means that when you start repayment, you’ll be paying interest on a larger balance—the original amount plus all the interest that accrued.
What are the main types of federal repayment plans?
While our calculator defaults to the 10-year Standard Plan, federal loans offer several options to make payments more manageable.
The SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan is the newest and often most beneficial IDR plan, offering lower payments and an interest subsidy that prevents your balance from growing if your payment doesn’t cover the accrued interest.
Should I consolidate or refinance my student loans?
These terms are often confused but mean very different things:
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Consolidation (Federal Only): This combines multiple federal loans into a single new federal loan with one monthly payment. The new interest rate is the weighted average of your old rates, rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of a percent. You do not save money on interest, but it simplifies your payments.
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Refinancing (Private): This is when you take out a new loan from a private lender (like a bank) to pay off your old loans. The goal is to get a lower interest rate to save money. Warning: If you refinance federal loans into a private loan, you permanently lose access to all federal benefits, including IDR plans (like SAVE) and loan forgiveness programs like PSLF.
Is it possible to get my student loans forgiven?
Yes, but only for federal loans and under specific circumstances. The two most common paths are:
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Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): If you work full-time for a qualifying employer (government or a non-profit organization), you may be eligible for tax-free forgiveness of your remaining loan balance after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.
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Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Forgiveness: If you are on an IDR plan like SAVE, your remaining loan balance is forgiven after you make payments for 20 or 25 years, depending on your loan type. The forgiven amount may be considered taxable income.
What happens if I can’t afford my student loan payment?
If you are struggling to make payments, do not ignore the problem. The first step is to contact your loan servicer immediately. You have options:
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Switch Repayment Plans: If you have federal loans, you can switch to an IDR plan like SAVE to lower your monthly payment based on your income.
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Deferment or Forbearance: These options allow you to temporarily postpone your payments due to financial hardship, unemployment, or returning to school. However, interest may continue to accrue and be capitalized, increasing your total loan cost.
Take Control of Your Financial Future
Now that you have an estimated payment, see how it fits into your post-graduation life with our Monthly Budget Planner. Understanding how this new debt impacts your overall financial health is crucial; check your standing with our Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio Calculator.
