There’s no way around it: you have to pay back the money that you borrow through a Direct Loan—with interest. You have to pay it back even if you don’t complete your education, don’t like the education that you received or can’t get a job after leaving 学校.
You have to start repaying your Direct Loan six months after you graduate, leave 学校 or drop below half-time 招生. Your 贷款 servicer, which is a company that collects your payments and answers your questions, is required to give you a 贷款 repayment 时间表. It states when your first payment is due, the number and frequency of payments and the amount of each payment.
有很多 还款计划, and they give you several years to repay your 贷款. You can change 还款计划 在任何时候. If you have multiple 贷款s, you also can 巩固他们.
You’ll get lots of information about repaying your 贷款 during 出口咨询, which you must complete online when you graduate, transfer or drop below half-time 招生.
Loan repayment partner — Student Connections
Throughout your college years and beyond, Washtenaw Community College wants to ensure you are well-informed and empowered to take control of your student 贷款 repayment. We have partnered with Student Connections to help you understand your 贷款 repayment commitments and address any issues you may encounter.
In the coming months, you may receive a call from a borrower advocate who will:
- Help you understand your 贷款 obligations and responsibilities.
- Discuss available options for an achievable and affordable repayment plan.
- Ensure you are aware of repayment options during financial hardships.
- Promote your long-term repayment success.
These advocates are available to counsel you about your outstanding 贷款s and, when appropriate, work with you and your 贷款 servicer to address any 贷款 payment issues.
访问repaymy贷款s.org or talk to a borrower advocate for free at 866-311-9450.
Student Connections is passionate about helping students overcome the barriers that can get in the way of attending college, completing their programs of study and achieving success while in 学校 and after graduation. With more than 50 years of experience in counseling student 贷款 borrowers, their primary goal is to help establish the best repayment plan for you.
Deferment and forbearance
Deferment and forbearance allow you to temporarily postpone or lower your 贷款 payments while you’re back in 学校, in the military, having financial problems or in certain 其他情况下.
During deferment, you temporarily don’t have to repay the principal balance of your 贷款. In addition, depending on the type of 贷款 you have, interest will not accrue 在延期. With forbearance, you may be able to stop making payments or reduce your monthly payments. However, during forbearance interest will accrue on all of 你的贷款.
There are numerous situations under which you may qualify for deferment 或宽容. With either one, you must apply by filing a request with your 贷款 servicer.
Delinquency and defaulting
If you don’t make your monthly 贷款 payments, you will become delinquent and risk going into default. You become delinquent the first day after you miss a payment. If you’re delinquent for at least 90 days, your 贷款 servicer will report the problem to the three major credit bureaus. This will make it hard for you to do everything from borrowing money for a car to getting a cell phone.
If you’re having trouble making your 贷款 payments, contact your 贷款 servicer as 尽快. You may be able to change your repayment plan or qualify for a deferment 或宽容.
If you fail to make a 贷款 payment for 270 days, you’re in default. 这将进一步 harm your credit rating and may cause the federal government to withhold your income tax refunds and take part of your wages until the debt is paid. And all the time that you’re in default, interest charges and late fees will keep growing, causing your debt to become even larger.
The federal government offers tips for repaying your student 贷款 successfully and 避免违约. If you default on 你的贷款, visit the federal government’s 联邦 Student Aid Debt Resolution site for information about how to resolve the problem.