Student Loan Calculator

Enter your information to see your future obligations:

• Monthly payment: Your fixed charge due each month.
• Total repayment amount: The full sum you'll pay back over the loan's life.
• Interest paid: The portion of your payments that goes toward interest.
• Principal paid: The original loan amount you'll have paid off by the end of the loan term.
• Amortization schedule: A breakdown of how each payment splits between principal and interest.

• Repayment plan: Standard plans split the loan into equal monthly payments. Income-driven plans tie your payment amount to your income and family size.
• Additional payments: Any extra payments chip away at your principal directly, reducing the total interest you'll owe.
• Fees and penalties: Origination fees, late fees and prepayment penalties can apply depending on your loan.
• Grace periods and deferments: Certain loans allow you to pause payments temporarily through grace periods or deferments.

You have two main options for financing your education: private and federal student loans. Each has distinct features, benefits and drawbacks.

Banks, credit unions and other financial institutions offer private student loans. Interest rates can be fixed or variable and are determined by your credit score, because higher scores secure better rates. Private loans may require a co-signer if you don't have an established credit history.

Repayment for private student loans is less flexible, with fewer opportunities for deferment, forbearance or income-driven plans.

The federal government funds federal student loans and offers more standardized terms and protections. They come with lower, fixed interest rates and various repayment plans.

Federal loans provide options for deferment, forbearance and loan forgiveness.

• Direct subsidized loans: Available to undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. The government pays the interest while you're in an in-school, grace or deferment period.
• Direct unsubsidized loans: Available to both undergraduate and graduate students without requiring demonstrated financial need. You're responsible for all accrued interest from loan disbursement.
• Direct PLUS loans: For graduate students or parents of dependent undergraduate students. They have higher interest rates and require a credit check, but let you borrow up to the full cost of attendance.
• Direct consolidation loans: Let you combine multiple federal student loans into a single loan with a fixed interest rate. This rate is based on the weighted average of the combined loans.

Student loan payments can burden your finances, but strategies exist to make them more manageable. Here are ways to lower your monthly payments:

• Income-driven repayment plans: Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) all tie your monthly payments to your income and family size. These federal student loan options cancel any remaining balance after a set number of years.
• Refinancing: A private lender pays off your existing loans and issues a new one, ideally at a lower interest rate. Your monthly payments drop, but you give up federal benefits like income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness.
• Extended repayment plans: A longer loan term brings your monthly payments down considerably, though you'll pay more interest over time. It's short-term relief at a long-term cost.
• Student loan forgiveness programs: Certain programs wipe out part or all of your federal student loans, usually tied to specific employment or public service work. Qualifying cuts or eliminates your monthly payments entirely.

Find answers to common questions about student loans.