Track & repay your loans

Understand loan consolidation

If you’re having difficulty making your current federal student loan payments, you have other repayment plan alternatives. Contact your loan servicer for details.

If you have more than one federal student loan, you may be able to consolidate them into a single loan with one monthly payment. This payment can be quite a bit lower than your total monthly payments on multiple loans.

Pros and cons of consolidation

Pros

  • You have a potential for lower monthly payments.
  • The interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan.
  • You may have flexible repayment options.
  • You’ll have a single monthly payment for multiple loans.

Cons

  • You may lose some discharge (cancellation) benefits if you include a Federal Perkins Loan in a consolidation loan.
  • If you extend your repayment period, you may pay more interest over time.
  • You may have an earlier repayment start date if you consolidate during the loan’s grace period.
  • Once a consolidation has been completed, you can’t reverse it—the original loans no longer exist, because they’re paid off by the consolidation.
Learn more about consolidation

Don’t default on your loans

If you don’t pay back a loan according to the terms of the Master Promissory Note (MPN) you signed, you may default on the loan. Default occurs if you don’t pay on time or if you don’t comply with other terms of your MPN.

What happens if you default?

If you default on a federal loan, the government may take some serious actions against you. You may:

  • Lose wages and tax refunds, which will be applied toward your unpaid loans
  • Lose eligibility for future student aid
  • Be unable to get a home, car, or other loan
  • Lose job opportunities or be unable to get a professional license
  • Damage your credit rating when your loan is reported to the national credit bureaus

Private Loan Refinancing

If you borrowed to pay for college, it is important to remember that student loans have to be repaid. Refinancing is one option to consider as you begin repayment.

Refi loans combine all your private student loans and possibly federal student loans into one loan and one payment with an interest rate based on your current situation. This option may reduce the amount you pay and/or provide a more manageable monthly payment amount.

Please Note: If you combine federal loans with private loans, make sure you clearly understand any impact to losing federal loan repayment benefits.

Refinance option for Indiana residents

INvestEd works with Indiana families to help them make responsible decisions in the refinancing process and offers refinancing options designed specifically for Indiana residents or students that attended an Indiana College.

Learn more Apply now

Important information as you consider refinancing

  • Identify all your current loans (lender, servicer, type of loan, type of interest rate, borrower benefits, repayment options, etc.)
  • Understand that you may need a cosigner to refinance your loans
  • Refinancing is not always the best solution, so review the possible rates and overall costs to determine if this is the right choice for you.

Get more information about borrowing money

Don’t let your debt drag you down. Check out these sites to learn more about consumer credit and how to borrow wisely.