Repaying Your Student Loan

If you are a student loan borrower, federal regulation requires you to complete exit loan counseling.

You should complete exit loan counseling when you:

• Graduate
• Fall below half-time student status (less than six units)
• Withdraw from classes
• Do not attend for a quarter
• Have a Long Term Loan Documentation (LCOD) hold on your student account  

You satisfy the requirement when you:

• Complete your exit counseling, which provides your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.
  • For Direct Loans, visit the Federal Student Aid website.

Repayment is required according to the terms and conditions of your promissory note(s). You must start repayment after the grace period ends.

The grace period begins when you:

• Graduate
• Fall below half-time student status (less than six units)
• Withdraw from classes
• Do not attend for a quarter

The length of the grace period depends on the loan program:

• Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized): Six months
• University Loan: Nine months
• California Dream Loan: Six months

It’s important to choose the right plan to pay back your federal student loans. Review the Types of Repayment Plan examples to help you determine which one is best for you and your unique situation. Although you may be assigned a repayment plan when you first begin repaying your student loan, you can change repayment plans at any time—for free by contacting your Repayment Servicer.

See your Federal Student Loan Repayment Options with the Loan Simulator. The Loan Simulator helps you calculate student loan payments and choose a loan repayment option that best meets your needs and goals. You can use it to decide whether to consolidate your student loans. 

Learn More About Each Type of Repayment Plan

• Standard Repayment
• Extended Repayment
• Graduated Repayment
• Income-Driven Repayment Plan
• Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan

Accessing Your Loan Information

A crucial part of a sound financial plan is keeping up to date on your student loan indebtedness. This includes knowing where to find all your student aid information. StudentAid.gov is the U.S. Department of Education’s database for all your federal student aid information.

At StudentAid.gov you can find:

• Your student loan amounts and balances.
• Your loan servicer(s) and their contact information.
• Your interest rates.
• Your current loan status (in repayment, in default, etc.).
• Track your repayment progress.

To view your federal student aid information, you will need to Create an Account, if you don’t have one. If you already have an account, you can simply log in.

• Log in with your FSA ID and password.
• In the box called “MyAid”, choose the link called “View Details” to view your loan history.
• In the box called “MyAid”, choose the link called “View loan servicer details” to get information on how to make payments.

After logging in, go to your student account and the Aid Summary section of your Dashboard to see more details about financial aid. This easy-to-use feature provides a detailed view into aid you’ve received and displays:

• Federal grants received
• Student loan balance
• Progress toward loan payoff
• School enrollment history
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) qualifying payment count

Look at the Introducing Aid Summary video

If necessary, you can apply for loan deferment, cancellation, or consolidation as outlined below. The information below pertains specifically to Perkins and institutional loan borrowers unless stated otherwise.

Deferment

Deferment is a period of time during repayment in which the borrower, upon meeting certain conditions, is not required to make payments of loan principal and sometimes interest. Deferment of your Perkins or Institutional loan may be granted if:

• You are enrolled at least half-time at an accredited institution
• You are a member of the armed forces or various public or private volunteer organizations (e.g., Peace Corps or VISTA)
• You are in advanced professional training

Get deferment forms for Perkins borrowers at the Heartland ECSI website.

Cancellation 

Cancellation of your obligation to repay your Perkins loan may be granted if you are employed in:

• Teaching
• Early intervention services
• Law enforcement or corrections
• Nursing or medical technician position
• Child or family services
• Head Start
• Military

All loans can be discharged for total and permanent disability and death.

Consolidation 

Consolidation combines all of your federal loans into one loan.

• You must be in your repayment period to apply for consolidation.
• Your interest rate will be fixed for the length of the loan.
• You may include your Perkins loan, but once consolidated, you are no longer eligible for the cancellation options listed on your Perkins promissory note. And, under consolidation, interest will accrue similar to an unsubsidized loan. To request a copy of your Perkins promissory note, contact Student Financial Solutions, (858) 822-4727.

Consolidation information for all borrowers is available at the Federal Student Aid website.

For more specific information: Read your promissory note(s) or contact your loan servicer.

Find your lender:

• See a list of all your federal loans at StudentAid.gov.
• Find each loan's "Current Servicer" contact information on StudentAid.gov, or review this listing of the Federal Direct Loan Servicers.
• Perkins or Institutional loan borrowers: Your lender is UC San Diego, and the billing servicer is Heartland ECSI. Visit the ECSI website, or call (888) 549-3274 for more information.

Resolve a dispute with your lender/ loan servicer:

• If you are unable to resolve a dispute with your lender/servicer concerning the terms of your student loan, you may contact the Department of Education Ombudsman:

  Contact via postal mail:
  U.S. Department of Education
  FSA Ombudsman Group
  830 First Street, N.E., Mail Stop 5144
  Washington, DC 20202-5144

• Alternatively, contact the Ombudsman by using the online submission form.

Do not fail to repay your student loans. If you can’t meet the repayment schedule on your Campus Based loans, contact the Loan Administration Office, (858) 822-4727.

If you are delinquent on your student loans:

• You may have to pay late fees, collection costs, and/or interest in addition to the loan amount.
• Your credit rating may be adversely affected.
• Your state income tax refund could be withheld.
• Your wages may be garnished.
• You may be ineligible for further student aid, deferments, forbearances, and loan consolidation.

About UC San Diego’s default rate:

The U.S. Department of Education provided the official fiscal year 2015 national student loan cohort default rate, which decreased to 10.8%, from 11.5% in fiscal year 2014. The cohort default rates change by sector:

• From 11.3 % to 10.3% for public institutions
• From 7.4% to 7.1% for private institutions, and
• From 15.5% to 15.6% for the for-profit schools.

A cohort default rate is the percentage of a school's borrowers who enter repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans during a particular federal fiscal year, October 1 to September 30, and default or meet other specified conditions prior to the end of the next fiscal year.

The UC San Diego student loan default rate is 2.1%, compared to the national average of 10.8%.

Information on the national student loan default rate, as well as rates for individual schools, states, types of postsecondary institutions, and other sectors of the federal loan industry are available from the U.S. Department of Education.

Students who need further information about defaulted federal education debt may wish to visit the U.S. Department of Education Understanding Debt. The Department has many options available to borrowers to resolve their defaulted federal education debt, so read about your options before deciding on the right plan.