Student Loan Calculator
You can develop a student loan repayment plan that is suitable for you by using a student loan calculator. This student loan calculator can calculate your expected monthly payment depending on the term of your loan using a few basic details about your current or future student loans. It will also display the total amount of interest you will be required to pay. Enter your student loan information into the calculator below to get tailored results.
Student Loan Calculator: How Long Will It Take to Repay?
It goes without saying that the cost of earning a degree has increased recently. Many students have found that taking on more and more student loans is the only way to keep afloat in this rising tide.
A student loan calculator can be used to compare the expenses of attending various universities. A number of factors come into play, including your marital status, age, and the length of time you want to enroll (four years if you are a freshman, two years if you are a junior transferring, etc.). The student loan payment calculator can then tell you what amount of debt you can expect to take on and what your costs will be after you graduate, both on a monthly basis and over the lifetime of your loans, based on some financial information like how much you (or your family) will be able to contribute each year and what scholarships or gifts you’ve already secured. Naturally, how much you will repay depends wholly on the type of loans you chose to take out.
Student Loan Payoff Programs
Below are some of the various student loan programs offered by the federal government that have low interest rates and other favorable terms for students. Your ability to manage your debt after graduation may be improved if you are able to use one of these programs to pay for a portion of your education expenses.
A targeted student loan debt relief program that will provide assistance to more than 40 million borrowers and a total cancellation for about 20 million will be approved by the federal government in 2022, it should be noted. Depending on eligibility, savings can total $10,000 to $20,000 in forgiveness. The program has now been blocked by court orders, which the Biden-Harris administration is currently attempting to reverse.
Types of Student Loans
Let’s quickly review how student loans actually operate before moving on to the various accessible loan packages. Student loans have an origination charge that is a small upfront cost, and they also have interest and principal payments that must be made over time, just like any other sort of loan (auto loan, credit card, mortgage). Principal repayments go toward repaying the amount borrowed, while interest payments are made as a proportion of the outstanding balance. In most cases, if you skip a payment, the interest you would have owed is added to the balance of your loan.
The federal government offers a number of loan programs with better terms than most private loan options to assist students in paying for education. Federal student loans are distinctive since they, while you are a student, your payments are deferred—that is, put off until later. Some types of Federal loans are “subsidized” and do not accumulate interest payments during this deferment period.
Stafford Loans
For undergraduate students, Stafford loans are the main type of student loan offered by the federal government. They provide the lowest interest rates possible (4.99% for the academic year 2022–2023), as well as cheap origination fees (about 1% of the loan), and unlike auto loans or other types of debt, the interest rate is not influenced by the borrower’s income or credit score. The APR is the same for all students who obtain Stafford loans.
Stafford loans come in two varieties: subsidized and unsubsidized. Only students in need of financial aid are eligible for subsidised Stafford loans. You do not have to pay interest on subsidized loans while you are enrolled in classes or for a six-month “grace period” after you graduate because the federal government handles that for you. Overall, subsidized Stafford loans are the greatest student loan option, however qualified undergraduate students are only allowed to borrow a maximum of $23,000 in subsidized loans, with a maximum of $3,500 in their first year, $4,500 in their second year, and $5,500 in their third year and later.
Unsubsidized Stafford loans are available for students who are not qualified for subsidized loans. These have the same low interest rate as subsidized loans but don’t require the government to pay the interest. That implies that interest builds up while you are a student and is added to the amount you must repay after graduation (also known as your principle balance). Even while this might seem like a small distinction, it can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars in additional debt on top of what you had borrowed. The distinction between subsidized and unsubsidized loans is taken into account by reliable student loan repayment calculators.
There is a cap on the overall amount of unsubsidized and subsidized loans that one student may borrow, in addition to the specific $23,000 cap on subsidized Stafford loans. Stafford loans are available to undergraduate students who are financially reliant on their parents up to $31,000 and to those who are financially independent up to $57,500. If a student has already borrowed the maximum amount in subsidized loans, she may be able to borrow an extra $8,000 to $34,500 in unsubsidized loans, depending on whether she has dependents or not.
Graduate and professional students are no longer eligible for loans with subsidies. They are only qualified for unsubsidized choices as of 2012. They can remove $20,500 year, or $138,500 overall. It’s crucial to keep in mind that this sum covers loans obtained for undergraduate school as well. For the school year 2022-2023, the interest rate on unsubsidized graduate loans is 6.54%.
PLUS Loan
The federal government provides a different alternative for graduate and professional students called PLUS Loans. Although PLUS loans have a higher interest rate and origination charge than Stafford Loans, they can be used to cover the full cost of attendance, less any other financial aid received, and have no borrowing limits. The interest rate on PLUS loans is 7.54% for the academic year 2022–2023 and the origination fee is around 4.3%. Additionally, a credit check is necessary, so students with poor credit may not be eligible. Parents of undergraduate students may also use PLUS loans to assist in financing their children’s education.
Perkins Loan
Another low-interest government loan program was the Perkins program, which granted loans directly through participating colleges and institutions. Although the Perkins Loan Program was terminated in 2017, borrowers are still required to repay their loans. Ten-year payback periods with a 5% interest rate were involved.
Today, borrowers looking for U.S. government loans would apply for Stafford and Plus loans.
Private Loans
Students who still need money might turn to private loans after using all available government loan alternatives. Private loans can be more difficult to obtain and typically have far worse terms than federal loans. Their interest rates may fluctuate, and are frequently greater than 10%. Your credit history may affect the interest rate and your ability to obtain private student loans. Many don’t allow for the postponement of payments while you’re in school, however some do. While not everyone can benefit from private loans, for certain students they can be useful in bridging the difference between federal loans and the expense of college.
Making a Federal Financial Aid Application
Getting federal financial help is a fairly simple process. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the only form you need to complete and submit to the financial aid office at your school. The remainder is done after that. Your only access point to Stafford and PLUS loans is the FAFSA. You can be eligible for even more financial aid because many institutions use it to establish your eligibility for scholarships and other programs provided by your state or school.
Really, there is no excuse not to submit an FAFSA. Many students think they won’t be eligible for financial aid because their parents make too much money, but in reality, the eligibility calculation takes into account a variety of factors in addition to parents’ income. In a similar vein, grades and age are not taken into account when assessing eligibility for the majority of federal financial aid programs, thus your poor GPA won’t disqualify you.