Student Loan Repayment Calculator

Wondering how to calculate student loan payments, or a fast and easy student loan interest calculator?

With just a few pieces of information, our free and simple to use Student Loan Repayment Calculator allows you to quickly see your monthly student loan payment and total lifetime interest.

All you’ll need is an estimate of your current total student loan balance, your interest rate, and your repayment term in years. Plug in those numbers and you’ll know what your student loan repayment will look like.

Don’t like what you see? You always have the option to refinance your student loans to get a lower monthly payment (typically by lengthening your term) or save money on total interest (by lowering your rate, shortening your term, or a combination of both).

In order to be ready for your student loan repayment, you’ll want to know your estimated monthly payment and total interest you’ll pay.

By knowing what to expect for your student loan bill, you can plan ahead and ensure you have the necessary funds each month. Budgeting for your student loan payment is essential to stay on top of your payments and avoid missing due dates. If you miss your student loan payments, you run the risk of entering student loan default, hurting your credit score, and other consequences.

It’s also important to understand how much interest you’ll ultimately pay over the course of your student loan repayment. If you have a variable rate student loan, this interest rate can fluctuate over time. If you have a fixed rate, it will stay the same for the entirely of your loan.

If you see student loan refinance offers for a rate that’s lower than what you currently have, it could be worth considering to drop that total interest number and save money.

Looking for other helpful student loan calculators? Check out our full array of calculators to better help you manage student loan debt – all free and easy to use.

• Student loan calculator
• Student loan refinance calculator
• Student loan payment calculator
• Student loan monthly payment calculator
• Student loan consolidation calculator
• Student loan debt calculator
• Student loan extra payment calculator

The most important thing you can do as a college student is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The form helps the U.S. Department of Education and your school’s financial aid office determine your eligibility for several essential ways of paying for college.

After you start with the FAFSA, here are your top options for paying for college.

Scholarships: Scholarships are a type of financial aid that you don’t have to pay back. Your school may offer several options based on merit and financial need. In addition to scholarships provided by your school, you can also apply for scholarships from private companies and organizations.

Grants: Like scholarships, grants don’t need to be repaid. The Department of Education provides a number of grants based on financial need — a crucial reason to fill out the FAFSA — and other requirements. Additionally, you may be able to find state- and school-based grants, along with grants from private companies and organizations, to help you pay for college.

Work-study programs: Work-study programs can be an excellent way to pay for college through employment at your school. Your eligibility is typically based on the information you share on the FAFSA. The job opportunities are typically part-time and flexible, which can make it easier to manage your class schedule and workload.

Fellowship or assistantship: If you’re a graduate student, your college may have fellowships and assistantships that you can apply for. With a fellowship, you’ll be able to get financial aid in exchange for research and development in your field of expertise. With an assistantship, you’ll perform certain tasks as an employee to professors and other faculty members, as well as the department in which you’re studying.

Federal student loans: Your FAFSA will help determine how much financial aid you qualify for in the form of federal student loans. These loans are provided through the Department of Education and when you apply for undergraduate loans, there’s no credit check. Even with graduate and parent loans, you can get approved as long as you don’t have an adverse credit history. With federal loans, everyone who gets approved receives the same interest rate, as well as access to several benefits, including:

• Student loan forgiveness programs
• Income-driven repayment plans
• Repayment terms ranging from 10 to 30 years
• Generous deferment and forbearance options

Because of the reasonable interest rate on federal student loans, they’re typically the best loan option to tap into first.

Depending on your financial need, you may even qualify for subsidized student loans. With this option, the federal government pays any interest that accrues while you’re in school, during the six-month grace period after you leave school, and during deferments in the future — making them an excellent option for saving on interest costs.

Private student loans: Private student loans can help provide additional funding for your college education. Private loans differ from federal loans in a few ways:

• Private student loans typically charge higher interest rates than undergraduate federal loans.
• Private loans require a credit check, and your interest rate can vary based on your creditworthiness.
• If you can’t get approved for a private student loan on your own, you may need a creditworthy cosigner to help you qualify.
• Private loans generally don’t provide access to loan forgiveness programs or income-driven repayment plans. Also, forbearance and deferment options may not be as generous.
• Not all private lenders are created equal, so if you’re considering private student loans, it’s important to take time to shop around for the best rates and terms.

Are you hoping to pay off your student loans early? It can be a great way to save money on total interest, and ditch that pesky college debt once and for all so you can have more financial freedom.

Use our Student Loan Payoff Calculator and Lump Sum Extra Payment Calculator to get a good idea of what paying off your student loans early could look like. You can determine what monthly payment you could comfortably manage, how much total interest you could save, and how extra or bigger student loan payments could impact your payoff goals.

You can also learn all about how to pay off student loans early, as well as the pros and cons of paying off student loans faster.

Ready to increase your tax return thanks to your student loans?

Student loans are usually a burden on your finances — but luckily, the U.S. tax code makes it possible to get some of that money back.

This valuable tax benefit is called the student loan interest deduction.

Whether you have federal or private student loans, you may be able to take advantage of the student loan interest tax deduction and get more money back in your upcoming tax return.

As you prepare your next tax return, here’s everything you need to know about the student loan interest deduction including how to qualify for the deduction and how it can help lower your tax bill.

A student loan grace period is a term during which you’re not obligated to make monthly payments.

When you first take out a student loan, you typically don’t have to start making payments immediately.

In many cases, your student loan payments are deferred until you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. But even then, you’ll typically get a grace period, during which you’re not required to make payments. The length of your grace period depends on the type of student loan you have.

Your lender or loan servicer will provide you with a repayment schedule that states when your first payment is due. If you’re thinking about private student loans, talk to the lender or read the fine print to make sure you understand when you need to start making payments.

Also, plan to set up your monthly payments as soon as possible, preferably by connecting your checking account to your student loan account.

But even if you’re off the hook for a little while with a grace period, paying at least the interest that’s accruing on your debt during that time can save you a lot of money.

Here’s what you need to know about how a grace period for student loans works and how to make the most of yours.

Interest is the amount of money paid regularly at a particular rate for the use of money borrowed from a student loan lender, or for delaying the repayment of a student loan debt. In essence, it’s the “extra” money you have to pay back the lender for the opportunity to use their money to go to college (or pay off your existing student loans by refinancing).

Your repayment term is the amount of time (typically in years) that you are scheduled to repay your loan in full.

If you have high interest federal student loans or private student loans, getting a lower rate through a student loan refinance will reduce the total interest you pay (all else being equal).

Obtaining a lower interest rate can decrease your monthly payments, but so could refinancing to a longer repayment term. By selecting a longer term, you can ensure that your monthly payment is as low as possible to provide some relief to your monthly budget. Plus, you’ll have more expendable cash for other necessary expenses.

Yes, of course you can! Paying off school loans early is a strategy thousands of student loan borrowers take advantage of. You can do so by making additional payments, increasing your monthly payments, or refinancing to a shorter term. All of these strategies are effective and typically there aren’t any prepayment penalties to worry about.

There are three primary ways to pay off student loans early including refinancing to a shorter term, making larger payments, or making additional payments. If you owe between $100K and $200K, this article on how to pay off $100K+ in student loans is for you.

By having a plan in place to pay your loans sooner than expected, you can save money on accrued interest costs, get rid of student debt once and for all, and move on to bigger and better financial goals.

Not with any of Purefy’s recommended lenders. All of Purefy’s best student loan refinance picks charge no origination fees or prepayment penalties.