Loan Repayment

While you are enrolled in law school, we recommend that you keep track of your total educational debt and forecast the monthly repayment amounts that will be due when you are out of school.

What is your estimated monthly loan repayment amount?

The Direct Loan website maintains helpful loan repayment calculators which allow borrowers to estimate their monthly loan payments. The calculators take into account your loan amount, loan type, interest rate, and number of years to repay the loan.

Do you know what you owe?

• The best information about your federal student loans can be found on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website www.nslds.ed.gov.  Retrieve a summary of your federal loan debt from the NSLDS database, by logging onto the "Financial Aid Review" section of their website. 
• Please note that you must log onto NSLDS using your Federal PIN. If you don't know your PIN, go to www.pin.ed.gov to retrieve your PIN via email.
• Private (Alternative) loan information is not kept on a single database. Check your own personal records for copies of private loan promissory notes and/or consult with your undergraduate school's financial aid office. Most Syracuse University law students do not borrow private educational loans while attending law school.

Manage Your Federal Student Loan Account Online

View your account balances and payment history, print a loan verification letter, sign up for automatic monthly Kwikpay® debits, enroll in electronic services, make online payments and much more on the Federal Student Aid website.

Loan Exit Counseling

For Students Leaving the University (withdrawing, taking a Leave of Absence, or graduating)

The Department of Education requires that you complete a Loan Counseling session at the time that you separate from the University to ensure that you are aware of both your rights and your responsibilities as a federal loan borrower. If you have graduated, withdrawn, or have taken a leave of absence from Syracuse University, you may log directly onto the Department of Education's NSLDS Exit Counseling website to complete the requirement. The session takes approximately 30 minutes to complete online.

Graduating? What is your loan repayment strategy?

A checklist has been developed to help you keep track of your loan repayment obligation and a strategy guide will help you understand some key details.

A Loan Repayment Session has been scheduled for Thursday, March 29th from 11:30 to 12:30 in Room 275.  If you cannot attend, or if you have additional questions which require a one-on-one appointment, please schedule an appointment with our Loan Repayment Specialist.

Federal Direct Loan Consolidation

Once borrowers leave their In-School status, they may combine multiple federal student loans into one new loan with a fixed interest rate (based on the weighted average interest rate of the loans that are being consolidated).

• Borrowers with multiple lenders and/or multiple loan servicers may elect to consolidate for the convenience of making a single payment to a single servicer.
• Borrowers who plan to pursue public interest jobs must consolidate eligible loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan in order to make qualifying payments for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• Federal student loan consolidation is available through the William D. Ford Direct Loan program
• Apply online at https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov
• It could take the federal processor several months to finalize a borrower's Direct Federal Consolidation Loan Application. Borrowers may apply anytime after they leave school and, to avoid forfeiting existing grace periods, select the Consolidation Hold Option on the online application.

Special Direct Consolidation Loan

Beginning January 17, 2012 and ending June 30, 2012, the Department of Education will offer Special Direct Consolidation Loans to eligible federal loan borrowers.  To be eligible for this Special Consolidation Loan, a borrower must have one federal student loan that is held by a "third-party" or "commercially-held FFEL lender (at Syracuse University, loans borrowed prior to the 2010-2011 academic year) and one federal loan held directly by the U.S. Department of Education ("Federal Direct Loans").

Eligible borrowers will be contacted by one of the Department of Education’s servicers and will be provided with instructions on how to apply on-line.  Department of Education servicers for this special initiative are FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA), Great Lakes Education Loan Services, Inc., Nelnet, and Sallie Mae. 

More information can be found on the Department of Education's website.

Income Based Repayment

The Income Based Repayment (IBR) Plan uses a calculation based on the borrower's adjusted gross income (AGI), household size, and the poverty guideline for their state of residence to determine the monthly loan repayment amount for federal student loans.  The Department of Education's IBR website may provide useful information to borrowers who are considering IBR as a repayment option.

The amount due under IBR could potentially be a lower amount than the standard or extended repayment amount.  As a borrower's AGI increases, so could the calculated amount under IBR. An IBR Chart was developed to demonstrate the monthly amount owed on federal student loans, taking household AGI and household size into consideration.

An online calculator is available on the Sallie Mae website to compare payment plans. We have provided a sample repayment plan comparison chart to demonstrate the differences in monthly payment amounts due and projected total interest paid over the life of the loan.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) was developed to encourage borrowers to enter full-time public service employment.  Eligible loans may be forgiven after making 120 months of qualifying payments while working full time in an eligible public service position.  To qualify, borrowers must prove they've met the minimum requirements.  The Department of Education has provided information to students on their PSLF website and has a letter to borrowers, PSLF instructions, and a PSLF Employment Certification Form.

Equal Justice Works has developed a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Basic Checklist.

• Eligible loans are Federal Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Graduate PLUS and Consolidation Loans in the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program
• Qualifying payments must be made under the Standard, Income Based Repayment (IBR), or Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans
• Qualifying employment includes non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organizations, government, law enforcement, military, public interest law services (including prosecution or public defense or legal advocacy in low-income communities at a non-profit organization), public education, etc.