Student Loan Repayment
For federal student loans, you will have six months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment before you must begin making payments on your loans. Most private lenders also allow a six-month grace period before you are required to make payments on your loans. Students who borrow Schell Honor Loans will make their first payment two months after leaving Xavier.
You may prepay all or part of your student loans at any time without penalty. Paying a little extra each month will reduce your total loan cost. Communicate with your loan servicer to make sure any extra payment is applied to the loan principal, otherwise it will be counted as an early payment for the next installment.
Federal Student Loan Borrowers
Complete Exit Counseling
Students who borrow federal loans are required to complete exit counseling when they graduate, leave school, or drop below half time. This mandatory information session explains your loan repayment responsibilities and when repayment begins. Log in at StudentAid.gov to complete Federal Student Loan Exit Counseling.
Know Your Loan Servicer
The Department of Education will assign a loan servicer to handle the billing and other services associated with your federal student loans. The loan servicer will work with you regarding your repayment plan options and loan consolidation. To find out who your loan servicer is, log in at StudentAid.gov to access your account dashboard, and scroll down to the “My Loan Servicers” section. You also may call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243 for assistance.
Know What You Owe
Review your federal loan history by logging in at StudentAid.gov. Under "My Aid," select "View details." You will have the option to view each loan, including the loan type, amount you originally borrowed, and the current balance owed.
Repayment Options
You have the choice of several repayment plans for your federal student loans. The amount you pay and the length of time you have to repay your loans will vary depending on the repayment plan you choose. When your loan enters repayment, your servicer will automatically place you on the Standard Repayment Plan. Generally, you can contact your loan servicer to change your repayment plan at any time. For more detailed repayment plan information and to calculate your estimated repayment amount under each of the different plans, use the Loan Simulator at StudentAid.gov/loan-simulator.
Private Loan Borrowers
Know Your Loan Servicer
With private loans, you either will repay the lender directly, or your lender will use a loan servicer to collect payments and handle other tasks associated with maintaining the loans. Always remain attentive to communications from your lender so you do not miss important details regarding your loan repayment. To find out who is servicing your private student loans, contact your lender or request a free copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
Know What You Owe
Check your credit report to view the total amount of private loans borrowed. For each private loan that you received, your lender or loan servicer would have provided a loan disclosure which included the amount borrowed and the interest rate. Compare your loan disclosures with your university financial records and your credit report to verify your borrowing history. You can visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request a free credit report that lists the student loans reported to the consumer reporting agencies.
Schell Honor Loan
Schell Honor Loans are serviced by Heartland ECSI and are not reported to the credit bureaus. Students who borrow Schell Honor Loans are expected to notify the Loan Collection Office at Xavier when they cease enrollment or transfer to another school. Borrowers will complete exit counseling via the ECSI website. More details regarding the Schell Honor Loan