How To Check Student Loan Balance?
There are many methods of checking student loan balances online.
Almost 54% students are indebted to student loans, and every year the figure increases. The reason for this is the extremely high cost of education in the country which makes it harder for students to pay for their education.
If you’re a student and you’re off to college in the next months, there are student loan options that you need to consider. Before that, it is obviously advisable to calculate the loans beforehand, especially if you’re new and have no idea how it works. And once you’ve gotten the loan, it is important to track it as well.
Student Loan Repayment Calculator
A student loan repayment calculator is an online tool that helps you determine how much monthly payments you will be required to make after you’ve obtained the loan. These calculators are available on the internet to give you a close estimate of what you should be expecting.
Just enter specific information about the loan amount, interest rate and duration of the loan. The calculator will then give you an approximate amount.
How is a Student Loan Repayment calculated?
Calculating your student loan debt manually can be a hassle, but with these simple steps, you’ll be able to calculate what you owe.
For this example, say you borrow $10,000 at a 7% annual interest rate. On a 10-year standard repayment plan, your monthly payment would be about $116.
Firstly, you calculate your daily interest rate (sometimes called interest rate factor). Divide your annual student loan interest rate by the number of days in the year.
07/365 = 0.00019, or 0.019%
- Calculate the amount of interest your loan accrues per day. Multiply your outstanding loan balance by your daily interest rate.
$10,000 x 0.00019 = $1.90
- Find your monthly interest payment. Multiply your daily interest amount by the number of days since your last payment.
$1.90 x 30 = $57
For a student loan in a normal repayment status, interest accrues daily but generally doesn’t compound daily. In other words, you pay the same amount of interest per day for each day of the payment period- you don’t pay interest on the interest accrued the previous day.
Note: This example was extracted online, courtesy of NerdWallet.
If you’re not a math person and think all this calculation is just going to waste your time, the easiest way is to check student loan repayment through an online calculator.
How is Income Based Student Loan Repayment calculated?
An income based student loan repayment plan is one that sets the monthly payments according to the income and family size of the recipient. This is helpful for families who have very few sources of income and can’t afford to pay a high repayment of the loan each month.
There are several methods of repayment under the IDR (Income Driven Repayment) plan:
| IDR PLAN | MONTHLY PAYMENT |
| Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) | 10% of discretionary income |
| Income-Based Repayment (IBR) if you took out your first federal student loan on or after July 1, 2020 | 10% of discretionary income, up to the fixed 10-year payment amount |
| Pay As You Earn (PAYE) | 10% of discretionary income, up to the fixed 10-year payment amount |
| IBR, if you took out your first federal student loan before July 1, 2020 | 15% of discretionary income, up to the fixed 10-year payment amount |
Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of IBRInfo.
How to check Student Loan Balance?
There are actually very easy and publicly accessible ways that students can check their loan balance online.
- National Student Loan Data System: The process is easy, just go on the official website of National Student Loan Database and create an account. You will then check the list of all the federal loans under your name and then you will be able to see all of the balance information too. This will also give you an option to pay the balance online! However, this website isn’t always up-to-date so the information may not always be reliable.
- Aid Office: You can also visit your school’s financial aid office and give them your information. They will be able to tell you what loan you originally borrowed and how much of it is left.
How much will I pay a month in Student Loans?
How much you’re going to pay in student loans will depend on the length and cost of tuition and the interest rate. Assuming you’re enrolled in a bachelor’s degree and your student loan debt is $29,000. The average interest rate is 4.53% and the length of the loan is 10 years. This means you will be paying $305 each month for 10 years!
| Repayment Plan | Monthly Payment | Years Of Payments | Total Repayment Cost |
| Standard 10-year repayment plan | $305 | 10 years | $36,555 |
| Graduated | $172-$516
(first, last) |
10 years | $38,487 |
| REPAYE | $308-$469
(first, last) |
7 years, 9 months | $35,236 |
For graduate students, the interest rate is relatively higher, and this is how much they will be paying a month:
| Repayment Plan | Monthly Payment | Years Of Payments | Total Repayment Cost |
| Standard | $723 | 10 years | $86,728 |
| Graduated | $412-$1,236
(first, last) |
10 years | $92,215 |
| REPAYE | $365-$860
(first, last) |
15 years, 6 months | $105,885 |
| Refinance grad school loans at 5% | $696 | 10 years | $83,640 |
Conclusion
Checking your student loan balance has been made easy and calculating the amount you originally borrowed and the owing against it can also be tracked online. With everything that’s available on the internet, you can literally sit at home and get all the information you need.
If you’re confused with the online database, you can contact your lender personally for additional information and they will also help you out.
