One may think the battle is over when you get a student loan to sort your academic bills in school. Little do you know that the real battle starts when your student loan grace period is coming to an end and you just don’t know what to do when it expires.
Usually, this is for those who haven’t made any progress yet in gathering the money for payback.
The best thing to do is to quickly devise a plan on how to embark on the repayment journey as the student loan grace period comes to an end.
Read carefully to see what you need to do if your grace period expires.
Read through the table of contents for an overview.
What Is A Student Loan Grace Period?
The period that allows students to graduate, get a job, and make plans for repayment is known as the student loan grace period. It is not all student loan that gives grace period. Also, the grace period varies depending on your academic standing.
While some loans give a period of 6 months for grace, others do not. Loans that do provide a six-month grace period include direct subsidized loans, direct unsubsidized loans, and all Stafford loans, according to the Department of Education. For military students, an additional 3 years is given.
More so, federal loans give students a period of six months too as a grace period. To get started, here are some important steps to take.
- Understand student loan grace periods.
- Know how much is owed
- Contact the student loan servicer
- Pick a repayment plan
- Prioritize loan payments
- Focus on the future.
How Long Is The Student Loan Grace Period?
Most undergraduate federal loan providers have a student loan grace period of 6 months after graduation. However, PLUS loans have no grace period and most student borrowers who borrowed from PLUS loans make use of an in-school postponement so they do not make payments while in school.
In as much as every student loan lender has their peculiarities and differences, some undergraduate private loans will make room for deferments and some minimum payment while in school. That is to say that, the best private loan grace period ever seen is 9 months upon graduation.
What Happens When your Student Loan Lender Sends You A Reminder?
One thing you can’t run away from is paying off your student loan. If you try to shy away from it, your lenders will come after you and confiscate your earnings and your social security will be tampered with.
By default, some weeks before your first payment is due, your service loan providers will send you a notif highlighting the loan balance, repayment plan, and amount, the terms and conditions following the loan. Also, note that you will be placed on the standard repayment plan.
If the minimum payment stated in the letter served to you by the student loan lenders is more than what you can afford at the stated time, all you need do is to call them to figure out what works best for you.
Do not make a hasty discussion with them. This is the reason why I said figure out what works for you and choose a more suitable repayment plan.
Why You Shouldn’t Use The Standard Repayment Plan
This repayment plan spreads the same payments for a period of 10 years and this can be quite daunting for graduates who are yet to find their footing. Obviously, it is not all who make cool money in their first jobs.
So, surf through other repayment plans to see if a graduate plan or any other will be more lenient on your pocket.
What To Do When Your Student Loan Grace Period Expires
Below are a number of things you should do when you couldn’t meet up with the repayment plan as planned. Kindly read through.
How can Obama Loan Forgiveness & Discharge help me as a student?
1. See If You Qualify For Student Loan Forgiveness
One-third of students who took loans to see themselves through school are supposed to qualify for some type of student loan forgiveness. This too can help lessen your student loan burden at the time.
Check to see if you are eligible for any of the student loan forgiveness program. If you truly do, place yet another call through to your service providers to verify from them which documents are needed to prove eligibility.
Although most student loan forgiveness options may require numerous years of service after graduation, you will also make the minimum payments on your student loan while the forgiveness process is still ongoing.
2. Use Backdoor Student Loan Forgiveness Plans
If the aforementioned doesn’t work, however, you can also opt for the backdoor student loan forgiveness plan. Actually, these are not true student loan forgiveness programs but have some sort of forgiveness at the end if there is any balance.
This plan is based on your income which you can confirm yearly to remain qualified. It goes on for a certain duration before your loan balance can be forgiven. This special plan may work for you. Who knows?
It is expedient that you know about how this plan can last for up to 20 years or more. Also, forgiven balance is deemed taxable income.
3. Ask for Postponement
There are lots of reasons why you will be granted postponements which is also known as deferments. They include financial hardship, illness, and many more. Just do the needful by calling and explaining your plight to your student loan lenders.
Bear in mind that asking for deferment won’t get you out of student loan debt suddenly. Rather, it worsens it as the interest continues to pile up.
Frequently Asked Questions On What To Do When Your Student Loan Expires
During your student loan grace period, you might not necessarily make any payments on your student loan. The reason why it is called the grace period is to allow you to find your footing and be able to start repayment when the time is right.
You can have your deferment extended up to three years if you are still trying to find your footing.
Extension on student loans happens in cases such as difficulty or health challenges. All you need to do is call them to explain your predicament and your quest for an extension might be put into consideration.
Conclusion
I hope this piece of information is helpful. Good luck as you figure out what to do if your student loan grace expires.
References
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