Student Loan Calculator

On the standard 10-year plan at 6.5%, roughly $1,135 a month. Over the full term that comes to about $136,000, so around $36,000 of it is interest.

For other common balances at the same rate and term: $70,000 is about $795 a month, $40,000 is about $454, and $20,000 is about $227. Halving the balance halves the payment, because the maths is directly proportional.

At 6.5% on the standard plan, paying $454 a month clears it in 10 years. Dropping to $400 stretches it to about 12 years, while $600 brings it down to under 7.

The warning worth knowing: at that balance and rate the interest alone is about $217 a month. Pay less than that and the balance grows rather than shrinks, no matter how long you keep going.

Protection if things go wrong. Federal loans offer income-driven repayment plans that cap what you pay based on earnings, the ability to pause payments if you lose your job, and access to forgiveness programmes.

Private lenders may offer a lower headline rate, particularly with a co-signer, but almost none of those safety nets are guaranteed. Most guidance is to exhaust federal options first.

Unsecured. There is no asset backing it, so nothing can be repossessed if you default.

That does not make defaulting harmless. It damages your credit, and federal loans can lead to wage garnishment and withheld tax refunds without a court judgment first.

Unpaid interest gets added to your balance, and from then on you pay interest on that too.

On an unsubsidised loan this happens when your grace period ends. Borrow $30,000 across four years and you might start repaying around $34,000. Paying even small amounts toward interest while studying avoids this.

In the US you can generally deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid in a year, and you do not need to itemise to claim it. The deduction phases out above certain income levels.

Rules and thresholds change, so check the current year's guidance from the IRS before relying on it.

It depends which plan you are on. If you are working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, extra payments can be actively counterattractive, since the remaining balance is written off after the qualifying period anyway.

On a standard repayment plan, extra payments save real money. Use the extra payment field above to see how much.

For federal loans, Congress does. Rates are fixed by law each year, tied to the 10-year Treasury auction, and set for loans disbursed in that academic year. Everyone gets the same rate regardless of credit.

For private loans the lender sets the rate from your credit and income, or your co-signer's. That is the clearest practical difference between the two: federal pricing ignores your credit, private pricing depends on it.

A fixed rate never changes, so the payment is predictable for the whole term. A variable rate is an index plus a fixed margin, so it moves when the index does. Most US variable lending now references SOFR or the prime rate.

Fixed costs slightly more at the start and removes the risk. Variable starts cheaper and gives you the risk.

The test worth applying: could you still afford the payment if the rate rose two or three points? If not, the cheaper variable rate is not actually cheaper, it is a bet.

Yes, up to a limit, and unusually you do not need to itemise to claim it. It is an above-the-line deduction, so it is available even if you take the standard deduction.

The deduction phases out above certain incomes and is not available if you are married filing separately. Your servicer reports the interest you paid on Form 1098-E.

It is usually the single biggest factor within your control. Scores run 300 to 850, and lenders price in bands, so crossing a boundary can move your rate more than the points suggest.

The score is built mostly from paying on time and how much of your available credit you are using, then length of history, recent applications and credit mix.

Before applying for anything large, check your reports from all three national bureaus. Errors are common, disputing them is free, and a corrected report is the cheapest rate reduction there is.