Admissions

• Standard Repayment This plan gives you the option to pay less total interest than other plans because the repayment period is shorter. You make fixed payments of at least $50 a month for up to 10 years. Payments apply toward both the interest and the principal balance.
• Graduated Repayment This plan may work for you if you’re just starting your career and expect your income to increase steadily over time. Payments start out low and then increase, generally every two years over a period of 12 to 30 years. However, your monthly payment will never increase more than 1.5 times what you would pay under the standard repayment.
• Income-Based Repayment This option will become available for some federal loans starting in July 2009. Payments are calculated on a sliding scale based on income and are capped at 15 percent of the family income above that level. No payments will be required if the borrower is below 150 percent of the poverty level (in 2007, about $31,000 for a family of four). Any unpaid amounts will be added to the loan balance in most cases.

The chart below allows you to determine how long you will have to repay your loan based upon the amount you have borrowed.