Student Loans
-
Introduction Paying For and Selecting a College Federal Loans, Private Loans, and How to Tell the Difference Repayment Plans Student Loan Servicers and Ombudsman Offices COVID-19 and Student Loan Repayment If You Can't Repay Your Loan Loan Consolidation Programs Loan Cancellation/Forgiveness Programs If Your Loan Defaults Collection Activities Additional Information and Assistance Glossary Index of Resources
Glossary
from StudentAid.gov Glossary
Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG)
A tool that allows the federal government or your guaranty agency to have your employer withhold a portion of your earnings to collect unpaid non-tax debts that you owe to the federal government. If you have a federal student loan in default, up to 15 percent of your disposable pay could be taken by the federal government or your guaranty agency to repay your debt.
Return to:
Cancellation
The release of the borrower's obligation to repay all or a designated portion of principal and interest on a student loan. Also called discharge or forgiveness of a loan.
Return to:
Collection Costs
Expenses charged on defaulted federal student loans that are added to the outstanding principal balance of the loan. These expenses can be up to 18.5 percent of the principal and interest for defaulted Direct Loans or FFEL Program loans and may exceed 18.5 percent for defaulted Federal Perkins Loans and Health and Human Service (HHS) loans.
Return to:
Consolidation
The process of combining one or more loans into a single new loan.
Return to:
- Federal Loans, Private Loans, and How to Tell the Difference
- Loan Consolidation Programs
- If Your Loan Defaults
Cosigner
A cosigner is someone who shares responsibility with the student borrower for repaying the loan in the event that the student is unable to make student loan payments.
Return to:
Default
Failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to in the promissory note. For most federal student loans, you will default if you have not made a payment in more than 270 days. You may experience serious legal consequences if you default.
Return to:
Deferment
A postponement of payment on a loan that is allowed under certain conditions and during which interest does not accrue on Direct Subsidized Loans, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans. All other federal student loans that are deferred will continue to accrue interest. Any unpaid interest that accrued during the deferment period may be added to the principal balance (capitalized) of the loan(s).
Return to Section:
- Federal Loans, Private Loans, and How to Tell the Difference
- Student Loan Servicers and Ombudsman Offices
- If You Can't Repay Your Loan
Direct Consolidation Loan
A federal loan made by the U.S. Department of Education that allows you to combine one or more federal student loans into one new loan. As a result of consolidation, you will have to make only one payment each month on your federal loans, and the amount of time you have to repay your loan will be extended.
Return to:
Direct Loan
A federal student loan, made through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, for which eligible students and parents borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education at participating schools. Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidation Loans are types of Direct Loans.
Return to:
Direct PLUS Loan
A loan made by the U.S. Department of Education to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students. The borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status.
Return to:
Discharge
The release of a borrower from the obligation to repay their loan.
Return to:
Discretionary Income
For Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and loan rehabilitation, discretionary income is the difference between your income and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence.
For Income-Contingent Repayment, discretionary income is the difference between your income and 100 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence.
The poverty guidelines are maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and are available at www.aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines.
Return to:
Federal Perkins Loan
A federal student loan, made by the recipient's school, for undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate financial need.
Return to:
Federal Student Loan
A loan funded by the federal government to help pay for your education. A federal student loan is borrowed money you must repay with interest.
Return to:
Forbearance
A period during which your monthly loan payments are temporarily suspended or reduced. Your lender may grant you a forbearance if you are willing but unable to make loan payments due to certain types of financial hardships. During forbearance, principal payments are postponed but interest continues to accrue. Unpaid interest that accrues during the forbearance will be added to the principal balance (capitalized) of your loan(s), increasing the total amount you owe.
Return to:
Grace Period
A period of time after borrowers graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment where they are not required to make payments on certain federal student loans. Some federal student loans will accrue interest during the grace period, and if the interest is unpaid, it will be added to the principal balance of the loan when the repayment period begins.
Return to:
Grant
Financial aid, often based on financial need, that does not need to be repaid (unless, for example, you withdraw from school and owe a refund).
Return to:
Interest
A loan expense charged for the use of borrowed money. Interest is paid by a borrower to a lender. The expense is calculated as a percentage of the unpaid principal amount of the loan.
Return to:
Interest Rate
The percentage at which interest is calculated on your loan(s).
Return to:
Loan Servicer
A company that collects payments, responds to customer service inquiries, and performs other administrative tasks associated with maintaining a federal student loan on behalf of a lender. If you're unsure of who your federal student loan servicer is, you can look it up in My Federal Student Aid.
Return to:
Partial Financial Hardship
An eligibility requirement for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn plans.
For IBR, a circumstance in which the annual amount due on your eligible loans, as calculated under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, exceeds 15 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size in the state where you live.
For Pay As You Earn, a circumstance in which the annual amount due on your eligible loans, as calculated under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, exceeds 10 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size in the state where you live.
For both plans, the amount that would be due under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan is calculated based on the greater of the amount owed on your eligible loans when you originally entered repayment, or the amount owed at the time you selected the IBR or Pay As You Earn plan.
Return to:
PLUS Loan
A loan available to graduate students and parents of dependent undergraduate students for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status.
Return to:
Private Loan
A nonfederal loan made by a lender such as a bank, credit union, state agency, or school.
Return to:
Rehabilitation
The process of bringing a loan out of default and removing the default notation from a borrower's credit report. To rehabilitate a Direct or a FFEL Loan, the borrower must make at least nine full payments of an agreed amount within 20 days of their monthly due dates over a 10-month period. To rehabilitate a Perkins Loan, a borrower must make nine on-time, consecutive monthly payments of an agreed-upon amount. Rehabilitation terms and conditions vary for other loan types and can be obtained directly from loan holders.
Return to:
Scholarship
Money awarded to students based on academic or other achievements to help pay for education expenses. Scholarships generally do not have to be repaid.
Return to:
Subsidized Loan
A loan based on financial need for which the federal government pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in an in-school, grace, or deferment status. For Direct Subsidized Loans first disbursed between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2014, the borrower will be responsible for paying any interest that accrues during the grace period. If the interest is not paid during the grace period, the interest will be added to the loan’s principal balance.
Return to:
Unsubsidized Loan
A loan for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. Interest on unsubsidized loans accrues from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan.
Return to:
