Student Loan Basics

Start here if you're not sure what you owe, who you pay or what your options are. These guides walk you through finding every loan, dealing with your servicer and getting set up so nothing slips.

Start here

The guides to read first.

The basics, step by step

Find your servicer

Your grace period

Get organized

Know what you owe, who you pay and when the first bill hits.

3 guides

Servicer problems and advice

What to do when your servicer gets it wrong.

2 guides

Explore other topics

Repayment Plans5 guides Forgiveness and PSLF4 guides Behind on Payments2 guides Refinance and Consolidate10 guides Pay Off Faster6 guides Budget While You Repay6 guides Side Income15 guides Paying for College8 guides

BEAT STUDENT LOANSPlain-English help paying off student loans

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Beat Student Loans is the plain-English guide to paying off your student loans. We explain repayment plans, forgiveness, default and refinancing in everyday words, check the rules against official sources like StudentAid.gov, and build free calculators so you can run your own numbers.

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Repayment Plans

PSLF and Forgiveness

Behind on Payments

Calculators and Tools

Resources

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