This repayment plan saves you money over time because your monthly payments may be slightly higher than payments made under other plans, but you’ll pay off your loan in the shortest time. For this reason, you will pay the least amount of interest over the life of your loan.

When it comes time to repay your loans, you have the option to choose a repayment plan. If you don’t choose a different repayment plan, your loan servicer, the company that handles the billing and other services on your federal education loan, will place you on the Standard Repayment Plan.

Eligible Federal Loans
Monthly Payments for Federal Education Loans Except Consolidation Loans
Monthly Payments for Consolidation Loans
Using the Repayment Estimator to Estimate Your Eligibility and Payment Amount Under the Standard Repayment Plan

Eligible Federal Loans

The following loans from the Direct Loan Program and the FFEL Program are eligible for the Standard Repayment Plan:

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation Loans
• Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• FFEL PLUS Loans

• FFEL Consolidation Loans

Note that no new loans have been made under the FFEL Program since July 1, 2010.

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Monthly Payments for Federal Education Loans Except Consolidation Loans

Under this plan, your monthly payments are a fixed amount of at least $50 each month and made for up to 10 years for all loan types except Direct Consolidation Loans and FFEL Consolidation Loans.

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Monthly Payments for Consolidation Loans

Under this plan, your monthly payments are

• a fixed amount of at least $50 each month and
• made for a period of between 10 and 30 years for Direct Consolidation Loans and FFEL Consolidation Loans.

If you have a Direct Consolidation Loan or FFEL Consolidation Loan, the length of your repayment period will depend on the amount of your total education loan indebtedness. This total education loan indebtedness includes the amount of your consolidation loan and your other student loan debt. Other student loan debt includes any federal student loans that are not included in the consolidation loan, as well as private education loans that are not eligible for consolidation.

The maximum amount of other student loan debt that may be considered in determining your repayment period may not exceed the loan amount you are consolidating.

To include other student loan debt in the determination of the repayment period for your Direct Consolidation Loan, be sure to list those loans on your consolidation application in the section for listing loans that you do not want to consolidate, but want considered in the determination of your repayment period.

The chart below shows the maximum repayment period for a Direct Consolidation Loan or FFEL Consolidation Loan under the Standard Repayment Plan depending on total education loan indebtedness.