It is important to be aware of the amount of loans you are borrowing, when you can expect to repay your student loans and what the repayment will look like. We urge all students to keep track of the federal student loans they’ve borrowed through the Federal Student Aid website.
The Federal Student Aid website provides a centralized view of your Federal loan borrowing history including contact information for your loan servicer(s).
A federal loan servicer is assigned by the federal government at the time your loan is first paid to your account. Your loan servicer is your main point of contact for all loan related questions. It is important you contact them if you have any changes to your address, contact information or if you are having difficulty making your loan payments.to manage your repayment of the loan.
The screen that appears will display your total loan balance and grants:
Click on the View loan servicer details text at the bottom right hand side of this box to view your federal loan servicer.
You can also click on View Details text to review each loan you’ve borrowed to date.
Repayment for your federal student loans will begin six months ( grace period) after you drop below half-time, leave school or graduate. You will be prompted by the college to complete Exit Counseling to ensure you are prepared to enter repayment for your federal student loans.
You can use the Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator. The Loan Simulator helps you calculate student loan payments and choose a loan repayment option that best meets your needs and goals. You can also use it to decide whether to consolidate your student loans.
Leaving Purchase College & Repayment
When you are preparing to leave Purchase (by completing of your degree, withdrawing from classes, including taking a leave of absence, or transferring to another school), it is important that you make sure all financial aid requirements have been satisfied.
Use the following checklist as a guide to confirm your requirements have been met:
Review your current financial aid package to make sure all funds have disbursed to your account.
Check your account to make sure your balance has been paid in full.
Have you borrowed federal student loans? If so you will be required to complete exit counseling which will provide you with the information you need to select the appropriate repayment plan and keep your loan in good standing.
Important: Whether you withdraw from the college, take a leave of absence, or graduate, your enrollment status is reported to your loan servicer as “no longer enrolled” and you will be entered into your grace period. In terms of reporting enrollment status for student loans, there is essentially no difference between withdrawal and a leave of absence—once you are no longer enrolled in classes, your status becomes “no longer enrolled.”
Be aware that a Standard Repayment Plan is what most students use and it tends to result in less interest being paid back in the end. This is because the Standard Repayment Plan limits you to 10 years to repay your loans. Other plans start off with lower payments at first and then increase over time.
A few plans allow for what is called Public Service Loan Forgiveness, where certain payments can be wiped out if the student is employed in specific fields and the correct number of on-time payments are made. In all cases of repayment, student borrowers need to work closely with their loan servicers, the companies that are handling the payments on these loans.
Students are automatically placed in the Standard Repayment plan , where your loan debt is spread across 10 years of monthly payments.
However, there are other repayment plans available for federal student loans. While no single repayment plan can be a “perfect fit” for everyone, we recommend that you should examine each one carefully. In deciding which repayment plan is right for them, students should look closely at the overall interest being paid back, monthly payment amounts and how long the payments will last. Also consider what amount of income is being earned at this point versus what is expected in the future.
For detailed information on Income Driven Repayment plans, studentaid.gov provides this thorough document which can be accessed by clicking here.
To estimate your payments under each repayment plan, the federal government offers this Loan Simulator.
All students can check who their servicers are by logging in with their Federal Student ID (FSA ID) on the Federal Student Aid website.
Once you’ve settled on a repayment plan, get in touch with your loan servicer to let them know.
Contact your loan servicer immediately if you are experiencing trouble making your monthly payments. Your loan servicer will be able to determine if you qualify for loan deferment or forbearance which would temporarily postpone or reduce your payments. By working with your loan servicer you could avoid default on your student loans.
Exit Counseling
Exit Counseling is an online educational course for borrowers of Federal Student loans to prepare for repayment. The counseling is required for all borrowers who are no longer attending, or are currently registered for less than six credits at Purchase College. Exit Counseling needs to be completed even if you are planning to continue your education at another institution and even if you are taking a Leave of Absence and/or plan to return to Purchase College.
Exit Counseling will explain your rights and responsibilities as a federal loan borrower. It also provides information and terms to help you make the right choices about repayment. During the counseling you will review your total federal student loan debt. As you complete the Exit Counseling, pay special attention to:
Loan consolidation
Loan deferment
Payment options (standard repayment, extended repayment, graduated repayment, and income contingent repayment)
Loan forbearance
Exit Counseling will take 20–30 minutes to complete. You will need your Federal Student Aid ID credentials (FSA ID) and the session will also ask you to select your school:
Purchase College, SUNY (G06791)
You do not need to notify us once you have completed the Exit Counseling. Student Financial Services will receive electronic confirmation once you complete your Exit Counseling.
If you are graduating, you should complete the Exit Counseling within thirty (30) days prior to your graduation date. If you are no longer attending or have dropped below half-time attendance, you should complete the Exit Counseling within thirty (30) days from the last date of at least half-time attendance.
Yes, you should complete Exit Counseling even if you are planning to continue your education. The Exit Counseling will assist you in knowing your rights and regulations about your current loan(s) grace period and repayment period.
It provides important information you’ll need as you prepare to repay your federal student loan(s). You’ll learn how to understand and repay your loans, how to avoid default, and how to make your finances a priority.
