Help Repaying College Loans

Q: I have recently graduated from college, and I have not been able to get a job yet. My grace period on both my federal and student loans will be over shortly, and I need to know what my options are for help repaying college loans without any income? I know I am not the only one is this boat who needs help repaying college loans, I just do not know where to start?

A: If you have zero income, your options for help repaying college loans are limited. However, if you are able to secure some type of income, you do have some additional options such as student loan consolidation or Income Based Repayments to help lower your student loan monthly payments and make them more affordable.

In the situation that you have zero income, and your student loan monthly payments become active, your best options are student loan deferment or forbearance (which will “buy you more time” to secure employment, and keep you from defaulting on your student loans). The first step for help repaying college loans is to speak with your lender. Explain your situation, and see what options are available to you under your loans specific terms. If student loan deferment is an option for you, you may be allowed to “postpone” your student loan payments for up to one year (depending on your loans terms). Be aware however that with student loan deferment, you are generally accruing interest, which will be added to the principal of your student loan once the deferment period is over.

If student loan forbearance is an option for you, much like student loan deferment, forbearance will allow you to “postpone” your student loan payments for a particular amount of time. Generally, with student loan forbearance your repayment period will not be adjusted, which means you could end up with larger payments once your student loan payments resume. There are options for help repaying college loans, and speaking with your student loan lender is the best place to start.