But if not, there's still time to consider the repayment options available to you which are designed to fit your own personal situation. There are various options out there, and you have lots of flexibility in determining which route is most suited to you, and best of all, you can change your repayment plans throughout repayment to accommodate changes in your financial situation. Although you may already have landed a great job with a good salary, students are just starting out in the job market, in most cases, and will need to budget carefully to accommodate their monthly student loan payments into their other monthly expenses. Here's an overview of the options to choose from:

• Standard Repayment allows you to make fixed, equal monthly payments, with a minimum payment of $50 per month, depending on the original loan amount you borrowed. This plan is based on 10 years of repayment.
• Income-Sensitive (sometimes called income-contingent) Repayment allows you to increase or decrease your payments each year as your income rises or falls. In the end, the total interest you pay will be higher than with the standard repayment plan, and your repayment period may be longer if your payments are more than the standard principal and interest.
• Graduated Repayment allows you to make reduced monthly payments at the start of the repayment period and become larger later. Interest that you will pay over the course of the repayment period will be higher than with the standard repayment plans.
• Extended Repayment allows you up to 25 years to repay if your Federal Stafford loan debt is at least $30,000. Your monthly payments will be lower, but the total interest you pay will be higher than with other repayment options.

Look at what your monthly repayment might look like with a standard repayment plan, depending on your interest rate. Our Estimated Repayment Chart will help you select the best method of repayment that fits you and your budget.

Learning how to handle your financial commitments ahead of time can be a great exercise to set good habits for your future. And by doing so now, you'll be able to build a good credit rating so that later on, you will be able to qualify for a credit card, car loan and get a home mortgage. Be sure to let your lender or servicer know immediately of any of the following:

• Name (i.e. if your name changes to a married name) change
• Address change
• Gender/sex change
• Phone number(s) change
• Failure to enroll A) at least half time, or B) for the loan period certified, or C) at the school that certified my application
• Withdrawal from school or begin attending less than half time
• Transfer from one school to another
• Graduation
• Employer or employer address change; or
• You have any other change in status that would affect your loan status (for example, the loss of eligibility for an unemployment deferment by obtaining a job)

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