How To Check Your Student Loan Balance Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: On This Page
One Stock Photo/Shutterstock May 12, 2022 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. Hanneh Bareham specializes in everything related to student loans and helping you finance your next educational endeavor. She aims to help others reach their collegiate and financial goals through making student loans easier to understand. Chelsea has been with Bankrate since early 2020. She is invested in helping students navigate the high costs of college and breaking down the complexities of student loans. Mark Kantrowitz is an expert on student financial aid, the FAFSA, scholarships, 529 plans, education tax benefits and student loans. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our loans reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the different types of lending options, the best rates, the best lenders, how to pay off debt and more — so you can feel confident when investing your money. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Knowing your student loan balance is a crucial part of properly managing and paying off your . Your student loan balance consists of your principal loan amount and any unpaid interest. There are a few ways to access your student loan amount and any additional financial aid information that you might need. Here’s what you need to know about checking your student loan balance and how the process differs between federal and private loans. How to check your federal student loan balance
When it comes to your , you have options when it comes to checking your balance. The Federal Student Aid website
The easiest way to check your federal student loan balance is to log in to the . This website contains all relevant information about your federal student loans, including who your servicers are and how much you owe. To check your balance, you’ll need to log in using your . If you don’t have an FSA ID yet, you can create one on the website. Once you’re logged in, you can access your dashboard to see your current balance, your original principal amount, your interest rate and more. Borrowers can have multiple loans with multiple lenders, so the Federal Student Aid website is a good central location. However, if you need more detailed information on your loans — such as your payment history, connected direct withdrawal bank accounts and more — you’ll want to visit each individual servicer website. Your school s financial aid office
You can also check your federal loan balance through your school’s financial aid office. They can give you the information you need to start making payments, like your loan balance and who your servicer is. The myStudentAid app
The U.S. Department of Education’s app, myStudentAid, is available for both iOS and Android. With the app, you can not only view your loan information, but also track your repayment progress and apply for additional aid. How to check your private student loan balance
Your private student loan balance won’t show up on the Federal Student Aid website, since are not administered by the government, but by . The easiest way to check your private loan balance is to log in to your lender website or app, where you should be able to see all of the details of your loan. If you’re not sure who your lender is, you can also check your credit report to gain access to all of the loans that are issued in your name. You can currently access each of your credit reports for free, weekly, through . If you do decide to check your credit report, keep in mind that the credit report won’t note any deferment, forbearance or hardship payment options, and it could be a few months behind in showing the total balance due. Your college’s financial aid administrator may also be able to tell you about any private student loans you borrowed, since most private student loans are school-certified. Why did my student loan balance go to zero
If you log into your student loan account to find a balance of zero, you may feel a sense of relief. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your loans are gone. There are a few reasons your account may unexpectedly list a balance of zero: You got a new loan servicer. It’s common for , so your account may be zero with your old servicer if your loan amount was transferred to another servicer. You should receive communication from your servicer in advance of such a transition. You qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Student loan borrowers relying on PSLF when applying for loan forgiveness, and the U.S. Department of Education has been trying to fix that. If you previously applied for forgiveness and were rejected, your application may have gotten a second look and been approved. You should receive an approval letter if this is the case. You’ve completed another loan forgiveness program. PSLF isn’t the only federal student loan forgiveness program. You may also be eligible for forgiveness programs such as Teacher Loan Forgiveness, Closed School Discharge or total and permanent disability discharge. If you apply for one of these and are approved, your student loan balance could go to zero. Your student loan was forgiven or canceled. In January 2022, agreed to forgive $1.7 billion in student loan debt. Your loan could have been part of this forgiven debt or a similar lawsuit. Contact your servicer if you have a zero account balance and think this may have happened to you. Ways to pay down your student loan balance
Knowing your student loan balance can help you make a plan to pay off your student loans. Try out these methods to pay down your student loan balance: Take advantage of 0 percent interest. with 0 percent interest until Aug. 31, 2022, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re not currently pursuing a loan forgiveness program, it could make sense to make small payments on your loans while interest is not accruing. Set up autopay. If you set up automatic payments on your student loan account, you won’t miss a payment, and you might get a discount on your interest rate. Participate in AmeriCorps or military service. Those who complete a year of AmeriCorps service are eligible for the Segal Education Award to help pay off federal student student loans. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces may also be eligible for lower interest rates on student loans and special forgiveness programs. Make biweekly payments. While not everyone can afford to pay more than their minimum student loan payments, making instead of monthly can help you chip away at your balance faster. Making 26 half-payments on your loans throughout the year means that you end up making one extra full payment. Use an income-driven repayment plan. Federal student loans are eligible for where you make monthly payments based on your income. After a certain number of payments or a certain amount of time, your remaining student loan balance will be forgiven. These plans won’t help you pay off your loans faster, but the lower monthly payments can make repayment more manageable. Consider refinancing. with a private lender can open up lower interest rates or lower monthly payments. While it’s not always wise to refinance federal student loans, it’s a good option for easing repayment of private student loans. Learn more
SHARE: Hanneh Bareham specializes in everything related to student loans and helping you finance your next educational endeavor. She aims to help others reach their collegiate and financial goals through making student loans easier to understand. Chelsea has been with Bankrate since early 2020. She is invested in helping students navigate the high costs of college and breaking down the complexities of student loans. Mark Kantrowitz is an expert on student financial aid, the FAFSA, scholarships, 529 plans, education tax benefits and student loans. Related Articles