Key Student Loan Consultation

For borrowers with federal student loans, or a combination of federal and private loans, our student loan experts can help you weigh your options. During your consultation, a specialist will break down your student loan profile, provide a chart on what your new loan payoff could look like, answer questions about what terms are the best for your unique situation, and answer any application questions you may have. If student loan refinancing is determined to be your best option, they can help you understand what information impacts the interest rate that you might expect to be offered on your loan refinancing. Items such as your FICO score, income level, student loan balance, and current interest rate structure can impact your offer, and your specialist can walk you through how to qualify for the lowest rates on your loans.

If you’re looking to review your financial cost for education of a current or upcoming program, our specialists will provide a funding report that will show options with federal loans, private loans, out-of-pocket costs, and if there is a funding gap.

Our student loan consultation is designed to help you explore your federal and private student loan repayment options. After you request a consultation, you'll receive an email with a link to our secure online portal where you'll be asked to provide several items to build out your profile so that your consultant can give you the most accurate assessment based on your unique situation. This information will include:

• Types of loans that you currently hold (federal, private, direct, subsidized, unsubsidized, etc.)
• If you have any federal loans, you will be asked to provide the My Aid Data file, which you can obtain via your studentaid.gov account
• The balance and interest rate for each of your loans
• Current payment schedule
• Authorization to conduct a soft credit pull, which will not impact your credit score⁴

If you’re looking to discuss funding current or upcoming education, this information will be useful:

• Whether you’re looking to discuss your own funding needs or for a dependent
• The borrower’s current level of education (high school, undergraduate, graduate, etc.)
• Any scholarships, grants, or other forms of funding you expect to receive
• Any other information that might be relevant to your educational needs and plans

Once your profile is complete, you will be able to schedule your free student loan consultation.

Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) was introduced to provide federal student loan borrowers with options other than forbearance to help make monthly payments more manageable. All IDR plans adjust federal borrower’s payments based on their adjusted gross income and family size — not how much they owe. Those pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) are typically enrolled in an IDR plan.

For more information, go to the IDR page on the Federal Student Aid website.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a U.S. government program that allows eligible borrowers employed full-time at qualifying nonprofits and government entities to have their Federal Direct Loans forgiven after ten years of qualifying repayment (120 payments total), usually under an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. To be eligible for the program, you must:

• Be employed by a qualifying nonprofit OR U.S. government organization at any level (federal, state, local, or tribal) – including U.S. military service
• Work at least 10 years on a full-time basis for a qualifying agency or organization
• Have Federal Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan)
• Be enrolled in a qualifying repayment plan
• Make 120 qualifying payments

For more information, go to the PSLF page on the Federal Student Aid website.