AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – This week marks a return to campus for college students all over the country, but for graduates, a long-delayed return to paying for that experience.
Some 5,000 first-year students began arriving on the UMass Amherst campus Thursday to begin their higher education journey. A less fun milestone though coming this week for those who have already earned degrees– the restart of student loan interest accrual on September 1st, with the first payment due in October.
There are a few things you need to do before then though. First, log into your FSA account on StudentAid.gov. You can use this website to check how much you owe and see who your loan servicer is.
Nearly half of student loan borrowers will be dealing with a different one than when you made your last mandatory payment. Once you know, you’ll want to log in on the servicer’s website, update your contact information and if you had auto-pay set up you will have to redo that. Your loans will not be paid automatically after this pause.
The last thing you want to do is look into moving to an income-driven repayment plan that’s the best way to save yourself a little off your monthly payment and set yourself up for possible forgiveness in the future.
There’s a new one available, the SAVE plan from the Biden Administration. You can find information on who qualifies and the benefits on StudentAid.gov.
Duncan MacLean is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2019. Follow Duncan on X @DMacLeanWWLP and view his bio to see more of his work.
