Student Loan Debt

Student Loan Facts

Before we dive in to everything student loans, let's cover some basic facts about student loan debt in the United States:

• Average student loan debt: $39,547
• Median student loan debt: $20,281
• Average student loan monthly payment: $523
• Median monthly payment on student loan debt: $296

See our full Student Loan Debt Statistics.

Here are some useful links to find out who services your loan or can help you with your student loan debt:

Paying For College

One of the best ways to lower that amount of student loan debt you are borrowing is to navigate paying for college effectively. Effectively paying for college means lowering the cost of attendance, maximizing your financial aid, and borrowing smart.

The simple truth is that college is an investment - one that costs both time and money. The goal of this investment is to earn more over your lifetime than if you didn't go to college. But what if you spend too much, and those future earnings don't outweigh the alternative? That's a problem. 

You may also need to pay for graduate school or vocational school. Here are some of the most common options:

Navigating Repayment

So you have student loans and you want to know what to do next? Let's talk about navigating repayment. This means finding the optimal repayment plan based on both your income and your goals - like maximizing student loan forgiveness or paying them off as quickly as possible.

For most borrowers, an income-driven repayment plan will be the best option. Here are the options after the OBBBA passed:

To start repayment, you should assess your situation to decide if you're going to go for the lowest student loan payment possible (in order to maximize loan forgiveness), or to try any pay off your loans as quickly as possible. A good rule of thumb is this:

• If you're eligible for a broad student loan forgiveness program like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you should get your payment as low as possible to maximize your loan forgiveness.
• If you owe more in student loan debt than your salary, you likely want to have the lowest payment in order to maximize your future loan forgiveness.
• If you owe more in student loans than your salary, you likely want to maximize debt repayment if you don't qualify for loan forgiveness.

Student Loan Forgiveness

We estimate that roughly 50% of all student loan borrowers qualify for some type of student loan forgiveness program - whether total or partial. Almost every student loan forgiveness program is based on your repayment plan type or employment. However, there are a few state-based programs that provide loan forgiveness for completing a qualifying activity (like buying a house in the state or moving to a certain area). 

However, navigating the various student loan forgiveness programs can be tough. The most popular program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (or PSLF), requires you to meet 3 criteria for 10 years. It can be tough.

Here's some of our most popular guides to student loan forgiveness.

Student Loan Refinancing

Student loan refinancing can make sense in certain circumstances. It's important to understand what student loan refinancing is (especially compared to student loan consolidation). Student loan refinancing is the process of getting a new private loan to replace your existing loans (either Federal or private). Student loan consolidation is the process of getting a new Federal loan to replace your existing Federal loans (and it's free). 

It can make sense to refinance your student loans if you already have private loans and can save on interest. It can also make sense if you're going to pay off your Federal loans in less than 3 years and don't qualify for any types of loan forgiveness (which is also why many doctors benefit from refinancing their student loans).

Here are some of our guides to student loan refinancing:

Compare All Student Loan Lenders

We review as many of the student loan lenders as as we can find on the marketplace. We have a list of student loan lenders here, and here are all our lender reviews:

Read More Student Loan Content

We have hundreds of articles related to student loans. Check out our full student loan archive here:

Student Loan Terms And Definitions

Learn more about what these student loan terms mean, from A to Z: