Total Higher Education

A nonprofit lender

Repayment Strategies

Use this calculator to understand your repayment options and create a strategy that fits your situation.You will need to contact your lender/servicer to implement your repayment strategy.

T.H.E. borrowers may utilize the Electronic Loan Counselor to implement.

Instructions

Step 1

For each student loan you hold enter the current balance, interest rate and months to repay. Click Add Loan to enter information into the calculator.


Step 2

After all loans have been entered and reviewed for accuracy, click Calculate to obtain repayment options.


Step 3

Click the checkbox or payment option to choose a loan repayment option for each loan group. You will see your first payment and total loan cost per the strategy you select.

Important Notes

If you need a lower monthly payment, you can extend your repayment term for Stafford and/or Grad PLUS loans from the 10-year standard plan to 25 years. The only requirement: you must have more than $30,000 in federal loans to be eligible.

You can extend your term on your consolidation(s) based on your consolidation balance.

Payments can be further lowered with graduated payment plans that start with interest only payments. Two graduated repayment plan options:

Option 1:
  • First 1/3 of payments = interest only
  • Remaining 2/3 of payments = Remaining balance, level monthly payments
Option 2:
  • 1/4 of payments = interest only
  • 1/4 of payments = Combination of principal and interest using full repayment term
  • 1/2 of payments = Combination of principal and interest recalculated based on the remaining term
Step 1 of 3
Enter loans
Step 2 of 3
Review the loans that you have entered
Step 3 of 3
Click a loan repayment option for each loan group
Calculation is currently invalid. Please, Re-Calculate.
Loans have been grouped by Interest Rate and Months to Repay
Note: Federal Regulations require a $50 minimum monthly payment for any account (loan type specific). All calculations are based on loan amount and full repayment term.
Bright Idea
You can:
  • make your payments more manageable by selecting a graduated payment schedule for all of your federal loans, or
  • reduce your total loan cost by choosing a graduated payment schedule on just your lower-rate debt. That way, you can pay more on your higher rate debt first so you can save money on interest costs.
Step 4 of
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