Leaving School and Loan Repayment

Once you are no longer enrolled at least half-time in an eligible program, you'll have a six-month grace period (per loan) before student loan payments start.  You must begin repayment at the end of your grace period. It does not matter whether you drop out of school, graduate, or go below half-time, the repayment schedule is the same.

If you have an in-school deferment on a Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan that entered repayment at an earlier date before you returned to school and you graduate, drop below half-time enrollment, or withdraw from school, you will be required to immediately begin making payments on the loan because the 6-month grace period has already been used up; there is no second grace period.

Make sure that both your school and your loan servicer know that you are no longer enrolled. If you don't begin making payments when required, there is the possibility that you will lose repayment incentives you may have received or even go into default.

See the chart below for the average total indebtedness of Davenport University students attending in the identified year.

Academic Year Average Debt Average Monthly Payment
2020-2021 (Undergraduate) $25,641 $294
2020-2021 (Graduate) $73,899 $799

2021-2022 (Undergraduate)

$25,999

 $294

2021-2022 (Graduate)

$72,447

 $799

Exit Counseling

If you have borrowed any money to attend DU, you will be sent exit information via email or mail.

Visit NSLDS. This is a government website about student loans and your loan history.  Along with identifying who your servicer is for each loan.

Visit Repayment Options to view the different payment options and a calculator to estimate your monthly payment.

Click here to go to exit counseling page, then click on the Exit Counseling PDF for the Exit Counseling Guide document.

Read through your Rights & Responsibilities for more information.

Student Loan Repayment Information

Federal Direct Loans enter repayment (principal and interest) six months after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time. Standard repayment lasts ten years (alternative repayment plans are also available). Students must contact their lender(s) and the U.S. Department of Education whenever they change their mailing address or phone number.

Default

Defaulting on a student loan is very serious and can result in various problems. The link below will help you learn about avoiding default.  If you are already behind on student loan payments, Davenport encourages you to contact the financial aid office or to use the following government sources for more information:

Repayment Plans

Standard Repayment Plan

This plan offers the lowest overall cost. When you are due to start repaying, your federal student loans are automatically placed into this plan and it will apply until you make a change. You make level monthly payments of principal and interest over the term of the loan.

Graduated Repayment Plan

With this repayment plan for your federal student loans, your monthly payments are lower at the beginning of repayment and increase over the term of the loan.

Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan

Payments on your federal student loans are based on a percentage of your monthly income from 4% to 25% as long as you pay at least the interest that accrues every month. In certain circumstances payments can be less then interest through the use of reduced payment forbearance.

Income-Contingent Repayment Plan

Under this plan your required monthly payment amount will be based on your annual income, family size and total loan amount. You have 25 years to repay and the unpaid portion will be forgiven. However, you may have to pay income tax on the amount that is forgiven.

Income-Based Repayment Plan

Under this plan, your required monthly payment amount will be based on your income during any period that you have a partial financial hardship. Your monthly payment will be adjusted annually. Maximum repayment under this plan may exceed 10 years.  After a certain period of time you may qualify for cancelation of any outstanding balance on your loans. However, you may have to pay income tax on the amount that is forgiven.  

For additional information about repayment plans and see what is best for you, visit Federal Student Aid website for detailed information.

Loan Consolidation

All FFEL and Direct Stafford Loan borrowers are eligible to consolidate after they graduate, leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. PLUS Loans are eligible for consolidation once they are fully disbursed. Plus loan borrowers also have to initiate an in-school deferment with the U.S. Department of Education. Borrowers who are delinquent or in default must meet certain requirements before they may consolidate their loans.

CONSOLIDATION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

  • To qualify for a Direct Consolidation Loan, borrowers must have at least one Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan that is in grace, repayment, deferment, or default status. In-school loans no longer are eligible to be included in a Direct Loan Consolidation.
  • Borrowers can consolidate most defaulted education loans if they make satisfactory repayment arrangements with the current loan holder(s) or agree to repay their Direct Consolidation Loan under the Income Contingent Repayment Plan.
  • Borrowers who do not have Direct Loans may be eligible for a Direct Consolidation Loan with an FFEL consolidation lender OR have been unable to obtain a Federal Consolidation Loan with income-sensitive repayment terms acceptable to them or intend to apply for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
  • Borrowers who have only a Direct Consolidation Loan cannot consolidate again unless they include an additional loan.
  • For more information on weighing the pros and cons of consolidation, click here.

Student Loan Resources

For questions on your student loans, the following resources may be helpful:

Return to repayment: Prepare for student loan payments to restart

New IDR program: SAVE repayment plan offers lower monthly loan payments

Temporary improvements to IDR: Payment count adjustments toward income-drive repayment and public service loan forgiveness programs

Certify your employment or apply for PSLF: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) help tool

Loan consolidation: Student Loan Consolidation

Loans in default: Get out of default with Fresh Start
 

Loan Glossary

Consolidation-Loan consolidation is the process of combining one or more eligible federal education loans into a single new loan. Payments under consolidation may become more manageable. You have to apply for consolidation and choose a repayment plan. You may lose your rights to deferment and cancellation.

Deferment-A deferment is a period in which repayment of the principal balance is temporarily postponed provided that you meet certain requirements. If you do not meet the requirements for a deferment you may be eligible for forbearance.

Forbearance-A Forbearance allows you to postpone or reduce your monthly payment for a specific period. That is provided that you are unable to make your scheduled loan payments for reasons including, but not limited to financial hardships and/or illness. You must request forbearance from your loan holder and you are responsible for the interest that accrues during the forbearance period.

Forgiveness/Cancellation-Forgiveness or the cancellation of a loan is based on the borrower performing certain types of services such as teaching in a low-income school.

Guarantee Agency-The guarantee agency or guarantor insures student loans against default. They usually charge a 1% default fee that is deducted from each loan disbursed to handle the costs of insuring the loan.