Step 1: Complete the mandatory online Exit Counseling session for federal student loans (Stafford and Graduate PLUS) on the Department of Education's website:https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling/. This online Exit Counseling is REQUIRED by the Department of Education for any student who has received federal student loans while attending this institution and is about to graduate OR fall below "half-time" status (less than 6 credits per semester) OR withdraw from the institution. Complete this step BEFORE graduating/dropping below "half-time"/withdrawing.

Step 2: Complete online Exit Counseling session for the Cardozo YU Loan with Heartland ECSI (YU's loan servicer), who will email your exit counseling prior to graduation. This step only applies to students who have received Cardozo YU Loans. Students who have not received this loan can skip this step. Recipients of this loan will be notified by the Office of Student Finance prior to graduation in order to complete the online Exit Counseling session.

Step 3: Create a comprehensive list detailing ALL of your student loans. This list should include every loan type (ex. Stafford, Graduate PLUS, YU Loan, etc.), who the federal servicer is for each loan, and the amount. You will absolutely need to account for every loan! Please take the following steps to organize:

1. Log into your account with the Department of Education to review a detailed list of very every itemized federal loan that you have received.
2. Contact your loan servicer(s) / log onto their website(s). If you are not sure who is your loan servicer, visit NSLDS and/or contact Student Finance.
3. Contact Cardozo's Office of Student Finance and/or the financial aid office at any previous school to receive a detailed print out of all your loans.

Step 4: Attend an Exit Counseling Session. Group sessions are provided to exiting students usually toward the end of each semester. Angel / e-mail notifications are sent to the student body.

Step 5: Set up a one-on-one Exit Counseling meeting with the Director of Student Finance. The Director will review, in detail, your student loan history and repayment options. Angel / e-mail notifications are sent to the student body about appointment scheduling.

Step 6: Familiarize yourself with the variety of student loan repayment and forgiveness programs. It's important to chose the repayment plan that best works you. Student loan borrowers are not relegated to one repayment plan option. You will have options! Please visit the following websites for repayment and forgiveness details:

• Federal repayment calculator: https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action
• Federal repayment plans: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans
• Income driven repayment plans (Including two versions of Income Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and Revised Pay As You Earn: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
• Cardozo's Loan Repayment Assistance Program: https://cardozo.yu.edu/lrap

There are many important factors that determine a student loan borrower's repayment options. These factors may include: total loan debt, type of loan debt, career choice, employer (public sector), income, and family, to name a few. These factor may change over time, and could substantially affect how a borrower's repayment options and choices. Carefully read through each section below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Student Finance.

Before graduating, you should first complete the following steps:

Step 1: Complete all of the required and recommended Exit Counseling steps (click on Student Loan Exit Counseling tab above).

Step 2: Contact all of your student loan servicers to determine your repayment start date. Please Note: Eligible student loan borrower's should receive an automatic 6 month grace following around graduation (following the date of separation, which is usually by the official last day of the semester). Which means, you should not officially enter repayment until approximately 6 months following graduation. If the grace period on any loans was previously used, then you may not be eligible for the grace on some of your loans. For example, if you have undergraduate loans, you may have used some or all of the grace prior to attending Cardozo. In this scenario, you would enter repayment on those loans sooner following graduation. It's important to check directly with your loan servicer(s) for this information. DO NOT ASSUME! ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK!

Step 3: Prior to entering into active repayment, you will want to review all of your repayment plan options for all of your loans. Your loan servicer(s) will provide you with these details, and you will ultimately select the appropriate repayment plan(s) directly with your loan servicer(s). Typically, selecting the repayment plan(s) would occur during your 6 month grace. 

Here is a list of some of the more commonly used repayment plans:

• Federal Student Loans (Stafford, Graduate PLUS, Consolidated): 
  • Standard: 10 years, fixed 120 payments
  • Extended: up to 25 years, fixed payments
  • Income Based Repayment (IBR) Version 1: monthly payment capped at 15% of discretionary income, loan forgiveness for any remaining debt (principal and interest) after 25 years. Forgiveness is taxable!
  • Income Based Repayment (IBR) Version 2: (if you're a new borrower on or after 7/1/2014) monthly payment capped at 10% of discretionary income, loan forgiveness for any remaining debt (principal and interest) after 20 years. Forgiveness is taxable!
  • Pay As You Earn (PAYE): (if you're a new borrower on or after 10/1/2007 and received a Direct Loan disbursement on or after 10/1/2011) monthly payment capped at 10% of discretionary income , loan forgiveness for any remaining debt (principal and interest) after 20 years. Forgiveness is taxable!
  • Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE): monthly payment capped at 10% of discretionary income, loan forgiveness for any remaining debt (principal and interest) after 25 years. Forgiveness is taxable!

For a complete list of available federal repayment plans, please click HERE.

• Cardozo YU Loan
  • Up to 10 years, fixed quarterly payments
  • Cannot utilize any federal repayment plan options 

• Private Student Loan
  • Can vary between each lender.
  • Monthly payment amounts may fluctuate since the interest rate on most private loans is variable.
  • Check with private loan lender(s).

Additional Resources:

www.cardozo.yu.edu/debtmanagement: Cardozo's Debt Managment website contains in-depth information on student loan repayment plans, loan forgiveness, post-grad budgeting, and default programs.

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service: Public Service Loan Forgiveness