How it works
Federal student loans have long defaulted to a 10-year standard repayment plan with equal monthly payments. Federal rules for loans made on or after July 1, 2026 set the standard term by amount borrowed (10 to 25 years), and extended and private loan terms can also run 20–25 years, lowering the payment but raising total interest.
On unsubsidized loans, interest builds up while you are in school and during the grace period. When repayment starts, that unpaid interest is typically capitalized (added to the principal), so you then pay interest on it too.
If you have several loans with different rates, enter their combined balance and a weighted average rate, or run each loan separately.
Formula
M = P × r(1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1), with P = balance + capitalized interest
Questions people ask
Should I pay off student loans early?
Paying early saves interest, especially on higher-rate private loans. If you are pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, extra payments reduce what could be forgiven, so they usually do not make sense.
What is a weighted average interest rate?
Multiply each loan's balance by its rate, add those up, and divide by the total balance. Federal consolidation uses this average, rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent.
Do extra payments go to principal?
Servicers generally apply extra payments to unpaid interest first, then principal. You can ask your servicer to apply extra to a specific loan, such as the one with the highest rate.