This calculator assumes that you will make standard equal monthly payments and that the interest rate will remain the same for the life of the
loan. If you choose a graduated loan repayment plan or variable loan your payments and total loan cost will be different from these results.
This calculator also assumes that you will pay any interest accrued while still in school, if
you defer interest payments until graduation your payments will be higher.
Federal loan programs have fixed interest rates set by federal law.
Federal Direct Loan (2016-2017)
Undergraduate rate - 3.76%
Graduate rate - 5.31%
Interest rates for future years will be determined on July 1 of
each year and fixed for the life of the loan. Undergraduate loan interest rates will be the yield of a
10 year Treasury note plus 2.05%. Graduate loan interest rates will be the yield of a 10 year Treasury
note plus 3.6%. For more information see this
Department of
Education website.
Perkins Loan - 5.0%
Federal PLUS Loan - 6.31%
Depending on the type of student loan you may or may not have to pay loan fees.
Origination fees are an additional one time amount paid to the company (or government) making the
loan to cover the costs of creating and processing your loan. The fee is typically a percentage
of the loan and is either added to principle amount you wish to borrow or deducted from the loan at disbursement.
There is no origination fee (0%) for a federal Perkins loan
Direct Loans originating on or after October 1, 2016, and before October 1, 2017, have a loan fee of 1.069%
A Direct PLUS Loans (parent and graduate/professional) has a 4.276% fee
How much can you safely borrow to pay for you education? The amount of debt you can manage is different for each person and highly dependent
on your particular financial situation, career choice, level of education, and the salary you expect to receive after graduation.
This calculator estimates a recommended minimum income such that your monthly loan payments are 9% of your gross monthly income.
A good rule is that your monthly student loan debt payments should not exceed 10% of your gross monthly income, while a loan burden above 15% of your
discretionary income is considered to be excessive and potentially unmanageable.
This calculator does not show a recommended salary below federal poverty level for one person,
after 10% is taken out for loan payments. The federal poverty level for one person for 2017 is $12,600.
Source
You should consider your particular field of study and the career you intend to pursue after college when determining what a safe level of
student loan debt. The National Association of Colleges and Employer (NACE) offers
a salary calculator on their website that you
can use to estimate the salary you can expect in your career and location.
Access to this AidCalc application is provided as a convenience to help you
estimate your potential student loan payments. Its use for any other purpose, is beyond the intended use of this application.
Access to this application is provided free of charge on an as-is basis, and EDspertise,
LLC makes no warranty with regard to the accuracy of these calculations or results.
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