How to Figure Out How Much a Person Owes on a Student Loan

When you take out student loans, you often don't pay attention to the exact amounts you are borrowing. Then, while you are in school, interest accrues on the balance unless the loans are subsidized by the federal government. When graduation nears, look up how much you owe on your student loans. This will give you an idea of how much money you need to be making to cover your student loan payments. As you make payments, you can continue checking the amount you owe and watching it decrease as you pay back your debt.

Instructions

Federal Student Loans

1

Visit the Department of Education PIN website and request a duplicate PIN if you do not remember the PIN that you used to sign your FAFSA electronically. You will need this number to access your federal student loan data online.

2

Go to the National Student Loan Data System website and click on the "Financial Aid Review" button.

3

Enter your Social Security number, the first two letters of your last name, your date of birth and your Department of Education PIN.

4

Read the list of all your federal student loans and add up the total amount, including principal and accrued interest, to find out how much you owe.

Private Student Loans

5

Contact your school's financial aid office if you do not know who the lender is for your private student loan. They can look up their records of what lender sent money on your behalf.

6

Go to your lender's website and log onto the online account management section. If you have trouble logging on, call the lender for assistance.

7

Locate the outstanding balance on your account. This balance will reflect all payments received to date. The current outstanding interest might be listed separately from the balance, so add that to get the total owed.

8

Repeat the process for each additional private student loan.