Repaying Your Student Loans

Entering Repayment of Your Loans

If you stop taking at least six credit hours of classes, you’ll need to start paying back your federal student loans after a six-month break. During this time, you'll get information from the company handling your loan, like when your first payment is due (interest will add up, but you don't have to pay yet).

You can find information about paying back student loans and the company handling your loan at Federal Student Aid: Student Loan Repayment. For information about Parent PLUS Loans, check out Federal Student Aid: Parent PLUS Loans.

Repayment Plans

The Federal Direct Loan program has different repayment plans to fit the needs of each borrower. Usually, you have 10 to 25 years to pay back your loan, depending on the plan you pick.

You’ll get detailed information about repayment options during the required Entrance Loan Counseling and Exit Loan Counseling sessions.

Sample Loan Repayment Schedules

Monthly payments for Federal Direct Loans and Federal Parent PLUS Loans depend on the amount borrowed and the repayment plan selected. These examples use a fixed interest rate of 4.99%, are estimates, and do not cover all repayment plans.

To get a better idea of your monthly payment based on your loan amount, use Federal Student Aid's Loan Simulator to calculate your Federal student loan repayment.

You can also check out the Federal Student Aid Repayment Plans.

Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $50 120 $4,230
$5,500 $60 120 $7,163
$10,500 $114 120 $13,674
$17,000 $184 120 $22,139
$25,000 $271 120 $32,558
$40,000 $434 120 $52,093
$57,500 $624 120 $74,883

Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $22–$65 120 $4,836
$5,500 $34–$102 120 $7,599
$10,500 $65–$194 120 $14,508
$17,000 $105–$315 120 $23,490
$25,000 $154–$463 120 $34,544
$40,000 $247–$741 120 $55,270
$57,500 $355–$1,065 120 $79,451

Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$40,000 $246 300 $73,690
$57,500 $353 300 $105,930

This repayment option is not available for loans under $40,000.

Requirements
  • Assumed marital status of single
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000
  • Household size of 1
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $0–$100 156 $4,584
$5,500 $0–$131 180 $7,657
$10,500 $0–$204 228 $16,085
$17,000–$57,000 $0–$204 240 $17,058

Requirements
  • Assumed marital status of married
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000 each student and spouse (total $60,000)
  • Household size of 3
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $34–$114 60 $4,162
$5,500 $34–$155 84 $6,981
$10,500 $34–$225 120 $14,891
$17,000 $34–$342 168 $26,093
$25,000 $34–$450 204 $40,911
$40,000–$57,500 $34–$534 240 $57,258

Requirements:
  • Assumed marital status of single
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000
  • Household size of 1
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$10,500 $68–$114 144 $14,815
$17,000 $68–$184 192 $28,235
$25,000 $68–$271 240 $42,026
$40,000–$57,500 $68–$347 240 $44,014

Requirements:
  • Assumed marital status of married
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000 each student and spouse (total $60,000)
  • Household size of 3
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$25,000 $189–$271 132 $34,294
$40,000 $189–$434 180 $64,098
$57,000 $189–$624 240 $100,337

Requirements:
  • Assumed marital status of single
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000
  • Household size of 1
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $22–$28 228 $5,769
$5,500 $35–$45 228 $9.065
$10,500 $67–$85 228 $17,306
$17,000 $109–$138 228 $28,019
$25,000 $160–$203 228 $41,204
$40,000 $256–$325 228 $65,927
$57,500 $257–$485 252 $103,269

Requirements:
  • Assumed marital status of married
  • Adjusted Gross Income of $30,000 each student and spouse (total $60,000)
  • Household size of 3
  • Iowa resident
Initial Debt When You Enter Repayment Per Month Number of Months Total Repaid
$3,500 $32–$34 144 $4,813
$5,500 $50–$53 144 $7,564
$10,500 $96–$102 144 $14,440
$17,000 $155–$165 144 $23,380
$25,000 $228–$242 144 $34,382
$40,000 $365–$388 144 $55,011
$57,500 $525–$557 144 $79,079

Ascendium Provides Loan Repayment Assistance

Hawkeye has teamed up with Ascendium Education Solutions® to help you with repaying your student loans. They've helped millions of students with loan repayment, and they can help you too! Their team of success coaches is friendly and can help you find the best repayment plan for you.

If you’re unsure about your loan status, having trouble with repayment, or worried about default, we encourage you to contact Ascendium Education Solutions® at 1-833-707-1220.

Why Work with Ascendium?

  • It’s free for you to use
  • They are a trusted partner
  • Their advice can help make your payments easier to manage

Ascendium Outreach

Ascendium may reach out to you by phone, mail, or email to offer support.

Reasons why Ascendium may contact you

Defaulting on Your Loan

You have to pay back your student loans, even if you don’t graduate, can’t find a job after graduating, or aren’t happy with your education.

If you don’t make any payments for more than 270 days and don’t arrange for a deferment or forbearance with your lender, your loans will go into default.

Defaulting on your loans has serious consequences, such as:

  • Your loans could be sent to a collection agency, and you’ll have to pay high fees.
  • Your wages could be taken, and you might get sued for the full amount you owe.
  • The government might take your tax refunds or hold back your Social Security payments.
  • Defaulted loans will show up on your credit record, which can make it hard to buy a car, get a credit card, or even find a job.
  • You may lose the chance to get more federal financial aid until you fix the problem.

Getting Out of Default

To get out of default, you need to make a plan with your loan servicer or lender to start paying back the loan. After you make six regular payments, you can qualify for more financial aid. Once you've made 12 regular payments and completed a process called "rehabilitation," your loan will no longer be in default, and the default record will be removed from your credit report.

For more information, contact your loan servicer or the original lender. If you don’t know who is managing your loan, create an account with Federal Student Aid.

Postponing Repayment

You can delay paying back your student loans with two options: deferments and forbearances. Stay in touch with your lender—they can help you figure out if you qualify for a deferment or forbearance before you miss too many payments.

  • Deferments: A deferment lets you delay paying the main part of your loan for a certain amount of time, which can make your debt easier to handle. Contact your lender for more details on how this works. Check out Federal Student Aid: Student Loan Deferment for more information.
  • Forbearances: With forbearance, you can pause or lower your payments, but interest will still add up. Contact your lender for more details on how this works. Check out Federal Student Aid: Student Loan Forbearance for more information.

Cohort Default Rates (CDR)

The U.S. Department of Education tracks how many students from each school default on their loans. This is called the Cohort Default Rate (CDR), and it shows the percentage of a school’s students who start paying back their loans during a federal fiscal year (October 1–September 30) and then default within the next two years.

Cohort Fiscal Year Hawkeye CDR National CDR
2021 0.0% 0.0%
2020 0.0% 0.0%
2019 2.2% 2.3%
2018 10.5% 7.3%

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