Make the most of your separation or grace period
When you graduate or leave school, your loans, like the Smart Option Student Loan®, generally enter a separation or grace period. This is the time, often six months, when you continue making the same student loan payments you made in school.
- If you made in-school student loan payments (say, a fixed payment of $25), you’ll continue to make those payments during the separation period.
- If you deferred your student loan payments while you were in school, you won't have scheduled payments during the grace period.
If you aren't sure whether your student loan has a separation or grace period, look at the loan documents you signed when you first got your loan, or call us at 800-472-5543 (800-4-SALLIE).
After your separation or grace period, your principal and interest payments will typically be larger than any payments you may have been making in school.
If you want to lower your Total Loan Cost, make extra student loan payments—large or small—during your separation or grace period.