What the Graduated Repayment Period means for you

The Graduated Repayment Period lets you make interest-only payments for one year after your separation or grace period ends. It’s available for students with a Smart Option Student Loan, Graduate School Loan, Health Professions Graduate Loan, MBA Loan, Law School Loan, Medical School Loan and Dental School Loan but you will have to request it during a certain time and meet all of the qualifications.1

Your billing statements and online account will include a message saying when you can apply for the Graduated Repayment Period. The billing statements will also show which of your loans qualify for the benefit.

Benefits

  • Your 12 interest-only payments will be lower than your principal and interest payments would be otherwise.
  • This benefit provides budget flexibility when you are establishing yourself in your career.

Considerations

  • It’s not automatic. You need to request to enroll in the Graduated Repayment Period within a specific time period—the six billing periods before and the 12 billing periods immediately after you begin principal and interest payments.
  • Your payments following the Graduated Repayment Period will be higher than if you hadn’t participated in it. Your Total Loan Cost will be higher as well but your loan term will remain the same.
  • When you request the Graduated Repayment Period, your loan must be current (not past due).
  • The Graduated Repayment Period is available for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2013.

Requesting the Graduated Repayment Period

If you have questions about the Graduated Repayment Period or want to request it, call us at 866-801-3218 to see if you’re eligible.

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1. Available for loans used to pay qualified higher education expenses at a degree-granting institution. The Graduated Repayment Period (GRP) allows interest-only payments for 12 billing periods after principal and interest repayment begins. At the time of the GRP request, the loan cannot be past due. Customers can request the GRP during the six billing periods before and the 12 billing periods immediately after the loan first enters principal and interest repayment. The GRP does not extend the loan term but does increase the Total Loan Cost. Monthly payments after the GRP will be higher than they would have been without it.