I'm Not Sure What Kind of Loans I Have

There are many types of student loans; federal, private, state and institutional loans which are those that are borrowed from the school. There are also several loan programs administered through private foundations:

  • Federal student loans
  • Private student loans
  • Institutional Loans
  • State Loans

Federal student loans are any one of the following:

  • Federal Family Education Loan Program Loans (FFEL) (these loans have not been made since June 30, 2010)
    • Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford loans
    • Parent Plus loans
    • Graduate Plus loans
    • Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) (these loans have not been made since 1993)
    • Consolidation loans
  • Federal Direct Loans
    • Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford loans
    • Parent Plus loans
    • Graduate Plus loans
    • Consolidation loans
    • Perkins Loans
  • These are federal loans but are held and collected by your school
  • Federal Nursing Loans
  • Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL)

When you leave school, you will be given a list of all of your student loans and who is currently handling them. If you can’t locate this list, there are two main resources to locate your loans.

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is a federally managed database of all of your federal student loans. This database will show you what kind of loans you have, their approximate balance, when they were taken out, what school they were for, what status they are in and when they were disbursed. Most importantly, they will give you contact information for the current loan holder. Note that the information on NSLDS can be as old as a month or two.

The rest of your student loans, including private, state and institutional loans, will be found on your credit report. You can obtain one free credit report per year.