For students who are attending school at least half-time, a grace period is a set period after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time status before you must begin repayment. Not all loans have a grace period. If you are in active military duty for more than thirty days, your grace period can be delayed (for no more than three years) during that time.

Under certain circumstances, you can receive periods of deferment or forbearance that allow you to temporarily postpone loan repayment or, in the case of forbearance, temporarily reduce your loan payments. These periods do not count toward the length of time you have to repay your loan. You can't get a deferment or forbearance for a loan that is already in default. During deferment, interest continues to accrue (accumulate) on unsubsidized loans only. During forbearance, interest continues to accrue (accumulate) regardless of the loan type. The most common loan deferment conditions are enrollment in school at least half-time, inability to find full-time employment (for up to three years) and economic hardship (for up to three years). Forbearance is granted by a lender or loan servicer if you temporarily can't meet your repayment schedule and you're not eligible or deferment. Forbearance can be granted for periods up to twelve months at a time, for a maximum of three years. You must contact your lender or loan servicer to apply for deferment or forbearance.

Under rare circumstances, all or part of your loan may be canceled (discharged). Cancellation (discharge) releases you from all obligations to repay the loan. Discharge refers to the cancellation of a loan, even one in default, due to school closure, false certification, your death, or total and permanent disability. Cancellation or sometimes called “forgiveness” of a loan is based on the borrower performing certain types of public service, such service as a special education teacher or a teacher in a low-income school or in a field designated as a teacher shortage area (such as math, science, foreign language, or bilingual education), a law enforcement or corrections officer, or as a nurse or medical technician. You must contact your lender or loan servicer to apply for a discharge or cancellation

Please note: Institutions that enter into an agreement with a potential student, student, or parent of a student regarding Title IV, HEA loan are required to inform the student or parent that the loan will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and institutions determined to be authorized users of the data system.