While on the road to repayment, there will likely be instances when you need to know your student loan account number (like if you want to change repayment plans or refinance). But you probably haven’t committed this number to memory. In fact, you might not even know how to find it.
If you need your student loan account number but don’t know how to get it, don’t worry. Read on to learn what a student loan account number is, why you need it, and how to find it.
What Is a Student Loan Account Number?
Your student loan account number is a unique 10-digit number that is given to you by your student loan provider and is used for identifying your federal student loan.
Students can use their student loan account number to look up their payments and see how much of their balance is left. This number is also used to verify a student’s identity when they are using services offered by the loan provider, such as mobile banking or trying to obtain previous statements.
Some financial institutions and banks may ask you for your student loan account number before allowing you to borrow money or open a new credit card. You’ll also need to know this number if you are considering refinancing those loans.
In addition, your student loan account number is used for tax purposes in order to verify that the student loan on a tax return is yours.
Students with private loans won’t have a federal student loan identification number associated with those loans. Instead, you’ll need to contact the lender directly in order to get account information. This includes any private student loans that were originally federal ones but were refinanced into a private loan, since those balances would now show in government records as $0.00.
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How to Find Your Student Loan Account Number
The easiest place to find your student loan account number is on the monthly student loan statements sent by your loan provider. You should be able to find it on the upper right or left corner near your name, or somewhere in that vicinity. You can also check your e-mail account if you’re receiving your statements by e-mail.
If you don’t have access to any of your monthly statements, you can log into the Federal Student Aid website using your FSA (Federal Student Aid) ID to see your loan details. This will allow you to see your student loan account number, along with additional information about your loans.
Don’t have an FSA ID? Not to worry.
More About the FSA ID
The FSA ID replaced the Federal Student PIN in 2015, so students who haven’t taken out new student loans or haven’t logged into the Federal Student Aid website since 2015 might not have an FSA ID yet.
Students who don’t have an FSA ID can create one by visiting the who don’t have an FSA ID can create one by visiting the . Once you sign up for an FSA ID, the federal government will verify your information with the Social Security Administration. Once your information is verified, you will be able to use your FSA ID to obtain information about your federal student loans.
The site, managed by the U.S. Department of Education, can provide a convenient way to get a full picture of all your federal loans, including:
• How many federal student loans you have
• Their loan types
• The original balance on each loan
• Current loan balances
• Interest rates on loans
• Whether any loans are in default
• Loan service provider’s names
• Contact information of the loan service providers
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Identifying Lenders
Federal student loans aren’t directly administered by the government. While the government is the lender, these loans are managed by a variety of loan servicers that take on administrative tasks such as sending bills to borrowers, creating repayment plans, and consolidating loans.
It’s important to know which servicers are overseeing your loans so you know where to send payments and who to reach out to if you have questions or need to discuss an alternative payment plan.
The U.S. Department of Education assigns loan to these companies:
• Edfinancial : 1-855-337-6884
• MOHELA : 1-888-866-4352
• Nelnet : 1-888-486-4722
• Aidvantage : 1-800-722-1300
• ECSI : 1-866-313-3797
• Default Resolution Group : 1-800-621-3115
As mentioned, you can find information about which entities are servicing your federal loans when logged on to StudentAid.gov. Another way to confirm a loan servicer is to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243.
As far as private student loans go, the lender is typically a bank, online lender, or other financial institution. Contact information should be available on the bills and other information sent to you. This private student loans guide can give you more information about how these loans work.
If these documents have been misplaced, the private lender’s information can typically be found on your credit reports. You can request a free credit report from each of the three reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Through the end of 2023, you can receive a free copy of your reports weekly.
Finally another way to track down your private student loan lenders is by contacting your college’s financial aid office.
Paying Back Student Loan Debt
With federal student loans, there are multiple payment plans available:
• Standard repayment plan: This is the default repayment plan, which lasts 10 years. Borrowers will typically pay less interest over time on the standard plan versus other repayment plans. However, it may not be a good choice if you’re interested in getting your loans discharged through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• Graduated repayment plan: With this plan, payments start low and increase every two years. This can help students who don’t earn a lot now but expect their income to increase. However, you’ll pay more interest over time with this plan than if you stuck with the standard repayment plan.
• Extended repayment plan: Payments can be made during a period of up to 25 years. This can help lower monthly payment amounts, but students will pay back more interest over the life of the loan than those who use the standard or graduated repayment plans.
• Income-driven repayment plan (IDR): There are four different IDR plans, which cap student loan payments at a percentage of the borrower’s income. These plans can be a good choice for borrowers who are seeking loan forgiveness, but they will typically pay more interest overall than under the standard plan.
To pay off student loans more quickly, one option is to put extra money toward student loans each month through larger or additional payments. By paying more toward the principal balance, you won’t just pay off your loan faster. You’ll also reduce the total amount of interest paid over the life of the loan, saving you money in the long run. It’s a good idea to contact the lender or loan servicer to ensure that any extra payments are applied to the principal as intended.
Alternatively, you could pursue certain loan forgiveness programs, such as PSLF or Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
Recommended: 7 Tips to Lower Your Student Loan Payments
Refinancing Student Loans – Pros and Cons
Another option to consider is to refinancing student loans. There are pros and cons to that strategy you’ll want to consider.
Advantages of refinancing student loans include the following:
• Loans can be combined into one single loan and payment, which can be easier to manage.
• You may get a lower interest rate. If you have good credit and a solid income, you may qualify for a better rate, which could help reduce what you pay over the life of the loan. You can see what you might save by using a student loan refinancing calculator.
• Some private lenders, including SoFi, will consolidate federal and private student loans and refinance them into one loan.
• The term length can be adjusted. A longer repayment term can help to lower the monthly payment (though you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term), while a shorter one can help to reduce the total amount of interest paid back over the life of the loan.
Disadvantages of refinancing include:
• Refinancing federal student loans with a private lender means that borrowers will lose access to benefits associated with federal student loans, including income-driven repayment options and loan forgiveness programs.
• Other federal protections that will no longer apply, including deferment and forbearance, which allow payments to be temporarily reduced or paused.
• Most federal student loans have a six-month grace period, during which you don’t have to make any loan payments. If you refinance your loan soon after graduation, you might lose out on that benefit if your private lender doesn’t offer a grace period.
The Takeaway
It’s important to know your student loan account number, which can be found on your federal loan statements or online.
This 10-digit number can be used to access loan information, use other lender services and apps, and help you figure out a payment plan.
You may also need your student loan account number when applying for a credit card or other loan, and if you decide to refinance your student loan.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
SoFi Student Loan Refinance
If you are a federal student loan borrower, you should consider all of your repayment opportunities including the opportunity to refinance your student loan debt at a lower APR or to extend your term to achieve a lower monthly payment. Please note that once you refinance federal student loans you will no longer be eligible for current or future flexible payment options available to federal loan borrowers, including but not limited to income-based repayment plans or extended repayment plans.
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