How to Check Student Loan Balance: Find Out How Much You Owe in Student Loans

Q: Where do you check how much is left on your student loan balance?

There are multiple avenues for checking how much is left on your student loan balance. Federal student loan borrowers can use their Federal Student Aid login credentials to check their federal student loan balance online. Private student loan borrowers can individually contact their private loan servicers to check how much is left on each student loan balance they have. Federal and private student loan servicers may operate websites allowing borrowers to log in and check their loan balance information on the loan servicing website. Your credit report may also contain balance information about your student loan obligations.

Sulaiman Abdur-RahmanUpdated August 9, 2023

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Federal student loan borrowers may access their Federal Student Aid online dashboard to check how much they owe in federal student loans. Federal Student Aid, also known as FSA, is an office of the U.S. Department of Education that hosts comprehensive information on federal student loan borrowers.You can use your FSA login credentials to access your FSA dashboard, which highlights the total balance of principal and interest on your federal student loans. Your student loan servicer can also provide you with information on your loan balance.Private student loan borrowers may contact their individual loan servicers to check the balance of their private student loans. Your credit report may also contain information regarding the balance of any active student loans you took out. Below we provide more details on how you may check the balance of your federal or private student loans.

Why You Should Check How Much You Owe in Student Loans

Borrowing money to help pay for tuition and other college expenses puts you in debt and makes you legally responsible for repaying your student loans. Making payments to reduce your loan balance can bolster your credit history and improve your debt-to-income ratio. Checking how much you owe in student loans can inform you about the size and status of your student loan obligations. Having this information may help you determine whether you should pay your student loans off early or refinance with another lender.To refinance your student loans, you may submit a student loan refinancing application with a private lender and see if you qualify. Private lenders can set their own underwriting standards, but some may require applicants to have steady income and good credit. Here are some points to consider if you’re interested in student loan refinancing:

You can refinance federal student loans with private student loans
For subprime borrowers, it might be difficult to refinance student loans with bad credit
One of the advantages of refinancing student loans is it may provide you with a lower interest rate
One of the big disadvantages of refinancing federal student loans with a private lender is you’ll be forfeiting federal benefits
Refinancing federal student loans will remove your access to federal income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and Teacher Loan Forgiveness

The difference between federal vs. private student loans is that federal student loans are provided, owned, or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. Banks, credit unions, online lenders, and select state-based or state-affiliated organizations may offer private student loans not guaranteed by the federal government.

How to Check Your Federal Student Loan Balance

Here’s how you can check your federal student loan balance:

Use the National Student Loan Data System

The National Student Loan Data System is the federal government’s national database containing centralized data about federal student loan borrowers. Borrowers with an FSA ID can use their login credentials to access their Federal Student Aid online dashboard.The dashboard contains information about your federal student loan borrowing history as reported to the National Student Loan Data System. Borrowers can access their personal data, including their total federal student loan balance, through the FSA website.

Contact Your School’s Financial Aid Office

Contacting your school’s financial aid office may help you check the total balance of your federal student loans. Authorized users at schools can access information reported to the National Student Loan Data System.Schools may refer students to the FSA website concerning questions about federal student loans. Some schools, however, may provide detailed information about your federal student loan balance upon request.

How to Check Your Private Student Loan Balance

As mentioned earlier, private student loan borrowers may contact their individual loan servicers to check the balance of their private student loans. Private lenders may be available to answer questions via email, telephone, fax, or postal mail.Private lenders may also operate websites allowing borrowers to sign in and check the balance of their private student loans online. Borrowers with more than one private lender may have to contact each private lender individually to check the loan balance for each account.Your credit report may also contain information regarding the balance of any active student loans you took out. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives borrowers the right to obtain their free credit report every 12 months upon request.The federal government’s National Student Loan Data System does not contain any information on private student loans. Getting a copy of your credit report can be helpful, given that a centralized and universal database does not exist for private student loans.Recommended: What Is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?

Other Tips for Checking Private Loan Balance

You may reach out to the financial aid office at your school requesting basic information on your private student loans. Private student loans must generally be certified by the school when disbursed to cover postsecondary education expenses.Some borrowers may never finish repaying a student loan during their lifetime. What happens to student loans when you die is the debt might be discharged, although some lenders may demand repayment from your estate.Some may ask, how long does it take to pay off student loans? It can take borrowers between 10 to 30 years to pay off federal student loans and five to 25 years to pay off private student loans.

Compare Student Loan Refinancing Options With Lantern

Lantern by SoFi can help you compare student loan refinance options. Refinancing might be right for you if you can lock in a lower interest rate. Explore your options today and consider applying with a lender of your choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you check how much is left on your student loan balance?

Why should you track your student loans?

Photo credit: iStock/jacoblund

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About the Author

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman writes about personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and other personal finance topics for Lantern. He’s the recipient of more than 10 journalism awards and served as a New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists board member. An alumnus of the Philadelphia-based Temple University, Abdur-Rahman is a strong advocate of the First Amendment and freedom of speech.

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