Frequently Asked Questions

Please visit our Welcome page which includes an introductory video and information specific to various scenarios – whether you are a student, parent borrower, in your grace period, or in repayment, or your loans were transferred to us.

Hours of Operation for Customer Service:
Monday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Eastern Time

Toll Free (general inquiries and phone payments):
1-855-337-6884

Please visit our contact page for more information.

You may view your loan information and make payments online through  your online account. You must first register as a new user and log in to your online account to access your information. Once you have logged in through your online account, you may sign up for ecorrespondence to have digital access to your billing statements and other correspondence.

Federal student loans are guaranteed by the federal government through the Direct Loan, FFELP, or Perkins Loan program. Federal loans include Subsidized and Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS, Grad PLUS, and Consolidation loans which come with flexible repayment terms to help students of various economic backgrounds gain access to higher education.

Private loans are not guaranteed by the federal government. They are similar to bank loans and their interest rates may be based on a variable index, such as Prime or LIBOR. The interest rate for private loans will depend on the borrower's, and sometimes the co-borrower's, credit history. Private loans are intended to close the gap between the amount students can borrow under the federal student loan programs and the cost of higher education.

Not sure of your loan type? Read more. You can also view a centralized listing of all your federal student loans at StudentAid.gov.

Edfinancial does not originate federal student loans. To learn how you can apply for federal student loans, visit StudentAid.gov.

Please complete the Third Party Authorization "Information Release" form and return to Edfinancial Services. Please note this form only authorizes the release of information; it does not give authorization to make changes on the account such as requesting deferments, forbearances, or due date changes. Only the borrower, their Power of Attorney, Plenary Guardian, or an endorser/cosigner can request these changes to an account.

You may print a loan summary letter via  your online account.

Please upload a written request to change the name on your account and a copy of your name change documentation through  your online account. Acceptable documentation includes a copy of a court order, marriage certificate (or divorce decree), an updated copy of your driver's license or social security card, or Certificate of U.S. Naturalization. You may also mail or fax your documentation along with your account number and a written request.

Visit our Contact Us page for information specific to your loan type. Save time and upload documents through  your online account.

If you are a federal student loan borrower who has been impacted by a federally declared natural disaster, you may be eligible for assistance such as temporarily postponing your payments. Visit our Disaster Assistance page for more information or contact us to see if you qualify.

Yes. Edfinancial mails monthly statements approximately 20 days before your due date. If you do not want a paper bill, you also have the option to choose electronic correspondence or Auto Pay").

If you are in school, grace, deferment, or forbearance, you may not receive a monthly statement although you can still check your account, view your principal and interest balance, and make payments through  your online account.

Each loan that you take out has its own "tradeline" (i.e. account or line of credit) that is reported to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Depending on the number of years that you were in school, you may see several loans that will each display separately on your credit report.

Learn more about credit reporting

You may be able to deduct interest paid on eligible student loans on your federal income taxes. The amount of interest paid on your student loan account is provided to you by the end of January each year. An IRS 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement may be mailed to you or the information may be available on your January billing statement or online, depending upon your loan program and the amount interest paid. Your reported tax information can also be accessed through Manage My Account.

Most student loans (including all federally guaranteed loans) use a method of interest accrual known as "simple interest." The interest on your student loan(s) is calculated using the simple daily interest method and is based on the outstanding principal balance. Interest accrues daily on your loan(s) and the interest accrues separately from your principal balance. When a payment is received, it is applied to accrued interest first, and the remainder of the payment is applied to the principal balance. The amount of interest assessed on each payment may vary depending on variables such as the number of days between payments and whether all outstanding interest was fully satisfied by the last payment received.

To calculate your interest accrual, use the following formula:

• (Current Principal Balance x Interest Rate) ÷ 365.25 = Daily Interest Accrual Daily
• Interest x Number of Days since Last Payment = Total Outstanding Accrued Interest*

*Assuming your last payment satisfied all the outstanding interest on your account

Example

Mr. Smith has a $15,000.00 loan with a 6.8% interest rate. He made a payment 15 days ago which satisfied all outstanding interest on his loan. If he were to make a $150.00 payment today, how would his payment be applied?

Calculate his Daily Interest Accrual to determine how much interest is due on his loan today:

• 6.8% (0.068) x $15,000 ÷ 365.25 = $2.7926
• $2.7926 x 15 = $41.889 (rounded to $41.89)

Mr. Smith’s $150.00 payment would first satisfy the outstanding interest balance of $41.89. The remaining $108.11 would be applied to his principal balance of $15,000.00.

This formula says to multiply your current principal balance by the interest rate and then divide the result by 365.25. The result is your daily interest accrual, or how much interest you would pay for one day. You can multiply this number by a specific number of days to calculate your interest accrual over a certain amount of time.

Example

• Current principal balance: $20,000.00
• Interest rate: 4.50%
• Days of interest needed: 30

Just plug in the numbers to calculate the approximate 30-day interest accrual: [(20,000 x .045) ÷ 365.25] x 30 = $73.92. You may view your unpaid accrued interest via  your online account.

For more information detailing how different monthly payment amounts affect the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan(s) visit our Loan Repayment Calculator.

Interest accrues daily on your loan including times when a payment is not required to be made on a loan such as deferment, forbearance, grace, and in-school statuses. Accrued interest may capitalize (added to the principal balance) at the end of a deferment or after exiting an Income-Based Repayment plan thereby increasing the total outstanding balance due and the amount of interest which accrues daily.

Because interest continues to accrue on the principal balance if a payment is not made, any future interest that accrues after capitalization will be based on the new outstanding principal amount (previous principal balance plus capitalized interest). Therefore, capitalization increases the total cost of your loan.

You can avoid the cost of capitalization by making payments during any period where interest may capitalize.

For private loans, consumer law permits unpaid interest to be capitalized at the frequency stated in the terms of the agreement that you signed when you obtained the loan.

In order for a payment to go to your principal balance, all outstanding interest must first be satisfied, and the remainder of your payment will be applied to the principal balance.

If your payments are currently suspended due to deferment, it will benefit you to continue making payments on the interest that accrues to avoid capitalization. To determine the amount of unpaid interest, log in to  your online account and review your loan details. If you have several groups, you can select each group to see group-specific accrued interest.

Any payment you make will, per regulation, be applied first to outstanding interest, unless late fees* are assessed, then your principal balance. Interest accrues daily; therefore, the amount of unpaid accrued interest changes daily. Any amount paid above interest accrued and late fees (if applicable) will be automatically applied to the principal balance.

* The U.S. Department of Education does not assess fees for late payment of Federal Direct Loans.

Interest accrues daily; therefore, the amount of unpaid interest changes daily. Your current principal balance, interest rate and the number of days between payments determines the amount of interest that accrues each month.

All payments are applied first to accrued interest and the remainder of the payment is applied to the principal balance. Unless you advise otherwise, each payment is credited to the current minimum monthly payment due and the remainder is credited to the next bill, which does not impact the payment allocation between principal and interest. If the entire next bill is satisfied, the due date is advanced to the following month. This means that as long as your payment satisfied the outstanding interest on your account, the extra amount you paid was applied to your principal balance in addition to advancing the due date.

Some lenders charge a late fee* if you do not make your payment on time. Usually, these fees are charged as a percentage of your monthly payment. Many lenders provide for a grace period before they charge a late fee. For example, if the lender's grace period is fifteen days, a late fee would be charged sixteen days after the payment is due, if a payment has not been received.

* The U.S. Department of Education does not assess fees for late payment of Federal Direct Loans.

Yes. If you want to pay more than your minimum scheduled monthly installment amount each month, you can do so through  your online account, by mail, or by calling us. If you are on auto debit, you can also adjust the total amount drafted each month through  your online account.

Please note, we are in the process of transitioning to a new servicing platform which includes a change to the online portal. To determine which online portal to access, please visit our Ways to Make a Payment page.

NOTE: If you are on auto debit and you target an extra payment to one or more loans(s), it may pay that loan ahead (i.e. you may advance the due date of that loan) and affect the application of future payments. If you have multiple loans and are on auto debit, our servicing system will attempt to keep the due dates of your loans aligned. If a loan is paid ahead, future payments will be applied to the other loans rather than to each loan’s minimum installment. If you wish that an extra payment not pay ahead your account, please contact us after an extra payment is made to request that we remove the paid ahead status. If you are paying more than twice the amount of a loan’s installment, you may select either the “do not advance due date” option in Manage My Account, or the “Bill me for my full monthly payment” option in Online Account, to prevent the loan from being paid ahead.

You can view your interest accrual information at any time by viewing your loan details through  your online account.

All payments are applied first to outstanding interest, unless late fees* are assessed, and the remainder of the payment is applied to the principal balance. If you make a payment greater than the minimum amount due, the additional amount will be applied to your principal balance after all outstanding interest and fees, if applicable, are satisfied. Learn more about payments to specific loans or loan groups, interest, and payment amounts.

* The U.S. Department of Education does not assess fees for late payment of Federal Direct Loans.

Yes, Auto Pay allows you to make your student loan payments by automatically deducting them each month from a checking or savings account that you designate. Learn more about Auto Pay or ways to make a payment.

Deferment and forbearance are temporary suspensions of repayment. If you are unable to make payments in any amount, deferment or forbearance may be the right option for you.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to have your loan forgiven or discharged. You may review a complete list of the available loan forgiveness, cancellation and discharge options on our website or you can visit StudentAid.gov/forgiveness.

Ready to pay off your loan? Need a payoff quote? Have other questions about the payoff process?

Learn more about loan payoff information

E-correspondence allows you to receive electronic communications regarding your account which will reduce the amount of paper correspondence you receive by conventional postal delivery services and save trees at the same time!

You can opt in through  your online account.

Online account access provides you with useful tools and information such as:

• Loan details including interest rate and repayment terms
• Online payment access
• Calculators and helpful articles about student loans
• Loan balance and payment history
• Information on repayment plans, deferment, and forbearance

E-correspondence is an additional process that allows us to electronically send you communications that may include payment confirmations, information about your repayment options, and required annual privacy policy notices. If you have not already opted into e-correspondence, you may do so through  your online account.

We are required by law to provide certain information to you in writing; this means you have a right to receive that information on paper. We may provide this information to you electronically after you have reviewed the Disclosure and given consent to receive this information electronically. You may opt out of e-correspondence at any time by contacting us to withdraw your consent.

Log in to  your online account to explore different repayment options and to see if you qualify for a reduced payment. You may also contact us for assistance.

If your account is placed on a new repayment option, you will receive a notice by mail or email regarding the details of your new repayment schedule.