Repayment Challenges

Contact Us

Repayment Assistance

800.343.8883

617.728.4200, ext. 5000

repaymentcounselor@asa.org

Mon – Thu: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Fri: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sat: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Sun: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Please note: All times Eastern.

Extended Repayment

If standard repayment seems unmanageable, you can stretch your repayment period with extended repayment—and make smaller payments.

But remember, the longer you take to repay your loan, the more interest you will have to repay.

How It Works

  • If you took out your oldest loan on or after October 7, 1998, you may be eligible.
  • You also need more than $30,000 in loans exclusively in the Direct Loan (DL) program or the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).
    • Example: If you have $15,000 in DL loans and $15,000 in FFELP loans, they cannot be added together to reach the $30,000 minimum.
  • Extended repayment stretches your repayment period from 10 years to as long as 25 years.
  • This lowers your payments, but it increases the total interest you pay over the life of the loan—making your loan more expensive.

For example, at 6.8% interest, the cost of repaying a $50,000 loan over 10 years is far lower than the cost of repaying it over 25 years:

 Standard RepaymentExtended Repayment
Number of Payments120 (10 years)300 (25 years)
Monthly Payment Amount$575$347
Total Cost of Interest$19,048$54,112
Total Amount Repaid$69,048$104,112


The difference is costly, but don’t rule out extended repayment if you can’t afford your payments right now. Just consider extending your repayment only a few years—instead of the maximum time available. That will save you money in the long run.

See what your payments could look like under this schedule with our extended repayment calculator.

Changing Your Repayment Plan

Call your servicer to find out what you need to do to change your repayment plan. Your servicer may be able to make the change over the phone, or they may require you to fill out paperwork and provide documentation.

You can also contact American Student Assistance® (ASA) for help. Our counselors can help you determine the schedule right for you, and we can also call your servicer with you.