Pairing business, technology and creativity, our students come to the heart of Silicon Valley to deepen and grow their passions. The result? A skilled and dynamic community with a social life that is surprisingly robust.
Immersive, collaborative and designed to unlock your creativity—for over 130 years USV has been helping people turn their passion into their professions. Today, it’s your turn. Explore our program offerings to help you develop the skills you need for the job you’ll love.
After you graduate, leave school or drop below half-time enrollment, you are entitled to one grace period. During this time - which is typically six or nine months, depending on the type of student loan you receive - you are not expected to make payments.
The interest on subsidized loans is paid by the federal government while in school. On unsubsidized loans, you are responsible for the interest. The unpaid interest is capitalized unless interest is paid during in-school, grace, and deferment periods.
Monthly payments begin the day after your grace period ends.
Your lender or loan servicer will automatically set up your loan under the standard repayment plan, with fixed minimum payments of at least $50 per month over a 10-year repayment period. You may change your payment plan at least once a year; or at your lender's discretion, and have the right to pay off all or part of your loan ahead of schedule without paying a penalty or fee.
A standard repayment schedule lets you pay the same amount each month over a fixed period time, usually up to 10 years.
Several repayment schedules based on the type or types of loans that you’ve borrowed, as well are your income, are available.
An income-sensitive repayment schedule provides for installments that are adjusted annually based on your yearly income and the amount you borrowed.
The extended repayment schedule is only offered for new borrowers who took loans on or after October 7, 1998, and have a Stafford Loan balance of more than $30,000. This plan offers with a maximum repayment term of 25 years.
This repayment plan is available to borrowers who:
If you have not repaid your loan in full after you made the equivalent of 20 years of qualifying monthly payments, any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven.
You may have to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven.
Loan consolidation allows you to refinance any or all of your outstanding federal student loans and create a single new loan with one monthly payment. The new loan will have a fixed interest rate, new terms and may have an extended payment period of up to 30 years.
Consolidation loans are not for everyone. Before choosing loan consolidation, be sure to review all your options.
While a lender can keep the loans it makes, it is important to know that lenders also have the option of selling their loans to a secondary marketer or using a loan service company to collect and track loan payments. Knowing who holds your loan will help you keep in touch with the right people. Good communication is the key to successful loan repayment and a clean future credit record. Always open and read your mail and notify your loan holder of any changes in your name, address, telephone number, and graduation date.
The most important thing to do is to contact your lender or loan servicer before any problems arise. This will allow you to work together to find a suitable solution.
Failure to repay your student loan for at least 270 days means that the loan is in default and the entire amount of the loan becomes due. In addition, the guarantor may purchase the loan from the lender and capitalize all outstanding interest. Defaulted loans are reported to national credit bureaus and will significantly and adversely affect your credit history. Failure to repay may result in any or all of the following: loss of federal and state income tax refunds, legal action, assessment of collection charges including attorney fees, loss of professional license, loss of eligibility for other student aid and assistance under most federal benefit programs, loss of eligibility for deferments, negative credit reports, and garnishment of your wages.
If you anticipate or are having difficulty making your payments, you can apply for a student loan deferment. A deferment is a temporary period during which no loan payment is due.
You may be eligible for a student loan deferment if you:
You must request a deferment and, in some cases, document your eligibility for the deferment by contacting your lender. If you borrowed student loans through several lenders, you must apply for a deferment from each lender. More importantly, you must continue to make your monthly student loan payments until the deferment(s) has been granted. You must also notify your lender or loan servicer if the condition under which the deferment was granted no longer exists.
If you are not eligible under any of the deferment categories, then you may apply for a forbearance if you are having problems repaying your loan(s). A forbearance is a period of time during which no loan payments of the principal are required. Interest payments can be made or postponed; if postponed, the interest is capitalized and added to the principal. Lenders also may grant a 60-day forbearance for processing a borrower's request for deferment, forbearance, change in repayment plan, or loan consolidation.
A forbearance is temporary and you must prove to your lender through an application process that you are willing but unable to make payments during a time of financial hardship. In some cases, the lender may agree to accept smaller payments than originally outlined in the disclosure statement instead of no payments at all. As with deferment, you must continue to make your monthly student loan payments until the forbearance has been granted.
The federal government can cancel all or part of the education loans of qualified borrowers. A number of states also offer loan forgiveness or assumption programs. These programs are used to promote careers in fields that are underserved or in fields that meet particular community needs. Borrowers may have their federal student loan debt forgiven or assumed for volunteer work, military service, teaching service, or for public service.
In addition, AmeriCorps participants can use their educational awards to repay their student loans and Peace Corps volunteers may receive financial assistance to pursue graduate studies.
A federal loan may be cancelled or discharged if any of the following circumstances occurs: your college closes and you are unable to complete your studies, your college falsely certifies your eligibility for a loan, your college fails to make a refund to the lender when one is due (the amount kept by the college does not need to be repaid), or you become totally and permanently disabled or die.
Decide which cookies you want to allow.
You can change these settings at any time. However, this can result in some functions no longer being available. For information on deleting the cookies, please consult your browser’s help function.
