What federal student loan borrowers need to know:

• You should keep accurate records of your student loans;
• Keep your copy of the signed Master Promissory Note;
• Open, read and maintain any loan information that you receive from your loan servicer;
• Don't ignore your loan payments;
• If you have difficulty making your loan payment, contact your loan servicer to discuss your options.

Your rights and responsibilities as a borrower:

• You must use your federal student loan for educational expenses only.
• Your loan servicer must give you details about your federal student loan before it is disbursed and again when it's time to begin making payments.
• You must inform your loan servicer any time you change your name, address or phone number.
• You are entitled to a deferment or forbearance of your federal student loan in certain situations.  Contact your loan servicer for more information.

Things to Consider Before Receiving A Student Loan

Federal student loans can help you pay your education expenses, but you need to borrow responsibly.

Determine How Much You Should Borrow

Figure out how much money you will need to borrow to cover your education expenses.  Check out our Net Price Calculator https://www.wflboces.org/adult-and-continuing-education/health-careers/practical-nursing/financial-aid/calculator

Estimate What You Might Earn After Graduation

The 2019 median annual wage for a Licensed Practical Nurse was $47,480.00. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the occupational outlook for LPN's on their website https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/licensed-practical-and-licensed-vocational-nurses.htm.  Add up your estimated total net income (your monthly salary minus taxes) and any other sources of income you expect to have to find out what you might expect to earn after completing the Practical Nursing program.

Understand What Repayment Might Look Like

Once you have an idea of what your income might be after graduation and the amount that you need to borrow in federal student loans, you'll want to determine your estimated monthly loan payment.  Check out the Repayment Estimator at https://studentaid.gov/loan-simulator/.

Please note that you will need to repeat this process each time you receive a student loan to ensure that you are calculating the payments based on your accumulated total loan debt.

You'll want to make sure that you are able to live comfortably after paying your monthly student loan payment. You should try to keep your student loan payment at less than 8% of your monthly income.