Federal Student Aid Dashboard is a confidential database that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. It is the official source of information about what types of Federal education loans you borrowed, who currently holds/services your Federal student loans, how much you owe on each loan, and the status of each loan.
You'll need your FSA ID - a username and password - to access your loan information on the FSA Dashboard. If you don't know your username or password, visit the Federal Student Aid website to learn more.
Once you log in to your FSA Dashboard, you will have access to the following loan details:
Loan type
Grace period
Current loan status
Outstanding principal
Outstanding interest
Interest rate
Loan servicer
Once you have reviewed all of your student loans and familiarized yourself with their various terms, it is important that you identify your loan servicer(s). Keep in mind that the company that actually services your student loans is probably different than your lender.
A lender is the financial institution that actually loaned you the funds. Examples of lenders include the Department of Education, RFU, and banks or credit unions.
A servicer is the company contracted by your lender that collects loan payments, sends interest statements, and provides customer service on behalf of your lender. Most students will have a servicer that is different than their actual student loan lender. This company (or companies, if you have more than one servicer is your point of contact for billing, payments, payment questions, change of address, deferment/forbearance requests, etc. Once you have identified who your loan servicer(s) is/are, set up an online account/profile with them.
After a lender disburses the loan, a servicer oversees the administration of the loan. Servicer(s) also handle most activities that occur during repayment, such as making payments, updating your contact information, processing forms for deferment and forbearance, and providing tax forms with information for deducting student loan interest. The servicer(s) of your loans can change. To stay informed about these types of changes, be sure to open and read all communications you receive about your student loans, and if you have questions, call the loan servicer immediately.
The following are loan servicers for federally held loans made through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. Contact information for each federal loan servicer can be found here.
If you have non-federal loans, you'll need to check your credit report to identify them or contact your private loan servicer for a list of those loans, so that you have a complete picture of your student loan debt, You can check your credit report at annualcreditreport.com, a truly free credit report that does not impact your credit score to obtain.