Type of Student Loan Do I Have?

How do you know if you have a Private Student Loan or a Federal Student Loan?

Very often we are asked "What type of Student Loan Do I have?". This can be determined quite easily. Is your lender a commercial bank or do you login to your loan servicer to pay your student loans? If you’re unsure exactly what type of loans you have, head over to: National Student Loan Data System and perform a financial review. You will need to have your FAFSA ID ready, but this simple tool will answer a lot of your questions including:

  • Lenders
  • Loan Amounts
  • Loan Status
  • Disbursements and the amount of different loans that you have

    You might be surprised to find out that you have multiple student loans under your name. On that note, if you consecutively miss three or more payments, all of these loans will become delinquent and appear negatively on your credit report. This alone will bring down your credit score, often to unacceptable levels and may prevent you from owning a home or even purchasing a vehicle.

  • If you are a teacher, don't forget to check out our section on Teacher Loan Forgiveness to see if you qualify.

How do I know if I have a Federal Student Loan?

Once you pull an assessment from National Student Loan Data System you will know which of your loans are federal. All loans listed here are Federal Loans. They will appear with titles similar to this:

  • DIRECT STAFFORD UNSUBSIDIZED
  • DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED
  • FFEL STAFFORD UNSUBSIDIZED
  • FFEL STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED
  • As well as PLUS Loans
  • Upon completion of our consolidation service your loans will appear as: DIRECT CONSOLIDATED UNSUBSIDIZED and DIRECT CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIZED.

How do I know if I have a Private Student Loan?

Private student loans are more difficult to determine. They are often hidden with very similar names as federal student loans but are not provided though the government. They are only provided by private lenders / banks. They may appear with the name: Career or Advancement or originate from companies like: SallieMae or College Ave. To learn more visit: Laurel Road's Section on private student loans.

Private loans should appear on your credit report as well as Federal loans. All loans and debt are often reflected, but not necessary in real time. Some credit bureaus may take up to 3 months to fully reflect changes and update account balances. Regardless, it is advisable to pull your credit report on a regular basis and review all of your current student loans.