How to tell if your Student Loans are Federal or Private
In a prior article, I explained some of the differences between Private & Federal Student loans. However, before you can act based on these differences, you have to know if your loans are Private or Federal. Surprisingly, in my initial consultation with potential clients, they often do not know if their loans are Private or Federal. This is true even if the loans are 15 or 20 years old.
In fairness to my clients, this is very confusing. The name of the lender can cause confusion- Navient (which previously went by the name Sallie Mae) issues both Federal and Private loans. Even correspondence can use language that leaves the wrong impression. For example, a debt collector for a Private loan credit sends a letter that threatens to garnish wages but doesn't mention that the creditor must first file suit and obtain a judgment before garnishing. (For a Federal loan, wages can be garnished without any court proceedings.)
Adding to the confusion is the fact that many of my clients have a combination of Federal and Private loans.
So, how do you determine if the loans are Federal or Private?
There are a few ways to get an answer, per NerdWallet.com, https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/how-to-know-if-student-loans-are-federal:
- Look on the Federal Student Aid website- https://studentaid.gov/ . Use your FSA ID to create or log in to your account. You will be able to see all activity on the loan and contact information for someone handling the account. Don't see any loans on this site? Then, your loans are private.
- Call the Federal Student Loan Hotline at 1-800-4-FED-AID. If you have a Federal loan, they will give you contact information for the company that has your loan.
- Look for contact information on a recent bill and call the number listed to find out if your loan is Federal or Private.
Once you have this information, you can begin to chart your course through the unsettling waters that are Student Loans