Can I make additional payments on my student loan?

Lenders typically call this “prepayment.” In general, you are entitled to make a payment to your account at any time, without penalty. Check with your loan servicer first to see how additional payments are applied.

Warning: Sometimes, when you pay more than your monthly payment, your lender will “credit” the amount against a future payment rather than apply it toward your loan balance. This is called “paid ahead status” and is most common with federal loans.

You can call your servicer, however, to request that they instead put your payment toward your balance, which works to reduce your overall balance. It is a good idea to also keep records of all transactions and communications with respect to each loan.

Learn more about how your student loan payment is applied to your account