The Who, What, When and Where of Exits

The four main questions students have regarding their loans are:

1. Who do I contact about my loans? The answer depends on the loan program you borrowed through.  It's possible you could be paying back more than one lender or servicer.  The remaining questions will help you in your search.
2. What loans do I have? There are four resources for you;  Your HLS Borrowing Summary Sheet (need Harvard email login); the National Student Loan Data System (need your Federal FAFSA PIN); your credit report, and your promissory notes.
3. When do I start to repay my loans? All student loans come with specific and, sometimes,  federally mandated repayment terms.  You will find most of this information on the Exit Loan Programs page listed below.  Your best reference is your lender/servicer.
4. Where are my loans? Check the National Student Loan Data System to see which lender holds and services your loans.  For private loan information, you will need to rely on the information you receive from your lenders at the time you applied for the loan.

Knowing the answers to these questions is the most important part of beginning repayment.  The number one reason graduates default on a loan is because they do not know the answers to these questions and, therefore, do not know when they go into repayment or who they are to pay.  By going through the online portion of the Exit process, you will update your contact information with your lenders and will be less likely to go into default.  Statistics show that the students who  default on their loans do so because they miss their first payment!  Be certain to update your contact information with each of your lenders/services.