Starting to pay your student loan while you’re still in school may seem like a challenge, but it’s definitely possible and a good idea in the long run, especially as an international student.
Making in-school loan payments prevents your loan balance from ballooning while you’re earning your degree. Plus, timely payments help you build a positive credit history in the U.S. Credit-building will come in handy if you want to rent an apartment, buy a car or take out another loan in the future.
If you have a student loan requiring in-school payments, there are a number of benefits. Here’s a closer look at the advantages of in-school loan payments, along with how to make payments as a student.
Although it might be tempting to ignore your student loans until after you graduate and start working full time, there are several benefits to making payments while in school. These include:
It might be easier than you think to make monthly in-school payments. If, for example, you were approved for a US$40,000 education loan from MPOWER Financing and you’d obtained your student visa to study in the U.S., you could cover payments through a .25% auto payment discount and income from a job. Specifically, along with your studies, you might be hired for a paid co-op internship, which earns the money you need to make interest-only, monthly payments in the amount of US$240.
You can see exactly how much your in-school payments will be through a lender’s payment calculator, like this MPOWER Financing loan payment calculator.
The tool will reveal what your monthly payments will be in school and during full repayment.
When it comes to paying off your student loans while in school, here are the general steps you’ll need to take:
MPOWER Financing offers student loans up to US$100,000 total to help international students earn their degree in the United States or Canada. If you take an MPOWER student loan you’ll make interest-only payments while you’re in school and for six months after you graduate.
Your in-school payments will pay off the interest that accrues on your loans from the beginning, so you won’t have to worry about your loan balance growing while you’re in school. Plus, your timely payments can help you build credit in the U.S., which could have major benefits for your finances (and life) in the future.
Wherever you are on your educational journey, learn more about MPOWER’s student loans for international students here.
Ready to take the next step?
DISCLAIMER – Subject to credit approval, loans are made by Bank of Lake Mills or MPOWER Financing, PBC. Bank of Lake Mills does not have an ownership interest in MPOWER Financing. Neither MPOWER Financing nor Bank of Lake Mills is affiliated with the school you attended or are attending. Bank of Lake Mills is Member FDIC. None of the information contained in this website constitutes a recommendation, solicitation or offer by MPOWER Financing or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments or other assets or provide any investment advice or service.
2024 © MPOWER Financing, Public Benefit Corporation NMLS ID #1233542
U.S. office | India office |
1101 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036 | The Cube at Karle Town Center, 9th Floor, 100 Ft, Nada Prabhu Kempe GowdaMain Road, Next to Nagavara, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560045, India |