Does having student loans hurt your credit?
If you make your monthly payments on time, student loan debt won't necessarily harm your credit score. On the other hand, if you are late on payments (considered "delinquent"), in default (late on payments for 270+ days) or see your debt go to collections, this can cause your credit score to drop.
If you make your monthly payments on time, student loan debt won't necessarily harm your credit score. On the other hand, if you are late on payments (considered "delinquent"), in default (late on payments for 270+ days) or see your debt go to collections, this can cause your credit score to drop.
Yes, home buyers with student loans can qualify for a mortgage because you don't need to be 100% debt-free to buy a house. However, when a lender evaluates your application, they will look at your current debt, including your student loans.
All defaulted or delinquent student loans will remain on a credit report for a period of seven years, according to Experian. The seven-year timetable begins on the date when the debt is first late or missed. If you rehabilitate your loan, the default will be removed from your credit report.
As long as your loans were in good standing at the time they were discharged and your accounts are being reported properly to the credit reporting bureaus, you won't see a huge difference in your score. On the other hand, you could see your score drop if your account wasn't in good standing prior to the discharge.
Do student loans go away after 7 years? While negative information about your student loans may disappear from your credit reports after seven years, the student loans will remain on your credit reports — and in your life — until you pay them off.
There are many benefits to paying off your student debt early. You will save on student loan interest and get out of debt faster while improving your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. With a higher DTI ratio and more disposable income, you could pursue other financial goals, such as buying a house or saving for retirement.
| State | Average student loan debt |
|---|---|
| California | $37,211 |
| South Carolina | $36,981 |
| North Carolina | $36,885 |
| Delaware | $36,776 |
Lenders consider student loan debt as a part of your total debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which is a vital indicator of whether you'll be able to make your future mortgage payments.
Debt-to-Income Ratio and Student Loans
Just like any other debt, your student loans will be considered while calculating your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. Your DTI ratio considers your gross monthly income compared to your monthly debts and is an important metric for VA lenders.
What happens if I never pay my student loans?
If you don't make your student loan payment or you make your payment late, your loan may eventually go into default. If you default on your student loan, that status will be reported to national credit reporting agencies. This reporting may damage your credit rating and future borrowing ability.
Highlights: Most negative information generally stays on credit reports for 7 years. Bankruptcy stays on your Equifax credit report for 7 to 10 years, depending on the bankruptcy type. Closed accounts paid as agreed stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years.
At what age do student loans get written off? There is no specific age when students get their loans written off in the United States, but federal undergraduate loans are forgiven after 20 years, and federal graduate school loans are forgiven after 25 years.
Federal student loans which have been reported to be in default for seven years or more must be deleted from a consumer's credit record. Under the Department of Education's Fresh Start Program specifically, the Department deleted reporting about loans that were delinquent for more than seven years .
It Shortens the Length of Credit History
When you close a line of credit, the credit history associated with it goes out the window. In the case of revolving credit, such as a credit card, this happens when you close a card. With student loans, this happens when you pay off the balance.
Student loans disappear from credit reports 7.5 years from the date they are paid in full, charged-off, or entered default. Education debt can reappear if you dig out of default with consolidation or loan rehabilitation. Student loans can have an outsized impact on your credit score.
Defaulted federal student loans either fall off seven years after the date of default, or seven years after the date the loan was transferred from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) to the Department of Education.
If the loan is paid in full, the default will remain on your credit report for seven years following the final payment date, but your report will reflect a zero balance. If you rehabilitate your loan, the default will be removed from your credit report.
According to the Department of Education, at the end of 2023, the average student loan debt for federal loans was about $37,090. That's approximately $1.6 trillion of outstanding debt divided by a total of 43.2 million borrowers. However, what individual borrowers owe varies considerably.
Only a small percentage—about 6% of borrowers—owe $100,000 or more. Nationally, the average student loan balance per borrower is $39,032, so if you have $100,000 in student loan debt, you have about 2.5 times the national average balance. But your loan principal is just one part of the problem.
Is it better to pay off student loans or keep money in savings?
If your loan interest rates are low and fixed, you may want to prioritize saving over paying off your loans. On the other hand if your loans are high-interest, or you don't have a plan to get a good return on your savings, paying off your loans may make more sense.
A general rule of thumb is to invest instead of aggressively pay off your student loans if the average return on investment is higher than your student loan interest rates. A conservative but plausible return on investments is 6% per year.
What is the monthly payment on a $70,000 student loan? The monthly payment on a $70,000 student loan ranges from $742 to $6,285, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $70,000 student loan and pay it back in 10 years at an APR of 5%, your monthly payment will be $742.
| Loan balance | Monthly payment | repaid |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $1,161 | $139,330 |
| $200,000 | $2,322 | $278,660 |
| $300,000 | $3,483 | $417,990 |
| $400,000 | $4,644 | $557,320 |
| Repayment term | Monthly payments | Total interest paid over the life of the loan |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years | $1,110 | $33,225 |
| 15 years | $844 | $51,984 |
| 20 years | $716 | $71,943 |
| 25 years | $643 | $93,290 |
