Hopefully, you were keeping track of the type (Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized) and amount of loans you borrowed while you were in school.

If not, you can look up your loan (and grant) totals online at https://studentaid.gov. Go to "My Aid," and you'll see your total outstanding loans, including the principal (the amount you borrowed initially), as well as any interest that has accrued. You can also see a breakdown of each individual loan.

You'll make payments through your loan servicer. A loan servicer is a company that the U.S. Department of Education assigns to handle the billing and other services on your federal student loan on our behalf, at no cost to you. Most students create an online account on the their loan servicer's website and pay online.

If you have borrowed federal student loans at multiple schools, you may have more than one loan servicer.

See https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/make-payment formore information.

You should have been contacted after your first loan was disbursed and at various points throughout your education and during you grace period. If you haven't, make sure your contact information is correct.

To find out who your loan servicer is, visit your account dashboard and scroll down to the “My Loan Servicers” section, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243, or ask your Financial Aid Administrator.

Avoid scams: Most federal student loan servicers have an "Official Servicer of Federal Student Aid" logo, similar to the logo on StudentAid.gov.

For more information, visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers.

Yes! Making payments while you're in school or in your grace period is a good way to prevent interest from accruing and reduce the amount of interest that may be capitalized when you enter repayment.

The first day after you miss a student loan payment, your loan becomes delinquent. If you are delinquent on your student loan payment for 90 days or more, your loan servicer will report the delinquency to the three major national credit bureaus.

If you miss payments for 270 days or more, you're considered to be in default. This will also be reported to the three major national credit bureaus.

Because delinquency is reported to the three major national credit bureaus, it will negatively impact your credit score.

If you have a poor credit rating, it can be difficult for you to obtain

• credit cards,

• home or car loans, or

• other forms of consumer credit.

Note: You may also be charged a higher interest rate than someone with a good credit rating.

You also may have trouble

• signing up for utilities,

• getting homeowner's insurance,

• getting a cell phone plan, or

• getting approval to rent an apartment (credit checks usually are required for renters).

Default is even worse. You are ineligible for receiving further federal student aid, the defaulted loan is reported to credit bureaus, you may be required to pay back the full amount of you loans immediately ("acceleration"), your tax refunds and federal benefit payments may be withheld and applied toward repayment of your defaulted loan (“Treasury offset”), and your wages may be garnished.

Visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/default for more information.

If you have difficulty making payments, there are a number of options available to you, including:

• Changing your payment due date.

• Changing your repayment plan.

• Loan consolidation.

• Deferments and forbearances.

• Forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge. (In special circumstances.)