See a comprehensive list of every type of currently available federal student loan, from Direct Subsidized Loans to Parent PLUS loans.

Student loans are typically just one part of a college student's overall financial package that will often include other categories as well, such as grants, scholarships, merit-based awards, and more.

Student loans weren't always so prevalent—decades of rising tuition and the 1965 Higher Education Act contributed to their proliferation.

Find out ways to get lower rates on private loans, such as applying with a cosigner.

Just 7% of student loan borrowers account for 40% of outstanding student loan debt

Most student loan debt went to support graduate studies. Total student loan debt in the US is more than $1.6T. Downloadable tables show the raw data behind federal student aid.

The federal government uses the FAFSA form to determine students' eligibility for aid.

More than half of student loan borrowers owed less than $25K in federally managed student debt as of 2024.

Use this student loan calculator to estimate monthly student loan payments.

The first federal student loan program began in 1958

As the Cold War heated up, federal officials recognized the need to provide financial aid to students pursuing degrees in areas critical to national security, like science, math, and engineering. These programs evolved to broadly support the general population, both increasing access to college while acting as a driver of increased costs. This six-part series takes a deep dive into the history of federal student aid.

Use this federal student loan calculator to estimate your monthly student loan payments and see which repayment option is right for you.

The federal government offers billions in student aid each year in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and more

The very first—and necessary—step is to fill out a federal application to get your information into the system. Known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, this key form must be completed by Oct. 1 for the following academic year.

Student debt has a widespread economic impact

Student debt is no different than the big rent or car payment that comes out of someone’s paycheck every month: Its presence affects that household’s purchasing power. Multiply that household by the 43 million Americans who had outstanding federal loan debt in September 2023, and student debt’s impact becomes considerable.

Total student debt has ballooned to $1.7T, up almost 150% since the Great Recession

While the burden falls across roughly 43 million Americans, the debt load itself is not uniform—millennials and those pursuing graduate or professional degrees represent an outsized portion of loans.

Student loan debt isn’t evenly distributed across age groups

Millennials and Gen X borrowers account for more than 70% of outstanding federal student debt ($1.1T). The discrepancy is driven by several factors, including a drop in college enrollment by younger Americans and older cohorts having more years to pay off balances.

College majors ranked by median resulting student debt

As of 2023, student loans were the third-largest category of US household debt at $1.6T. But not all student debt is created equal. Statistically, some majors incur more debt than others. Behavioral science majors, for instance, had the highest median student debt as of 2022.

Roughly 43 million Americans hold a cumulative $1.6T in federal student debt

About 43 million Americans hold a cumulative $1.6T in federal student debt. That's more than the country's combined credit card balance, according to data from in the first quarter of the year 2024.

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021. While default rates have declined since pandemic-era payment pauses, failing to pay off student debt can still have serious consequences, from a low credit score to the government withholding wages.

The history of student loans can be traced back as far as the 1400s.

While only a quarter of all student loan borrowers attended graduate school, graduate school borrowers account for half of all outstanding student loan debt.

Where colleges get their money, visualized

If you're curious about how different colleges and universities generate their revenue, this National Center for Education Statistics webpage offers a clear visual breakdown. See how public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions fund their operations, highlighting the differences between funding sources depending on the type of institution.

Roughly 37% of first-time US home buyers have student debt

When those people have extra money, they might wonder: Is it better to pay down my mortgage or my student loans first? This article argues that the answer depends on each loan's interest rate, among other factors.

From wage garnishment to a credit score hit, a multitude of consequences can occur if a borrower doesn't repay their student loans.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is by far the most popular in the US

The most common types of loans are conventional, jumbo, fixed-rate, adjustable, and government-backed.

See how student loan debt varies by state, with Washington, DC, having the highest average federal student loan debt in the country at $54,795 per borrower, and North Dakota boasting the nation's lowest average at $29,647 per borrower.

Student loan forgiveness is a contentious topic

President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20K of student debt per borrower was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court. But at the center of the debate about his proposal sat one core question that persists today: Is student loan forgiveness fair?

College sticker prices can be misleading, as most students don't actually pay the advertised price due to financial aid.

A study followed a cohort of Black graduates beginning in the 1995–96 school year

While access to higher education led to improved outcomes across minority groups in the US, a significant gap exists in the average amount of debt held and the time it takes to pay back loans. This study found median Black borrowers still owed 95% of the principal two decades later.

529 plans can affect college financial aid

Income affects FAFSA financial aid determinations. FAFSA also takes 529 college savings plans into account. The percentage of savings it uses in its calculations depends on who owns the account (parent, student, or someone else). Other schools use a program called CSS to determine financial aid, and those determinations vary.

Some experts argue it's not a good idea to pay off federal student debt early if a borrower must sacrifice retirement or emergency savings in order to do so.

College sticker prices can be misleading, as most students don't actually pay the advertised price due to financial aid.

Do student loans affect your credit score?

While student loans can impact your credit score, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Repaying the loan on time can strengthen your credit score, whereas paying late can hurt it. To find out more about how student loans can impact your credit score, read this article.

Private K-12 schools rely on tuition; colleges rely on funding for research

Tuition, endowments, donors, and grants often fund private schools, allowing them to eschew national curriculum standards. Private colleges and universities also charge tuition, but often rely on federal funding for research.

Direct lending typically involves 'senior loans'

Direct lending, the most common subtype of private credit, typically involves senior loans which are secured by a company's assets. "Junior capital," on the other hand, is a type of private credit that is not secured by a company's assets, making it generally riskier than direct lending.

Federal spending falls into 2 categories: mandatory and discretionary

Federal spending is split between mandatory programs, funded automatically by law, and discretionary programs, funded through annual appropriations. This video breaks down which major programs fall into each category and why the distinction matters.

Student debt is a trillion-dollar question

Former Purdue University president Mitch Daniels and others discuss the student debt crisis. This episode digs into how we got here, whether college is worth borrowing for, how to address the economic drag of student debt, and whether alternative routes to a four-year degree could be part of the solution.

There are two main types of 529 plans

One type of 529 plan, prepaid tuition plans, can only be used to pay for tuition. The other type, college savings plans, can also be used to pay for related education expenses, including room and board. One key advantage of a prepaid tuition plan is that it locks in tuition prices. Both types have limited options for non-educational uses.

Federal government supports—but doesn't run—K-12 schools

The Department of Education contributes about 8% of K-12 funding and administers targeted grants, civil‑rights enforcement, research, and data collection. Crucially, it is legally prohibited from directing curriculum, personnel decisions, or instructional content, leaving that control to states and districts.

Use this college navigator tool to make informed decisions about college options

Balancing the benefits and costs of higher education on a school-by-school basis can be overwhelming. This database from the National Center for Education Statistics provides an easily searchable database with comprehensive information on costs, student aid, outcomes for alumni, retention rates, and much more.

15 states offer school voucher programs, serving nearly 350,000 students

Voucher programs direct public K–12 funding to families in the form of tuition grants for private schools and are typically targeted to low-income or special-needs students.

9 states still offer prepaid tuition plans

Prepaid tuition plans, a type of 529 plan that locks in tuition rates when opened, are only offered in nine states for new enrollment. In addition to the nine states’ plans, there’s also a national plan for a network of 300 private colleges.

If the US government paid off its debt, it could disrupt the entire bond market, as Treasury bonds are among the most common bonds for investors and the majority of the national debt is in bonds.

The average cost for an in-state, public university is close to $30K per year

To cover the cost, students turn to a variety of sources. Parental contributions plus savings funds cover about half of the expenses on average, with students relying on other sources—typically federal aid, in the form of scholarships and loans—to cover the rest.

College budgets, explained

In this episode of the FutureU podcast, higher education experts Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn explore why so many colleges seem to be struggling financially. Hear how college budgets actually work, and why so many are unsustainable. It’s a crash course in revenue, expenses, and the big shifts schools need to make to survive.

See the growth of US consumer debt

Americans reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024. Data compiled from The Kaplan Group shows the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023, and finds that after a brief decline after 2008, the total debt burden grew rapidly.

Explore a college affordability and transparency guide

From the US Department of Education, this portal provides everything you need to evaluate colleges. The college scorecard provides handy data on every school, from graduation rates to annual average earnings out of school, while the net cost calculator directs you to each school's calculator that allows you to estimate the cost of college based on your unique circumstances.

Treasury bonds, notes, and bills are critical vehicles for the federal government to raise money for public expenses and manage the national debt.

See how local, state, and federal governments divide the cost of public services

Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for funding public services. Education, roads, and social programs are funded through a complicated mix of taxes and intergovernmental transfers.

More than $100M in scholarships goes unclaimed each year

More than $50B in scholarships are awarded each year, though analysts estimate more than $100M goes unclaimed due to a lack of qualified applicants. That fact should be unsurprising given the dizzying number and criteria for thousands of applications. This portal from the US Department of Labor lets you quickly search more than 9,600 scholarship opportunities by program, eligibility criteria, and more.

The scope of 529 plans has expanded, but 529s still have some drawbacks

The tax-advantaged accounts can be used to pay for K-12 education, apprenticeship programs, and student loans, in addition to their original purpose: paying for college. But 529s have downsides, such as fees and penalties for non-qualified uses.

State and local governments fund very different services

Local governments allocate 39% of their spending to K-12 education, while states allocate less than 1% directly—although much of local education funding actually comes from state and federal grants to local communities. States instead allocate their budgets to public welfare and health programs (45%) and higher education (15%).

John Oliver explains the student debt problem

From serious policy approaches to novelty giveaways from fast food chains, paying down student loans has become a central issue in public consciousness. John Oliver takes an entertaining look at the problem, how it became a political hot potato, why it’s difficult to solve, and more (warning—strong language).