Completing your Studies and Entering Repayment

It is a US Department of Education requirement, that all Federal Aid recipients undertake Exit Counselling prior to the completion of their study and provide contact details for themselves and their next of kin.

Exit counselling provides information on your obligations, rights and options under the terms of your loan. Repayments options, deferments and other important information you may need during your repayment term will be reviewed.

Exit Counselling can be completed online through the http://www.studentloans.gov website. You will need your Federal Student Aid PIN.

Your degree is not considered complete until you have undertaken Exit Counselling.

As soon as you leave Avondale or drop below half-time, you have a 6 month grace period before you must commence monthly principal and interest repayments on your loan.

Before repayment starts, you will be provided with repayment plan options and a repayment schedule from your Loan Servicer for each type of loan you have. If you do not receive these documents toward the end of your grace period, contact your Loan Servicer because repayment begins whether you are aware of it or not.

Loan Consolidation


By the time you finish school, you may have a number of loans. These loans may be with more than one Servicer and may have different terms. Repayment can become complicated if you have to make different payments at different times of the month. Loan consolidation is a way to make repayment of multiple loans less complicated.

You can consolidate all your Federal student loans into one loan with a fixed interest rate and a single, lower monthly payment. You pay no additional fees to consolidate your loans. More importantly, you may reduce the amount of each monthly repayment by extending your repayment term, but remember that a longer repayment term increases the amount of interest you pay over the term of your loan. To be eligible for a consolidation loan you must be a grace period, repayment, deferment, or forbearance. You should first discuss consolidation with your existing Servicers.

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) provides data on all your federal student loans to assist you keep track of the amounts borrowed.