Oluwatobi- As the graduation date draws near, one of the many questions that bother your mind is how you will start paying your student loans.
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Nelnet student loans are just like when you take federal student loans to pay for the expenses of higher education, it is expected that you repay these loans once you are done with school.
When you are ready to begin your loan repayment, your monthly payments will not be made to the federal government.
What happens instead is that the U.S. Department of Education makes arrangements with several student loan servicers who collect monthly payments, attend to inquiries, and adjust your payment plan, if the need arises.
Nelnet is one of the many loan servicing companies that the government contracts this job to, as it is one of the largest federal loan servicers in the US.
As a borrower with federal student loans, if Nelnet is your loan servicer, it is ideal to know what to anticipate in terms of options, benefits and customer service.
What is Nelnet?
Nelnet, Incorporated is a US–based empire that mainly deals with financial services such as student and consumer loan origination and servicing.
It owns over 50 subsidiaries that grant and retrieve student loans throughout the United States and Canada, such as In Tuition, infiNET, LoanSTAR, and TriCura Canada, Inc.
It runs an investing arm, and an internet bank and owns Allo Fiber, a cable and internet provider.
In February 2018, Nelnet acquired Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. and became the largest servicer of student loans in the US.
Nelnet is mainly known as a federal loan servicer with its headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Does Nelnet Offer Student Loans?
Through its banking arm known as Nelnet Bank, Nelnet offers student loans to eligible applicants with a sensible interest rate and a flexible repayment plan.
How Do I Apply for Nelnet Student Loans?
Applying for a Nelnet loan is stress-free, as the bank has ensured to make the process as easy as possible. Here is how to apply:
1. Start a Loan Application: The first step is to provide some core information about you and the school you wish to attend.
2. Add a Cosigner: In cases where it is necessary, applicants can add a cosigner.
3. Choose your loan option: The final step is to pick the option that suits you the most from the available loan offers.
Gain more perspective on student loans.
How Do I Qualify For a Nelnet Loan?
1. One of the eligibility requirements is that the borrower or their cosigner must either be a citizen of the United States or be a permanent resident with a valid United States Social Security number.
2. Secondly, you must be registered at a school that is eligible for Nelnet student loans.
3. Either you or your cosigner must have a mid to high 600 FICO score.
4. Finally, you are required to be of the legal age to enter into binding contracts in your state of residency.
What Kind of Information Do I Need to Provide to Get a Nelnet loan?
1. You will need to provide personal information including your DOB, social security number, and address.
2. School information such as your expected graduation date, how much your education will cost, and the amount of other aid you’ll get for the term.
3. You will have to provide a layout of your yearly income and monthly housing expenses.
4. Lastly, you’ll need to state a loan amount.
How Do I know if Nelnet is My Loan Servicer?
Besides Nelnet themselves contacting you to notify you, here are other ways to find out if Nelnet is your loan servicer:
1. You can visit your Federal Student Aid dashboard and log in using your FSA ID. Find the “My Aid” section and click on “View loan servicer details.”
2. Another way is to check your credit reports as your loan servicer will be listed there.
3. You can also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 800-433-3243.
What Types of Student Loans Does Nelnet Service?
Nelnet services federal student loans and below are the types of student loans that they service:
- Federal student loan consolidation.
- Stafford loan.
- Grad PLUS loan.
- Perkins loan.
How Do I Make Payments to Nelnet?
Once you’ve confirmed that Nelnet is your student loan servicer, you can go ahead to use any of the following methods to make your payment.
- One way is to make payments over the phone by contacting 888-486-4722.
- You can also make payments online at Nelnet.com.
- Another way is to pay with a check which will be mailed to the address on your billing statement. Ensure to include your Nelnet account number on the check.
- You can also download the Nelnet mobile app.
Can I Change My Loan Servicer?
Although you don’t choose your loan servicer, as one is usually assigned to you by the government, there are ways for you to get a new one if you don’t like your current one.
1. One way is to push for Public Service Loan Forgiveness(PSLF). If you are eligible for PSLF and you intend to apply for it, notify Nelnet. Once you do so, Nelnet will transfer your loans to FedLoan Servicing, which is the designated PSLF loan servicer.
2. Another way is to consolidate your loans. When you consolidate your federal student loans, you can stretch your repayment term to up to 30 years, and you’ll get a new loan servicer.
3. You can also refinance your federal student loans with a private lender. When you do this, your new loan has new conditions, including a new loan servicer.
What Are The Services Offered by Nelnet?
If Nelnet is your federal student loan servicer, below are some of the things it can help you with:
1. Nelnet can help you set up autopay. This means that they will automatically deduct your monthly payments from your bank account. Besides ensuring that you don’t miss your monthly payments, another advantage of this is that your interest will be reduced by 0.25 percentage point.
2. Nelnet can also help you with deferment and forbearance requests. They can help you put a pause on your monthly payments or reduce them, if you are eligible of course.
3. Nelnet provides numerous options for your monthly payments. You can pay online, through their mobile app, through mail, or by calling customer support.
4. They can also help you to process income-driven repayment, a service that limits your student loan payments to a percentage of your income.
5. Nelnet helps with loan consolidation. If you wish to merge your student loans so you can focus on just one monthly payment, Nelnet also offers this service.
How Do I Contact Nelnet?
If you need to contact Nelnet for any reason whatsoever, you can reach them through any of these means:
1. You can call 888-486-4722 Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET.
2. You can send a mail to mail to P.O. Box 82561, Lincoln, NE 68501.
3. You can access their website – nelnet.com/welcome.
4. You can fill out a contact email form.
5. You can send an email to nelnetcustomersolutions@nelnet.net.
6. You can also reach out to them on Facebook and X.
To summarize:
Nelnet Inc. is a loan servicing company that the federal government uses to retrieve student loans from borrowers.
If Nelnet is your loan servicer, ensure to find out all you can about them to make your loan repayment a smooth process.
Oluwatobi
