What is the Grace Period?

Info for Graduate Students

Once you graduate, are enrolled less than half-time, or no longer enrolled, you normally have a period of time before you start making your monthly payments to begin repaying your federal loans.*  This "period of time" is called the "Grace Period".  The Grace Period is 6 months for students who borrowed federal student loans from the Direct or FFEL loan programs (also known as Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans). The Grace Period begins the day the student is no longer enrolled at least half-time (half-time for graduate students is defined as 5 credits per term). Students who have previously used their grace period as an undergraduate or graduate student, will immediately go into repayment on their loans once they are no longer enrolled in at least a half-time status.

*Note:  Students who consolidate their loans will go into repayment immediately, losing their Grace Period.  The first payment to begin repaying the loans will be due immediately after the loans have been consolidated.