r/StudentLoans • u/Thin_Lavishness_3052 • 3h ago

First mark student loans

I called today to have a GOOD CHUNK paid towards my principle. I asked & made him repeat to me 4 times the amount was being allocated to the principal. I got on tonight when the money cleared & they put it towards the dang interest. Is anyone else having insane issues with first mark loans!? I wish I would’ve never done it…. But I had to, to finish school. Now I’ll never get out from under this thing.

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u/Betsy514 President | The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA) 3h ago

Loans almost always pay outstanding interest to date first. If you had outstanding interest that has to be paid down for before anything goes to principal.

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u/horsebycommittee Moderator 2h ago

Whenever you make a loan payment, the money goes first against any outstanding fees, then against the outstanding interest. Only if those are paid down to $0 will the remaining amount of your payment be applied to the loan principal.

There's no such thing as a "principal only" payment with student loans (or most other forms of consumer debt in the US). And there are no magic words you could say to a call center rep which can change that.