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I consolidated my student loan debt with FedLoan a year or two after graduation.

Is there an easy way to verify that my current balances are accurate? Is this something an accountant would handle, or is there possibly even a subsidized service to check things like this for students?

I have a lot (if not all) of the paperwork received by the loan companies over the years, but I'd rather pay an expert than try deal with it myself, especially to have confidence in the conclusions.

I ask because

  • Even when I significantly overestimate my current balance, so that it's way in the favor of the loan companies, I get an amount that is lower than my current balance. (This includes compounding interest, etc.)
  • FedLoan claims they reduced my interest rates based on flawless payments, etc., but I don't see an easy way to verify this.
  • Previously, before the consolidation, SallieMae also claimed to have given me interest-rate "breaks" for paying on time, but I again see no easy way to verify this.

Thank you.

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You can retrieve what the US government has on record for your student loans (for free!) at their website: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/

This should give you the amount dispersed for each loan, as well as the current outstanding principal and interest. This will also show you the loans that you consolidated (with a $0 balance now) as well as the amount of the consolidation loan, and will separate out consolidated vs stafford vs plus loans (and, if you have further education, graduate vs undergraduate) totals.

It will also list who the current servicer of each loan is (click the blue number beside a loan to get that information), so if you discover a loan you didn't have in your records, you can contact the servicer. Interest rates can be found on that page as well.

I'd try this first, see if those records match your own, before you go further. After that, try the websites of the various servicers; most of the ones I've used store all correspondence between themselves and you on the website, so you can get the paperwork you might be missing. Comparing old statements to current ones will show you if your interest rate has dropped.

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  • Cool tip. I did not know about this, logged in and they had all my info, perfect.
    – auujay
    Jul 9, 2013 at 18:10
  • Thanks for the summary. I have used that site in the past. My question is more along the lines of "how can I have an expert verify these numbers?". To me it seems like there are even errors on www.nslds.ed.gov, but verifying this with the huge stack of paperwork that I have would be painful and prone to error.
    – rd11
    Jul 9, 2013 at 21:05
  • I did just realize that NSLDS has a contact number. Maybe I'll start there.
    – rd11
    Jul 9, 2013 at 21:09
  • Tried that but no luck. An NSLDS rep said I can contact each individual lender at each consolidation point to verify that the consolidation amounts were correct, but when I pointed out that that wouldn't include interest, payments, etc., she agreed. She didn't know how I can verify information like that, or who I can contact to find out.
    – rd11
    Jul 9, 2013 at 21:23
  • @RobDiPietro Yeah, at that point I'd call up accountants and ask if this is a service they offer. Sorry I couldn't help
    – Yamikuronue
    Jul 9, 2013 at 21:33

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