Nonprofit Student Loan Debt Management Counseling

What is Student Loan Counseling?

Student loan counseling is an opportunity to work with an expert to determine how to effectively tackle your student loans. By analyzing your loans and your budget, we’ll find the best repayment plan and strategy for your needs.

You’ll leave your student loan counseling session with a clear understanding of your options and a plan for how to put those options into action.

What Can Student Loan Counseling Do for Me?

Student loan management can be a complicated topic thanks to all the deferral, forbearance, repayment, and forgiveness options that may or may not be available to you. The biggest benefit of student loan counseling is the clarity you receive by working with experts.

If there’s a repayment plan that will save you money and make your monthly payments more manageable, we’ll find it. By looking at your financial big picture, we can help you make adjustments beyond just your student loans. The goal is to make your life easier and help you find the solutions that best suit your needs.

Is Student Loan Counseling Right for Me?

Student loan counseling is a great fit for a lot of student loan borrowers, but it may not be the best first stop if you’re dealing with other financial challenges.

You should seek a student loan counseling session if:

You have federal student loans

Private student loans simply don’t have the same payment options available as federal student loans. If your loans are private and you’re struggling to make your monthly payments, consider working with a credit counselor for free to overhaul the other elements of your budget.

Your mortgage/housing situation is in good shape

Your housing needs should take priority over your student loans. If your mortgage is delinquent, MMI offers free foreclosure counseling to help you work with your mortgage servicer and find the best solution to your situation.

You have a reasonable amount of credit card debt

If you’re juggling both student loan debt and credit card debt, you may find it easier and more productive to target the credit card debt first.

You're not delinquent on your non-student loan debts

Falling behind on your other debts? That should be your focus. You simply have more options for dealing with non-student loan debt. A debt management plan, for instance, can help you be out of credit card debt completely in less than five years, making student loan debt substantially easier to manage.

You’re frustrated with your current payment plan

If the rest of your financial house is in order and you’re ultimately just fed up with how much of your monthly budget is swallowed up with federal student loan payments, a student loan counseling session is exactly right for you.

Woman looking at tablet while her dog peers over her shoulder.

A student loan counseling session from MMI begins by creating a complete picture of your current financial situation. Whether you complete your counseling purely online or with a live counselor, we'll review your income, expenses, debt, and credit report.

After this, we review your student loans and their status. You'll receive a breakdown of all of your available options, including details on the various student loan repayment programs you may qualify for. We'll also discuss your personal goals and how these different options may impact your future plans.

Finally, we use an advanced decision engine to help provide recommendations tailored to your situation and goals. Once you've decided which path to pursue, we can provide additional guidance on how to get started.

Couple reviewing their finances together.

1. Grab your computer

The online portal is best experienced on a laptop or desktop browser.

2. Find your FSA ID and password

We can use the FSA database to gather the most accurate information about your student loans.

3. Figure out your annual income

The easiest way to figure out your income is with last year's income tax return.

Start online counseling

Is there a fee for student loan counseling?

The fee is $99, which includes a full analysis of your loans and financial situation, as well as a detailed action plan to help you switch to the repayment plan that saves you the most money.

Can you help me with my private student loans?

The majority of available student loan programs are restricted to federal student loans. If you don’t have federal student loans, we recommend that you tackle your other debts with a free credit counseling session instead.

Can you help me if my student loans are in default?

Loan rehabilitation programs are available for federal loan borrowers who have become delinquent. If eligible, we can help you enroll in one of these programs and bring your loans back out of default.

Do you offer refinance or consolidation loans?

MMI is not a lender. We do not provide loans or refinance existing loans.

Should I prioritize student loans or credit card debt?

Every situation is different, but if you're struggling with a variety of debt, you likely have more options to deal with your credit card debt, including a money and time-saving debt management plan. Start there.

Whether you're fresh out of school and unsure how to manage your loans, or you're nearing retirement and worried that you'll never be free of your student loan debts, we can help. Let us help put your mind at ease and get your finances in order.

Start online counseling. See how much you can save by consolidating your debt with MMI.

Begin online student loan counseling

Self-guided student loan counseling available 24/7.

Get started

Call MMI to start your debt management plan.

Call for appointment

One-on-one phone counseling available by appointment only.

866-889-9347

Learn more about MMI's credit counseling services.

Free credit counseling

Tackle your other debt and budget concerns with free advice.

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Better Business Bureau

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Department of Housing and Urban Development

MMI is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide consumer housing counseling. The mission of HUD is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD provides support services directly and through approved, local agencies like MMI.
Council On Accreditation

MMI is proudly accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. COA’s thorough, peer-reviewed accreditation process is designed to ensure that organizations like MMI are providing the highest standard of service and support for clients and employees alike.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling

MMI is a longstanding member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), the nation’s largest nonprofit financial counseling organization. Founded in 1951, the NFCC’s mission is to promote financially responsible behavior and help member organizations like MMI deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services.