Financial GPS · for students
What you’d owe when repayment starts, what it would cost to repay over ten years, and how much of your pay above basic expenses that takes.
$3,058 a month left over. Loans take 11.7% of your pay above basic expenses: Good.
All fields at Merrimack College: typical pay of $65,506 four years after graduating. Basic expenses: $23,940 a year (150% of the 2026 poverty line, one person).
You’d owe $34,479
when repayment starts: four years of $7,000, plus the 1.057% federal loan fee and interest while you’re in school, including private loans above the federal limits.
Paid off in 10 years: $406 a month
The 10-year payment is the yardstick, not the plan you’d be billed on.
Your pay above basic expenses: $3,464 a month
Typical pay across all fields at Merrimack College, $65,506, minus $23,940 for basic expenses (150% of the 2026 poverty line).
The loan takes 11.7% of it: Good
Under 8% Excellent, 8–12% Good, 12–20% Concerning, over 20% High risk.
Borrowing ceiling
Above the federal limits: $2,127 of this is private.
Suggested questions change an answer above and explain the result. Typed questions are matched to the same four, and stay in your browser.
Merrimack College · All fields
You’d owe $34,479 when repayment starts: $31,092 federal and $3,387 private at an assumed 14%. Private loans usually need a cosigner, who owes it too.
Above the federal limits: $2,127 of this is private.
Add a second school
This tool measures every loan on one yardstick: the payment that clears it in ten years.
Federal loans made on or after July 1, 2026 repay on the new standard plan (10 to 25 years, depending on how much you owe) or on RAP, which is based on income.
IBR, PAYE and SAVE aren’t available for new loans, and a new federal loan moves older ones onto the new plans.
Loans made from July 2027 can’t be paused for unemployment or hardship; RAP’s $10 minimum is the fallback.
10-year payment at 2026-2027 federal rates (6.52% undergraduate, 1.057% fee): a yardstick, not a repayment plan. Federal loans treated as unsubsidized, with interest from each disbursement until repayment starts six months after graduating. Private loans deferred in school at the chosen rate, repaid over 10 years. Earnings: College Scorecard median four years after graduating; half earn less. Basic expenses: 150% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for one person, a national figure that doesn’t reflect local costs. Sources: College Scorecard via Azimuth; Federal Student Aid; HHS.