Standard vs Graduated vs Extended vs RAP, priced on your actual balance
| Plan | First Payment | Final Payment | Term | Total Paid | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | — | — | — | — | — |
| Graduated | — | — | — | — | — |
| Extended | — | — | — | — | — |
| RAP | — | — | — | — | — |
| Plan | Payment shape | Term | Who can pick it in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Level payment, fixed | 10 yrs (longer for big consolidations) | Everyone |
| Graduated | Starts low, rises every 2 yrs | 10 yrs (up to 30 for consolidation) | Pre-July 2026 borrowers only |
| Extended (fixed or graduated) | Level or rising, stretched | Up to 25 yrs | Pre-July 2026 borrowers with over $30,000 in federal loans |
| RAP | 1-10% of AGI, $10 floor, adjusts yearly | Until paid or 360 payments | Everyone (the income-based option for new loans) |
The 2025 law that created RAP (P.L. 119-21) closed Graduated and Extended to borrowers whose loans were first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, and retired the older income-driven plans (SAVE, PAYE, most IBR/ICR enrollment) for new loans. Existing borrowers are grandfathered on their plans.
| Consolidated Balance | Maximum Term |
|---|---|
| Under $7,500 | 10 years |
| $7,500 – $9,999 | 12 years |
| $10,000 – $19,999 | 15 years |
| $20,000 – $39,999 | 20 years |
| $40,000 – $59,999 | 25 years |
| $60,000 or more | 30 years |
Consolidating rolls your loans into one and often resets the clock to one of these longer terms. That's how a "10-year" Standard plan quietly becomes a 25-year one. Source: Department of Education Direct Consolidation Loan term schedule.
Four plans, four different payment shapes, one balance. This calculator prices all of them on the same loan so you can see the trade you're making in dollars instead of adjectives.
Standard and Extended Fixed use the level amortization formula: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where r is the monthly rate and n the number of payments. Graduated starts at half the Standard payment (never below the monthly interest) and solves for the growth factor that pays the loan off in the same 10 years, rising once every two years. Extended Graduated applies that same shape over 25 years. RAP doesn't amortize at all: the payment is a percentage of your AGI on the 1-to-10% sliding scale, minus $50 per dependent with a $10 floor, and interest your payment doesn't cover is waived rather than added to the balance.
Enter your federal balance and a single blended rate (your servicer's statement shows the weighted average). Add AGI and dependents if you want the RAP column to fill in. The "loans first disbursed" switch matters: choose July 2026 or later and the Graduated and Extended rows grey out, because those plans legally closed to new borrowers.
Take $35,000 at 6.52%, the 2026-27 undergraduate rate, with $60,000 of AGI and no dependents. Standard: 35,000 × 0.0054333 ÷ (1 − 1.0054333^−120) = $397.77 a month, $47,733 total, $12,733 of it interest. Extended Fixed at 25 years cuts the bill to $236.76 but the loan accrues for an extra fifteen years: $71,028 total, $36,028 of interest. That's $161.01 a month cheaper and $23,295 more expensive.
Graduated is the surprise at current rates. Starting at half the Standard payment ($198.89) barely covers the $190.17 of interest accruing each month, so the balance barely moves for two years. To still pay off on schedule, the steps compound: $198.89, then $316.43, $503.44, $800.98, and finally $1,274.37 in years nine and ten. Total cost lands at $74,259, worse than Extended. Graduated made sense when rates sat at 3% and the exit payment stayed modest; at 6.5% it's a deferred-payment shock.
RAP on this income pays 5% × $60,000 ÷ 12 = $250.00 a month, under both Standard and Extended, and the $59.83 of interest the payment misses each month is waived by the government. What's left after 360 qualifying payments (30 years) is forgiven. For a borrower whose income is likely to rise, RAP is a floor that climbs with you; Standard is a ceiling that never moves.
Only if your loans were first disbursed before July 1, 2026. Under the 2025 law that created the Repayment Assistance Plan, borrowers whose loans entered the Direct Loan program on or after July 1, 2026 choose between just two plans: Standard and RAP. Graduated and Extended repayment closed to new borrowers. If you already had loans before that date, you're grandfathered in and can keep or select the older plans.
For balances over $30,000, Extended repayment usually has the lowest fixed payment: a 25-year schedule on $35,000 at 6.52% costs about $236.76 a month versus $397.77 on the 10-year Standard plan. RAP can go lower still if your income is modest, since the payment is 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income: $60,000 of AGI with no dependents pays $250 a month, and lower incomes pay less.
The 10-year Standard plan, almost always. It carries the highest monthly payment but the shortest term, so interest has the least time to grow: $35,000 at 6.52% costs $12,733 in interest on Standard, versus $36,028 on 25-year Extended and roughly $39,000 on a Graduated schedule at current rates. Stretching the loan trades a lower bill today for tens of thousands more over the life of the loan.
Graduated repayment starts your payment at roughly half of what the 10-year Standard payment would be, or at your monthly interest, whichever is more. The payment then rises every two years so the loan still pays off within 10 years. At older 3% to 4% rates the exit payment landed near 1.5 times the standard payment, but at 2026 rates near 6.5% the arithmetic forces the later steps much higher: on $35,000 at 6.52%, payments climb from about $199 to over $1,270 in the final two years.
RAP uses your adjusted gross income from your tax return, recertified annually. The payment is a sliding 1% to 10% of total AGI ($10 flat up to $10,000 of income), divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, with a $10 monthly floor. If your payment is smaller than the interest accruing that month, the government waives the uncovered interest, so your balance never grows, and any remainder is forgiven after 360 qualifying payments.
Yes, generally once a year through your servicer or StudentAid.gov, and prepayments never carry a penalty. Two cautions: switching from an income-driven plan like RAP to Standard can trigger capitalization of unpaid interest, and if you hold pre-July 2026 loans and leave Graduated or Extended, you may not be able to return to them, since those plans closed to new enrollment. Check with your servicer before abandoning a grandfathered plan.