Student Loan FAQ

Loan Repayment

Prepayments are accelerated repayments of the principal of the loan, typically made to realize a savings on interest. There are no penalties for prepaying.  If your loan is repaid in full before the expiration of its grace period, no interest is charged (except on certain university loans). Payments in excess of your regularly scheduled amounts are applied to the principal balance as prepayments. Unless the prepayment repays the loan in full, the next payment will be due the next month.

ECSI sends a bill every month. The bill provides a payment stub and a return envelope for you to remit with your check. If you lose the payment stub, write your Cornell ID number on the check to obtain proper credit. If you do not receive a bill, you are nonetheless obligated to make your payment as scheduled.

Loan payments for Perkins and university loans should be sent to the following address:

Cornell University
C/O ECSI
P. O. Box 718
Wexford, PA 15090-0718

Loan payments for Direct Stafford and PLUS Loans should be sent to the following address:

U.S. Department of Education
Direct Loan Payment Center
P.O. Box 746000
Atlanta, GA 30374-6000

You are required to notify all lenders whenever your address changes. Please update your address through ECSI or by calling an ECSI customer service advocate at 888-549-3274. If you have a Direct Stafford or Plus Loan, contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center at 800-848-0979, or update your information online at www.dlssonline.com.

You should contact ECSI if you are having difficulty making your monthly loan payments. There may be deferment or forbearance benefits available that could temporarily postpone or reduce your monthly student loan payments. These benefits will require the completion of an application for deferment or forbearance.

Consolidation allows you to combine all or some of your student loans into one loan. This may simplify repayment, because you can decrease the number of lenders, and you may be able to reduce your minimum monthly payment(s). Borrowers should contact consolidation companies to obtain information about the terms of their programs and to obtain a consolidation application. There are many agencies that will consolidate loans. However, most limit consolidation to federal student loans. You can obtain information about a Direct Consolidation Loan by calling the Federal Student Loan Consolidation Center at (800) 557-7392 or by visiting their website at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/consolidation.

Payments in advance are payments made against future installments. They are applied to your account as if each were received on its due date. Payments in advance must be made in multiples of your normal monthly installment amount and must be accompanied by a letter from you specifying which payments are being made. If we do not receive specific instructions in writing from you to apply your payments as payments in advance, they will be treated as prepayments, and another payment will be due the next month.

Loan payments for Perkins and university loans should be sent to the following address:

Cornell University
C/O ECSI
P. O. Box 718
Wexford, PA 15090-0718

Loan payments for Direct Stafford and PLUS Loans should be sent to the following address:

U.S. Department of Education
Direct Loan Payment Center
P.O. Box 746000
Atlanta, GA 30374-6000