There are two major types of repayment plans and one outlier:
Traditional: There are three available repayment plans of this type: standard, graduated, and extended. They are traditional in the sense that they do not require an application, and they don’t change based on your personal situation.
Income-Driven: There are four income-driven repayment plans for Federal Direct Loans. Each plan is similar, in that the amount of your payment is affected by how much income you earn, and they all require you to fill out an application to determine if you are eligible. Each plan has slightly different eligibility requirements and term lengths, but they all offer loan forgiveness (more on that in a minute). While not the right fit for everyone, there are many people that can see their payments reduced to a manageable amount under these programs.
