Once you’ve graduated you have a degree and you’re off to hit the real world. Unfortunately graduating college likely means a balance of payment for your education. Student loans can seem like a black box that is hard to figure out. Here we will provide a thorough guide to student loan servicing and specifically, University Account Service, student loan servicing.
A Complete Guide to University Accounting Service & UASECHO
Education is one of the best investments in life. A quote about financial freedom by Kiyosaki says “financial freedom is mental, emotional and education process.”
Accessing higher education today is very expensive, and quite a vast number of people still depend on student loans. I wanted to pay off my debt as fast as possible to unlock financial flexibility for the future.
I instantly linked my accounts to Personal Capital to start tracking my accounts and seeing my progress. It’s completely free to use.
Student loans, be it federal or private loans, must be assigned a specific loan servicer. University Accounting Service is a perfect example of a student loan servicer available today.
Student Loan Servicers Overview
If you’ve just graduated from college and you have a student loan, then the next thing you should have in mind is finding out your loan servicer.
Well, there is a grace period before you start repaying your debt. But after it comes to an end, you will need to be aware of your loan servicer to commence with the student loan repayments.
Students rarely have a chance of choosing the loan servicer since the U.S. Department of Education assigns you a loan servicers usually after the disbursement of the first batch of the loan amount.
The loan is disbursed to you after the school gives you the money or transfers it to a school account or a combination of both.
Mostly, who you pay is not necessarily the entity that loaned you that money. And so, your student loan servicer may be completely different from your lender.
But what is the difference between a loan servicer and lender?
Student Loan Servicer vs. Student Loan Lender
A student loan servicer is an entity that handles all the billing services among other services on your student loan. It works with the borrowers on the student loan repayment plans as well as the consolidation plans.
The student loan lender, on the other hand, is the organization or the company that originates the loan.
The lender of the federal student loan is the federal government, to be more specific, it’s the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).
So, What Do Student Loan Servicers Do?
The federal government is the largest lender of student loans to college, graduate and professional schools students. The loan servicers administer all the federal student loans.
Student loan servicing company assists you with all the tasks linked to your federal student loan. In essence, a student loan servicing company manages your student loan. Usually, it acts as the middle-man between you and your lender
If you have a student loan, then it’s vital you track down your student loan servicer before you can start repaying the loan. The loan servicer works with the borrowers. In this case, the students, to help them manage the repayment of the loan.
The borrower must always discuss any changes regarding the loan repayment including options like applying for forbearance or deferment and more with the servicer.
Besides billing borrowers, loan servicers are also mandated to collect and process the loan repayments.
Also, they help the borrowers take advantage of the programs and policies that are being offered by the DOE including:
Loan Repayment Plans
Your loan servicer can assist you in putting you on an affordable repayment plan especially when raising your monthly loan payments is a struggle. They can also help you find one that caps the amounts that you make monthly as a percentage of your income.
Consolidation
If you have several federal loans, then a loan servicer can also help you begin the process of combining all your loans into a single loan. If you have high-interest loans, consider consolidating into one payment through a refinancing. This is a money mistake I avoided in my 20’s. I was so glad I did it.
Forbearance and Deferments
Again, if you’re in financial hardships and you feel there is a need to stop or minimize your federal student loan payments temporarily, then your loan servicer can assist you in setting up a forbearance or deferral towards that.
See Related: How to Pay Off Student Loans on a Teacher’s Salary
Loan Forgiveness
You can qualify for loan forgiveness if you work for the government or a non-profit company.
For example, if you have made payments for ten years on an income-driven repayment plan, then you are eligible for loan forgiveness.
The loan servicer can help you verify that you qualify for it and begin the enrollment process.
Borrower Questions
A loan servicer also helps answer all the queries that the borrower may have during their loan period that can go up to 25 years or more.
They can answer any questions and offers any form of support to borrowers regarding the loan, bills, cosigner release options, and payments and more. It ensures that the borrower manages to repay what they owe to the lender.
The loan servicer has no right to alter any loan payments or terms on their own. Their work is only to help you make a case to your lender by offering you advice on the best programs that are fit for you and that you qualify for.
Also, they process the materials that the government requires from you to make any changes you may want.
The school financial aid office addresses any questions that you may have regarding your current or upcoming school year, and so that is not part of the loan servicers’ task. Always update your loan servicer if you make any drastic relevant details alterations and changes such as your name or email address.
So, how can you track down your loan servicer?
How to Find Out Your Loan Servicer
You can find your federal and private student loan servicer in different ways. Thus, first, you’ll need to figure out if you have a private or federal student loan.
There are two different approaches to finding out your loan servicer depending on whether it is a federal or private student loan.
If you have federal student loans, first you need to visit the National Student Loan Data System. Here are the steps:
- Click on “Financial Aid Review,”
- Log in with your FSA ID. But if you don’t have one, you can create one conveniently.
- Once you’re logged in, you’ll view a summary of all your loan information including the loan amounts, the types of student loans you have, and the outstanding balances or interest.
- Then, you will find a “who-is-my-loan-servicer” button. Click on that and boom, there you have it.
If you have a private student loan, the process can be a bit complex. However, you will be required to start by looking at your most recent student loan statement or your credit report.
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Then, follow it up from there.
Common Loan Servicers
There are only nine companies that the federal government contracts with loan servicing tasks. These companies are set to expire this year, 2019.
Loan servicers handle the loans via the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and via the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. These programs account for the more significant majority of the federal loans.
The federal government’s loan servicers include:
- CornerStone,
- Navient,
- FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA),
- Granite State – GSMR,
- MOHELA,
- Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.,
- HESC/Edfinancial,
- Nelnet and
- OSLA Servicing.
If you pursue any federal repayment program, your options are limited. However, some servicers help with other types of federal and private student loans as well.
Refinancing your student loans through a private company could also be another option. It can help reduce your monthly payments and save on interests.
So, when you refinance, you can use the other alternative loan servicers for both federal and private loans including UAS, SoFi, Credible to mention but a few.
Since this piece wants to focus more on UAS, without much delay, let’s now explore more about it.
See Related: Top Financial Planning Quotes
University Accounting Services Overview
Now that you know how student loan servicing works, here is a full overview of University Accounting Service and UASECHO / UASConnect, their online payment portals.
So, who is the University Accounting Service?
UAS short for University Accounting Service is a student-loan billing service provider. Different colleges, universities and financial institutions hire University Accounting Service and UASECHO to help them in billing and administration of both private and federal student loans.
UAS is a full-service provider of accounts receivable services, which include:
- Student loan billing
- Complete letter/brochure/printing services
- Skip tracing
- Electronic services including loan signatures, billing, payment, and exit counseling
- Tuition payment plans
- 1098 E and T Reporting
- Cohort account management
- A web-based system for flexible, in-house loan management
- Document imaging and storage
- Credit reporting for federal, institutional, and private loans
- Delinquent management services
Difference Between University Accounting Services and UASECHO / UASConnect
There are a couple of things you need to know about University Accounting Service (UAS) vs UASECHO / UASConnect. Here are the key differences:
- University Accounting Service (UAS): This is the actual institution and company for student loan servicing.
- UASECHO & UASConnect: UASECHO & UASConnect are simply the online portals that enable you to log in and pay your student loan billing.
Is University Accounting Services Legitimate?
Yes. University Accounting Services is a legit loan servicer that services different student loans. Some of these loans include:
- NDSL/Federal Perkins, Nursing Student Loans (NSL),
- Nurse Faculty Loans (NFLP),
- Health Profession Student Loans (HPSL),
- Primary Care Loans (PCL),
- State-Mandated Loan Programs,
- Loans to Disadvantaged Students (LDS), and
- Private and Institutional Loan Programs.
The company helps borrowers understand the loan terms and offers solutions on how you can make payments conveniently to prevent default.
If you’re wondering whether UAS owns your loan, then you need to understand that it is only a student loan servicer and does not own your loan.
Another question most people ask is…
When is my first payment due?
Well, it all depends on the type of loan that you have.
The first payment may become due while you are enrolled in school, at the end of your enrollment or after a certain grace period. Thus, it usually is dependent on your promissory note.
So, how can you start making payments?
UAS offers the following payment methods:
- A one-time electronic (ACH) payment from a bank account
- You can use recurring electronic (ACH) payments from a bank account
- Dial UAS by phone to make a payment (see below for contact information)
- Or, you can go the traditional route of mailing UAS a check (see below for contact information)
You can make the check payable to the financial or lending institution and mail it to the UAS using the University Accounting Service contact info that is if you prefer sending a check.
Include the remittance section from your billing statement and also be sure to include the loan account number on your check.
You can also make a payment via phone, and so you will need to call the University Accounting Service phone number to proceed.
Applying for Benefits Such as Deferment and Forbearance
A majority of loan programs allow for forbearance or deferment at least half time while a borrower attends another school after leaving the school that offered them student loan. You can complete a benefit form to apply for this kind of benefit.
These forms can be accessed online, for example, you can use UAS connect login, to access your account in UASECHO website. You can also call or contact UAS through email and request for the benefits form.
The contact details can be found on their site. The details of your eligibility for the Federal Perkins Loan or National Direct Loan Program deferment categories can also found on their website.
If you encounter any financial hardships that may make you unable to honor your obligations by the due date, you can contact them immediately and explain your situation.
You may be eligible for a benefit such as a deferment, cancellation or forbearance depending on the type of the loan that you have.
Can UAS consolidate my student loans?
Well, unfortunately, you cannot consolidate your student loans with UAS. This is because UAS is not a lending institution. The DOE and private lenders offer loan consolidations for those with federal loans or students with loans from private financial institutions. Use these ways to creatively pay off your student loans.
Making timely payments and filing benefits on time will reflect as on-time activities on your credit report. Consequently, if you make late payments or delay filing the benefit forms, then it will also reflect on your credit report and negatively affect your credit score.
It is thus vital that you make timely payments and file benefits on time to build your credit score.
How to Allocate Your Multiple Accounts Payments
If you have more than one student loan lender, you can decide on the allocation of the payments that you are making to UAS.
You can choose the particular portions of the amount that will go to the specific loans. You can visit the website or call the office to complete the payments allocation.
Complaints Against Loan Servicers
A majority of loan servicers have had their fair share of complaints from borrowers. When it comes to a federal loan, the DOE picks the servicers with fewer complaints every period and allocates them a more significant number of borrowers to service.
University Accounting Service has also received some complaints, and we will thus offer a few other alternatives options that can help you in handling your student loans when you refinance your loan.
Alternatives to University Accounting Services (UAS)
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These are proven, relevant alternatives to refinance your student loans and use a different servicer than UAS.
1. SoFi
SoFi is a private lender and is an ideal choice for refinancing student loans. Being one of the best private lenders that can either consolidate or refinance your student loans, beating SoFi is uphill.
SoFi can require a credit score of 650+. However, the interest rates are highly attractive at rates as low as 3.899% APR and no hidden charges. This makes SoFi stand out from the rest in the market.
I refinanced my student loans with SoFi and it saved me thousands of dollars.
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2. Credible
Credible is another excellent lending company for student refinancing, “in-school” private student loans and personal loan products.
A user of Credible institution can compare and select the most competitive interest rates for their circumstances since it offers rates from multiple lenders.
You can receive rate quotes for free and also can obtain a list of other incredible offers with no impact to your credit score.
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University Accounting Service Contact Information
If you need to contact UAS, the below is the proper contact information for billing, services, payments and more.
Here is University Accounting Services addresses.
University Accounting Service, LLC
PO Box 5865
Carol Stream, IL 60197-5865
University Accounting Service, LLC
PO Box 918
Brookfield, WI 53008
University Accounting Services Phone Number: 1-800-999-6227
Then, follow the instructions:
- To hear account information or to make a payment, press 1.
- To request a form, press 2.
- To speak to a customer relations representative, press 3. Representatives are available Monday – Friday, 7 AM – 5 PM, Central Time.
Conclusion on University Accounting Service
University Accounting Service is an ideal student loan servicer, and it is where you turn to if you need to change your repayment terms or apply for benefits such as deferment or forbearance.
Paying off your debts is one of the best ways to help you quickly achieve your financial independence. It’s vital that you clear your loan as soon as possible.
Thus, you should find the best option to refinance your student loans. You will be on your way to financial freedom before you know it.
Will you continue to use University Accounting Services? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
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