How to Pay Off Student Loans Fast: 7 Strategies for 2025

The fastest way to pay off student loans is to pay more than the minimum each month. The more you pay toward your loans, the less interest you’ll owe — and the quicker the balance will disappear.

But making extra payments isn’t the only way to get ahead on your college debt. Here are seven strategies to help you pay off student loans fast.

1. Make extra payments toward the principal

There’s no penalty for paying off student loans early or paying more than the minimum. But there is a caveat with prepayment: Student loan servicers, which collect your bill, may use your extra payment to advance your due date — applying the extra amount to next month’s payment.

Advancing a student loan due date won’t help you pay off student loans faster. That's because your extra payment will first go to any late fees and accrued interest before hitting your principal.

Instead, instruct your servicer — either online, by phone or by mail — to apply overpayments to your principal balance and to keep next month’s due date as planned. If you have multiple loans with different interest rates, pay off the higher-interest loans first.

You can make an additional payment at any point in the month, or you can make a lump-sum student loan payment on the due date. Either strategy can save you money.

For example, let’s say you owe $10,000 with a 4.5% interest rate. By paying an extra $100 every month on a standard 10-year repayment plan, you’d be debt-free about five and a half years ahead of schedule.

Use a student loan payoff calculator to see how fast you could get rid of your loans with extra payments and how much money in interest you’d save.

2. Enroll in autopay

Signing up for autopay is a way to lower your student loan interest rate so that more of your money goes toward your principal balance.

Federal student loan servicers offer a quarter-point interest rate discount if you let them automatically deduct payments from your bank account. Many private lenders offer an auto-pay deduction as well.

The savings from this discount will likely be minimal — dropping a $10,000 loan's interest rate from 4.50% to 4.25% would save you about $144 overall, based on a 10-year repayment plan. But when combined with some of the other strategies, it can still help you pay off student loans fast.

Contact your servicer to enroll or find out if an autopay discount is available.

» MORE: Parent PLUS loan calculator

3. Make biweekly payments

Instead of making one full monthly student loan payment, you can pay half your bill every two weeks. This is called a “biweekly” payment.

You’ll end up making an extra payment each year, shaving time off your repayment schedule and dollars off your interest costs. Use a biweekly student loan payment calculator to see how much time and money you can save.

4. Pay off interest before it capitalizes

Unless your loans are subsidized by the federal government, interest will accrue while you’re in school, during your grace period and during periods of student loan deferment and forbearance. That interest capitalizes when repayment begins, which means it is added to your principal loan amount. You’ll wind up paying interest on a larger amount, increasing the amount you pay over time.

Consider making monthly interest-only student loan payments while you’re in school, during your grace period or during a forbearance to avoid capitalization. Or, make a lump-sum interest payment before your six-month student loan grace period ends. It won’t directly speed up the payoff process, but it will mean you have a smaller balance to get rid of once repayment formally begins.

5. Stick to the standard repayment plan

The government automatically puts federal student loan borrowers on the 10-year standard repayment plan, unless you choose differently. If you can’t make extra payments, the fastest way to pay off federal loans is to stay on that standard repayment plan. It splits up your total debt (plus interest) into 120 monthly installments spread over 10 years.

The federal government also offers income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which can lower your monthly payment based on your income. However, IDR plans can also extend the payoff timeline up to 20 or 25 years (depending on your loan type), at which point your remaining debt may be forgiven. You can also consolidate student loans, which stretches repayment to a maximum of 30 years.

If you can avoid these options and stick with the standard plan, it will mean a quicker road to being debt-free — but you might end up with hefty monthly payments.

Use the government’s loan simulator to estimate your monthly payments and the amount you’ll pay overall on different repayment plans.

6. Refinance if you have good credit, a steady job and private loans

Refinancing student loans can help you pay off student loans faster without making extra payments. This process replaces multiple federal or private student loans with a single private loan, ideally at a lower interest rate. To speed up repayment, choose a new loan term that’s less than what's left on your current loans.

Opting for a shorter term may increase your monthly payment. But, it could help you pay the debt faster and save money on interest. For example, refinancing a $50,000 student loan with an 8.5% interest rate and 10-year term to 6% interest on a seven-year term would save you roughly $13,000 — but your monthly payment would increase by about $110.

» MORE: Best refinance lenders for paying off student loans fast

You’re a good candidate for refinancing if you already have private loans, a credit score at least in the high 600s, a steady, high income and a debt-to-income ratio below 50%.

Think twice before refinancing federal student loans. You’ll lose access to IDR plans and federal student loan forgiveness programs, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You’ll also forfeit payment relief if you lose your job and other borrower protections which private borrowers can’t access. Once you refinance, your student loans permanently become private; there’s no way to turn them back into federal loans.

» MORE: Should you refinance your student loans twice?

Would refinancing save you money?

Note: This calculator assumes that after you refinance, you’ll make minimum monthly payments.

» MORE: How to pay off parent PLUS loans faster

7. Get creative and use 'found' money

If you get a raise, a student loan refinance bonus or another financial windfall, try to allocate at least a portion of it to your student loans.

You can also look to your employer. Find out if your employer offers a student loan repayment program as an employee benefit and ask how to enroll.

Start a side hustle to increase your income and pay off student loans faster. Sell items like clothing, unused gift cards or photos; rent out your spare room, parking spot or car; or use your skills to freelance or consult on the side.