CRI Student Loan: Pointer

CRI Student Loan: Pointer is an independent, unofficial study guide for people repaying United States federal student loans. It is not a government app and does not represent any government entity. Federal student loan rules changed on 1 July 2026, and which set applies to you depends on when your loans were disbursed, so the app starts there: what changed, which plans you can actually request, and what each choice costs. Every rule, rate and date in it comes from published official pages, and each chapter names the page its facts came from.

What the app does

The simulator opens already answered, so there is nothing to set up before you see a result. Four sliders — balance, rate, term and extra payment — move the curve, the totals and a plain-English conclusion as you drag. The example it ships with: on $30,000 at 6.52% over 15 years, adding $75 a month clears the loan 4 years 9 months sooner and saves $5,970 in interest.

• Eight calculators: RAP payment; Tiered Standard tier and payment; a comparison of Standard, Tiered Standard, Extended and RAP that also shows the plans closed to you and why; which plans you can request; daily interest, computed as (balance × rate) ÷ 365.25; the cost of a pause, including capitalization; auto debit saving; and the loan fee. Each one states the rule it implements and its assumptions.
• Twelve chapters of written guide, plus 29 questions answered, 58 glossary terms, all nine repayment plans, key dates, an 18-item checklist, search, and links to the official pages.

Nothing needs an account or a connection. There is no server of ours and no permissions are requested; what you tick or bookmark stays on your device. The app is ad-supported, and the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects a device advertising identifier, the only data that leaves your phone.

What it does not do

This is not the CRI borrower portal and not a servicer app: no sign-in, no balance, no payments, no plan changes. It is not a lender or a broker: it does not lend money, and it cannot apply for a loan, process an application, check a status or disburse anything. It has no access to any government or servicer account. It will never ask for a Social Security number, a bank account number, your FSA ID or a one-time code, because no calculation here needs them, and details like those belong only in official channels such as https://studentaid.gov or your own servicer portal. Help with your loans is always free through your servicer and Federal Student Aid.

Key facts about the programme

• Federal interest accrues daily on the balance, which is why the app uses (balance × rate) ÷ 365.25 rather than a monthly shortcut.
• Pausing payments through deferment or forbearance does not stop interest on unsubsidized balances; when the pause ends, unpaid interest may be capitalized into the principal and then earns interest itself.
• Which plans are open to you depends on your loan types and disbursement dates, so a plan a classmate uses may be closed to you.
• Newer options such as the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard plan have their own formulas and eligibility rules. Confirm the current terms on the official pages before choosing one.
• Missed payments lead to delinquency and then to default, with consequences that are slow and expensive to undo. The official rules are published at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/default

This app and this page are independent and unofficial. The app is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or connected to the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid (FSA), or Central Research, Inc. (CRI); those names appear only to describe the public program the guide explains, and all trademarks belong to their owners. Choose or recertify a plan, consolidate, pause payments or check a balance only in the official channels: Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov, its repayment pages at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment and https://studentaid.gov/idr, and your own servicer — for CRI-serviced loans, https://cri.studentaid.gov/content/knowledgecenter. Figures in the app are educational estimates from published rules, not your actual balance; your servicer's figure counts, and nothing here is financial or legal advice.