Federal Student Aid
Federal Student Aid is a U.S. Department of Education office that administers the $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio for 43 million borrowers via the studentaid.gov platform, providing loans, grants, work-study, repayment plans, and forgiveness programs free of charge to users.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1965
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Federal Student Aid does
Federal Student Aid (FSA) is an office of the U.S. Department of Education, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that administers the federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. It manages approximately $1.7 trillion in federal student loans across roughly 43 million borrowers, providing loans, grants, work-study funding, and loan forgiveness programs (including Public Service Loan Forgiveness) through the studentaid.gov digital platform and the FAFSA application. The core product portfolio consists of the StudentAid.gov portal, the Repayment Calculator, the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan Request application, the Direct Consolidation Loan application, the PSLF Help Tool, the FSA ID authentication system, and a network of seven contracted loan servicers (Edfinancial, MOHELA, Aidvantage, Nelnet, ECSI, Default Resolution Group, and CRI). Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025), FSA is rolling out two new repayment plans — the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard Plan — effective July 1, 2026, while phasing out Grad PLUS Loans for new borrowers and tightening borrowing caps.
The business model is non-commercial: services are free to borrowers, with no fees charged for loan servicing, repayment applications, consolidation, or forgiveness processing. Loan origination interest rates of 6.52% (undergraduate) and 8.07% (graduate) for 2026-27 disbursements, plus a 1.057% loan fee, accrue to the U.S. Treasury rather than to FSA itself. The agency is funded through federal appropriations and operates with 1,001–5,000 employees, having lost roughly half its workforce in a recent reduction-in-force and now rehiring approximately 380 workers. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via studentaid.gov and the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-433-3243), supplemented by school financial aid offices at over 6,000 participating institutions. Customer segments include undergraduate and graduate students, parents (Parent PLUS), borrowers in repayment, borrowers in default (5.3–5.5 million borrowers with ~$140B in defaulted debt subject to wage garnishment), and older borrowers (3.1 million aged 62+ holding an average of $44,161 in debt).
Federal Student Aid firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Federal Student Aid
- Legal name
- Federal Student Aid
- Website
- https://studentaid.gov
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1965
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Federal Student Aid is a U.S. Department of Education office that administers the $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio for 43 million borrowers via the studentaid.gov platform, providing loans, grants, work-study, repayment plans, and forgiveness programs free of charge to users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Federal Student Aid industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Government Education Services
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (6117), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Financial Aid Systems, Disbursement & Payment Operations (EDADAHAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Financial Aid Administration & Packaging (EDALAJAA), Student Loan Programs & Servicers (Public/Nonprofit) (EDADAHAE), Government Student Financial Aid Agencies (EDADAHAA), Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support Platforms (EDAFAMAF)
Keywords
Where Federal Student Aid is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Federal Student Aid business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Federal Student Loan Interest: The government earns interest on federal student loans made to borrowers. Interest rates vary by loan type: 6.52% for undergraduate borrowers and 8.07% for graduate/professional borrowers for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, and before July 1, 2027. The federal government is the lender.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Free federal student aid services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Federal Student Aid product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Federal Student Aid (FSA) is an office of the U.S. Department of Education that administers the federal student aid programs, including federal student loans, federal grants, and federal work-study funds. It processes applications, disburses program funds through participating schools, and services the federal student loan portfolio for eligible students attending U.S. institutions of higher education.
Product overview
Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, operates StudentAid.gov as a comprehensive federal student aid web portal. The platform consists of the core consumer portal (StudentAid.gov), multiple integrated sub-products including the FAFSA application, loan servicers network, income-driven repayment tools, loan consolidation, the Repayment Calculator, PSLF Help Tool, and the new Repayment Assistance Plan and Tiered Standard Plan introduced under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Additional offerings include virtual assistant Aidan, Help Center, Feedback Center, TEACH Grant program, entrance/exit counseling, PLUS loan processing, and FSA ID account management. The portfolio manages the nation's approximately $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio serving 43 million borrowers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Federal Student Loans Federal loan programs funded by the U.S. government to help eligible students pay for higher education expenses, serviced through federal loan servicers and repaid by borrowers under federal terms and repayment plans.
- Federal Education Grants
- Federal Work-Study Program
- Federal Student Aid Application Processing
- Federal Loan Servicing and Repayment Programs
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.2 million borrowers received approximately $90.6 billion in forgiveness through PSLF under Biden-era reforms
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Federal Student Aid
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Federal Student Aid technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Federal Student Aid partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- EdfinancialcoreEdfinancial is a contracted loan servicer assigned to handle billing and other services on federal student loans on behalf of the Department of Education, at no cost to borrowers. Borrowers can contact Edfinancial at 1-855-337-6884.
- MOHELAcoreMOHELA is a contracted loan servicer handling federal student loan billing and account services on behalf of the Department of Education. Contact: 1-888-866-4352.
- AidvantagecoreAidvantage is a contracted loan servicer for federal student loans. Also processes all Direct Consolidation Loan applications on behalf of ED. Contact: 1-800-722-1300.
- NelnetcoreNelnet is a contracted loan servicer handling federal student loan services on behalf of the Department of Education. Contact: 1-888-486-4722.
- ECSIcoreECSI is a contracted loan servicer for federal student loans on behalf of the Department of Education. Contact: 1-866-313-3797.
- Default Resolution GroupcoreDefault Resolution Group handles defaulted student loans on behalf of ED, managing collections and rehabilitation. Contact: 1-800-621-3115 (TTY: 1-877-825-9923).
- CRI (Custom溢)coreCRI is a contracted loan servicer for federal student loans on behalf of the Department of Education. Contact: 1-833-355-4311.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Federal Student Aid competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Navient: Major student loan servicer and lender serving the private and legacy federal loan markets; comparable in borrower-management scale and repayment-plan operations.
- Sallie Mae: Largest originator of private student loans and a servicer across both federal and private portfolios; competes for the same borrower relationships that FSA serves through Title IV.
- SoFi: Private student loan originator and refinancer plus a digital banking platform; competes for refinancing customers whose loans are currently held by FSA.
Direct peers
- Aidvantage (Maximus): Maximus-operated federal student loan servicer and the exclusive processor of Direct Consolidation Loan applications on behalf of FSA. Direct counterparty on the consolidation product flow.
- Nelnet: One of FSA's largest contracted federal student loan servicers, handling billing, repayment, and customer service on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. Direct operational partner rather than a competitor to FSA.
- ECSI: Contracted federal student loan servicer for FSA, serving a portion of the borrower base through the same billing and customer-service workflows.
- Edfinancial: Contracted federal student loan servicer handling billing and account management for FSA borrowers. Comparable operating model with similar borrower interaction volumes.
- MOHELA: Contracted federal student loan servicer for FSA and the primary administrator of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Operates the same borrower-facing workflows as FSA on a contract basis.
Emerging players
- CommonBond (now part of Nelnet): Private student loan originator (now under Nelnet) focused on graduate-student financing; overlaps FSA's graduate PLUS and unsubsidized loan use cases.
- College Ave Student Loans: Online private student loan originator serving undergraduate and graduate borrowers; competes for the same student-aid wallet share that FSA's loan products target.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Federal Student Aid social profiles
Digital presenceFederal Student Aid financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Federal Student Aid leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Federal Student Aid funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Federal Student Aid M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Federal Student Aid
What does Federal Student Aid do?
Federal Student Aid (FSA) is an office of the U.S. Department of Education that administers the federal student aid programs, including federal student loans, federal grants, and federal work-study funds. It processes applications, disburses program funds through participating schools, and services the federal student loan portfolio for eligible students attending U.S. institutions of higher education.
Is Federal Student Aid a public or private company?
Federal Student Aid is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Federal Student Aid founded?
Federal Student Aid was founded in 1965. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Federal Student Aid based?
Federal Student Aid is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Federal Student Aid make money?
One revenue line is on record: federal Student Loan Interest.
Who are Federal Student Aid's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Navient, Sallie Mae and SoFi. Direct peers are Aidvantage (Maximus), Nelnet, ECSI, Edfinancial and MOHELA. Emerging players are CommonBond (now part of Nelnet) and College Ave Student Loans.
Does Federal Student Aid have an API?
No public API is recorded for Federal Student Aid.
What industry is Federal Student Aid in?
Federal Student Aid's product category is Government Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAJ, Financial Aid Systems, Disbursement & Payment Operations, with a secondary code of EDALAJAA, Financial Aid Administration & Packaging. Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 6111.