The information above is from the Federal Student Aid website. What it means is described below:
Interest accrues daily on any student loan. The interest is added to the principal on a quarterly basis, then the next quarter’s interest is calculated based on the new total principal.
Students can make payments on the interest and the principal, while in college to reduce the total amount of the loan, without any penalty fees for pre-payment. Otherwise, repayment starts 6 months after college graduation.
For more details about the interest cost, the Federal Government provides repayment and interest calculators.
