The accrual date on a loan is the date when the loan starts to earn interest. On many educational loans, the accrual date is a few months after graduation.

One important thing to understand about the accrual date is that the money you owe is not gaining any interest before the accrual date. If your loan allows you to make payments while you are still in school, making some payments before the accrual date can be a good way to save some money on your loan.

Make sure you are well aware of what the accrual date is on your loan, and plan your repayments carefully around it, starting early if you can. Once the loan hits the accrual date, you earn interest every month that you carry the loan. The total interest at the end of the year will equal the annual percentage rate, or APR, that you agreed upon when the loan started.

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