(MONEY Magazine) – Your May article, ''Student Loan Mess,'' was informative. Since I was the subject of it, however, I want to clarify several points that did not appear in the article. The article mentioned that I received four loans totaling $9,959.62, which I ''. . . defaulted on in 1985.'' It was also noted that the reason I paid off the principal was because the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) was threatening to sue me. This is not the full story. I received six loans to attend graduate school; the principal totaled $22,959.62. On Sept. 18, 1987 I paid off two of the loans in good standing for $13,000 plus | interest, in accordance with the terms of the loan. The remaining $9,959.62 was owed to the government and they had my account confused with another student's (whose name I will refrain from mentioning), who graduated from Michigan State University in 1974. He owed $1,400 in principal plus $1,298 in interest. I could not pay the loan even if I wanted to. The DOE told me that they would try to locate my file but were unable to find it. After 2 1/2 years, they found my file and it was at this time that I tried to pay the loan off and not because they were threatening to sue. The student loan process needs improvement -- my story is only the tip of the iceberg. Gary S. Lynn Troy, N.Y.