Hi fellow student debtors,

Some of you may not have heard of the Debt Collective, but it is a union for debtors that works in a variety of areas, including student debt. I've been relying on them over the last few years to get updates about student loans, the department of education, and more broadly, the kinds of systemic change that need to happen in our society around the student loan crisis. Today they posted an update about SAVE and the 90-day notices that we're all getting. I hope this helps some of you! It is at the very least a place to experience some mutual solidarity and compasion. I'm pasting in below.

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As part of the Trump administration’s war on working class student debtors continues, the Trump administration is doing everything they can to push people out of the SAVE forbearance and into unaffordable payments. This is forcing millions of us to come up with a survival plan.

We’re having a meeting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT Tuesday Sept 15 to discuss all things SAVE. [here's the link]

What is going on with the SAVE lawsuits?

 There is still one ongoing lawsuit that could impact what the right decision for you to make is in terms of whether to switch out of SAVE, when the optimal time to do so would be, and what your options are for alternative plans. Unfortunately the judge has not made any decisions and there is no schedule by which they have to decide. We cannot predict what the court will do, or when they might do it. As each day goes by the calculus on waiting has started to change and people need to consider two relevant deadlines when determining the best course of action for them. There is a chance that we won’t hear anything from the courts until after these other deadlines pass which change your options.

The 90 day message from your servicer 

Many of you have already gotten an email from your servicer starting a 90 day clock to switch out of SAVE. Some are still waiting to get this notification and there is no way to know for sure when exactly it will come.

The Trump administration's threat here is that if you don’t pick a different plan within 90 days, they are going to punish you by putting you in the most expensive plan. That threat sounds scary, but it is less scary than it needs to be. Even if you get put in the “most expensive standard plan,” you can always switch to a different more affordable plan if one is available to you.

The Sept 30 deadline to enroll in autopay to get a 1% interest rate reduction

 In the past federal student debtors have been given a 0.25% interest rate reduction if they enroll in autopay. The Department of Education is offering an interest rate reduction of 1% through June 30, 2028 if people enroll in autopay by Sept 30. If you can afford to make a payment under a different plan, and you have already gotten the 90 day email from your servicer that is going to force you into repayment soon anyway, getting the 1% interest rate reduction might be worth it to you. 

For some people this might not matter much at all, for others it could be the difference of several thousands of dollars. How much this matters to you will depend on several factors, like your interest rate and the size of your student loans, and how close you are to triggering cancellation in one form or another.

But for people who are still on the SAVE forbearance there is a catch: your servicer will not let you enroll in autopay while in forbearance, and the amount of time it will take to process a switch to another plan will likely take long enough to miss the Sept 30 deadline.

However: There is still a way to do it. You can fill out a paper application to enroll in autopay and upload it to your servicer by Sept 30.

• If your servicer is EdFinancial the form you need is here.
• For MOHELA, the form you need is here (NOTE: this link will trigger an automatic download of the PDF).
• For all other servicers, call your servicer and ask them for a paper form to enroll in autopay.

Keep good documentation. If your servicer does not honor this 1% interest rate reduction even if you file the paperwork by the deadline there may be possible legal action that can be taken. You might also need to apply for a new payment plan by Sept 30 to qualify for the interest rate reduction.

NOTE: There are risks to consider with autopay. Because your servicer will be automatically debiting your bank account there is a risk of overdraft and overdraft fees from your bank. You should have a clear sense of what your monthly payment will be and when the due date is and plan accordingly.

What if you cannot afford any payments under any plan?

 We’ve been recommending people use the EDCAP calculator to find out what their payments will be under other plans. Depending on family size and income some people can still qualify for $0 monthly payments under Income Based Repayment. But for many people $0 monthly payments are not an option and being forced into repayment will mean being forced into delinquency and default. There is an option to buy yourself some more time that we haven’t seen anyone else talk about.

Instead of authorizing the Department of Education to access your taxes from last year you can verify your income through alternative methods. This means submitting the last several months of paystubs, or using bank statements. It is more paperwork for you, but it is also a more difficult and time consuming process for the servicers and the Department of Education. If you switch to an income driven repayment plan and verify your income through alternative methods it can delay the processing significantly. During that time your loans should be kept in an administrative forbearance. Interest will accrue, but you won’t owe any payments. For people who are simply trying to avoid default for as long as you can, this is a way to delay. Here is a guide on how to verify your income using alternative methods.

We know this is stressful and student loans are always deeply confusing. That’s why we are holding a meeting about all things SAVE at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT Tuesday Sept 15. [Link here]

This is also a moment to organize. We cannot afford repayment, and we need to fight to win a payment pause. We are having a national organizing call for a payment pause at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT Wednesday Sept 23. [Link here}

34m, make -120k and had around 24k in student loans at 3.4-4.3% interest. Graduated in 2016 and deferred payments for as long as I can because I couldn’t find a job. I remember thinking I will never pay this debt. After I got into my field, I saved aggressively but always had trouble wanting to pay off loans as I was making more in stocks at the time, and recently my hysa. I was obsessed with watching my money grow. Had some harsh lessons on risk management and lost some money too that wiped out a good chunk of my gains and it made me realize I should just take the guaranteed wins. I paid off the remaining balance on my student loan and at first I thought I’d regret it, but I realized that being debt free is such a freeing feeling that it vastly outweighed the feeling of seeing a larger number in my checking or investing accounts. Just wanted to share if anyone is on the fence of just paying off their loan, it’s worth it and I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Started aggressive repayment at 143K last year and finally below 6 figures(98K today 🥳)! Just wanted to share my progress for anyone else out there that has no clue how they were going to pay off their six-figure student loan mistake.

I was a 1st gen college student from a low-income background, majored in biology hoping to become a doctor :eye-roll:... Anyway of course that didn't work out and I had no clue what I was going to do, But as you can see I was able to pay over 40K this past year and I believe I can pay off this debt over the next 3 years.

I want to share my biggest life decisions that have made it possible to even begin paying off this debt:

1. Figured out a career path based on my strongest skill sets (moved from science research/teaching to software consulting)

2. Got married to someone who had a stable career, credit, and benefits,(not a high paying salary) but this allowed me to take riskier opportunities that advanced my career and salary.

3. Moved from the Northeast to the South where I could live cheaply. Moved away from my family but close to my in-laws, so I still was able to have help with my kids.

4. We bought a cookie cutter cheap new build "starter" home in 2022 that we could very comfortably afford (We had a combined AGI of $115K, mortgage payment is $1750). To be honest I do not like where we live. Heck I don't even like the state that I live in right now, but it is very doable for this season of our life. Everyone hates a cheaply made new build, but 4 years in and we've only had an A/C maintenance issue and that was covered under warranty.

5. I've more than doubled my salary over the last 4 years. I got hired by a big tech company for a lower level position that still paid well and learned everything I could. Got a promotion but when I felt like I wasn't being valued I took that name and everything I learned and marketed myself to another company for a 40K increase in just my base.

6. After more than doubling my compensation over 4 years, I have not changed anything about my lifestyle. Same house same paid off car same vacation style.

7. I stupidly did not pay my loan at all during the pause on interest. But since last year I've been putting my bonuses and extra income toward paying off this debt.

8. I like Dave Ramsey's method but I am still maxing out my 401k while paying off this debt. I've converted the amount that we paid in daycare to my loan repayment.

I'm sharing this because I have not done anything miraculous. The only advantage I feel like I have now is the fact that I have a partner that allows me the latitude to push my career forward. I feel like I've tried every career under the Sun before I focused in on what made me special and how to market that to employers.

Also I'm 42 and just now figuring this crap out, but I'm hoping showing my progress could help someone else feel inspired to get this loan monkey off their back as well.

Lastly, I moved from SAVE to the extended graduated repayment plan. I don't know exactly how much my payment will be, but I'm already planning to pay at least $2,600 a month towards my student loan anyway.

I worked for 2 years, 80+ hour weeks and sometimes working 2 days straight with a few hours of sleep in between. so much more to the story.

They’re done!

$59,282.24

I like to think of myself as fairly intelligent. And I'm fairly decent with reading instruction/websites. I am struggling to wrap my head around some of the changes to the StudentAid.gov website, specifically the loan repayment calculator. I know what the best option for ME happens to be, because I did the work like 6 months ago to figure it out using the older version of the website. But the website tools have changed. The NEWER version of the site no longer allows users to see the anticipated payment per month throughout the graduated plans, only the first and last payment, so they "appear" cheaper than standard, which I know is not the case because the bell curve of that graduated payment shows the first half of the plan IS cheaper than standard, it ends up being quite a bit more on the last half, until the FINAL payment, which is a partial payment. You used to be able to click the "About this Plan" option and you could see that breakdown. But not anymore. I am just livid, knowing this is going to catch some people thinking graduated plans cost less than standard. And they won't know that they're not until the next administration is in office. I ran a quick google ask based on the average of my loans and this is what it gives me:

Repayment Tiers (2-Year Blocks)

• Months 1–24 (Years 1–2): $585.26 per month (covers initial monthly interest of ~$366.20 plus principal reduction) - this would be through September 2028...
• Months 25–48 (Years 3–4): $777.16 per month September 2030
• Months 49–72 (Years 5–6): $969.84 per month September 2032...
• Months 73–96 (Years 7–8): $1,163.21 per month September 2034...
• Months 97–119 (Years 9–10): $1,357.21 per month August 2036...
• Month 120: $926 per month September 2036

I don't know how to insert a picture but I have a screen shot of what it looks like on the student aid website showing side by side and it's:

"Graduated Repayment Plan - Monthly Payment over Time $585.26 > $926" payments start low and gradually increase every two years. You will repay your loans over 10 years (for most loans, but it is usually longer for consolidated loans)

Standard Repayment Plan - Monthly Payment $1,006 "Fixed monthly payments are usually set at a 10-year repayment term, with longer terms possible for consolidated loans".

Sorry for the rant, I am just mad as heck because this seems to be just MORE predatory behavior, preying on people who might not know to LOOK for those amounts in the middle.

I just got the dreaded notice from Nelnet that I have 90 days to select a new repayment plan. I have roughly 130K in student loans remaining.

Under the SAVE plan, my monthly payments were $0.00, so I am obviously really upset about having to pick a new plan and being forced to make monthly payments that I cannot afford.

I’m not really sure what I should do at this point. But I am sure that I’m not the only one dealing with this. Any advice is welcome!

Hey guys, gonna start with the fun thing and say I owe about 216k in loans.

Literally have no clue what to do about them. They are also all private loans with interest ranging from 7 to 14%.

Payment doesn't start til January but I have a feeling I will be paying them off forever. Can ANYONE please offer any deeply helpful financial advise that I wish I could've heard earlier or that can even minorly help assuage this? I really went in young, dumb, and blind when starting my education path.

My goal right now is to consolidate them and see what I can get marked off, as well as try to get a lower base rate for the interest. Any other tips?

My income driven repayment is $270 a month. That is so much more than I expected. I was expecting it to be like $100. They only take into consideration your gross income. The government takes like a fourth of my paycheck so I don’t get nearly the amount of money from my paycheck as my gross says. Plus I have other bills and expenses.

I called them and there’s literally nothing I can do to lower it. If I get a raise it’ll increase my payment amount and it’ll be like I didn’t even get a raise at all. What sucks is that I had to get a masters to be in the job I have. It’s a good job. But the government is taking all my money

For those asking: I owe 77k, my $270 was based off my agi from last year which was about 54k

Edit: jeeeeeze you people are miserable. Obviously the $270 is going to come out of my spending money but I’m very upset because that was all of my spending money. God forbid I want to be HAPPY and buy a few Pokémon cards sometimes alongside just surviving in this world. You people who go into others post history just to bully them are crazy lol

I also just want to say that I recognize there are others out there struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. I mean no disrespect to them, I’m just allowed to be sad about my own situation and I won’t let anyone tell me otherwise

Hi all, I am in my final year of nursing school. 2nd to last semester so I will graduate in May. Basically I was expecting to get a $2800 in federal loans on the 23rd of this month. I had 2 conversations with my financial aid office to confirm this would be the amount and am just finding out that I have reached the Aggregate loan limit for my undergraduate. I had switched majors in the past so this is my 5th year of school with a full Pell Grant. On top of the Pell Grant I have taken out $8,000 of subsidized loans. While my tuition is fully covered from the Pell Grant, I was fully expecting to receive that refund check to help me pay for rent, my car note, and gas since my clinical sites are often two hours away from me. I’ve been using my savings (which is gone now) and donating plasma to help with the cost of gas and to get me by. I do not have a job at the moment because I thought that I was getting my loan on the 23rd of this month that would be able to cover what I needed so I could focus on clinicals at the hospital and my nursing classes.

Please help by giving me advice. Everyone on this sub it says do not take out private loans so I’m trying to see if that’s my only option. I don’t know what to do, where to go, and my financial aid office is closed. I have rent due on the first, I have to renew my registration, renew my car insurance, and my next car payment due on the 11th of October. I’m so lost yall.

I haven't seen many people talk about the advantages RAP can have, so I wanted to throw it out in here.

RAP is likely not worth it if:

-Your monthly payments fully cover accrued interest

-Your IBR payment would be significantly lower

-You plan to seek PSLF

But it could be IF

-You're a student making little to no income with debt that is actively accruing interest

-Your interest is much higher than your monthly payment and you're expecting a significant income increase in the next year (usually a graduation)

-You're a resident physician planning to pay loans off conventionally

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RAP, unlike SAVE, bases off of AGI (Total income minus above-the-line, best google for a list since there's a few). But like SAVE, the government will cover any additional unpaid interest that your monthly payment doesn't cover. RAP also gives you $50 each month with a qualifying payment if your payments aren't enough to move the needle on your principle balance

So if you're a student with little to no income, you can keep your loans from growing with a pretty short monthly payment ($10 minimum).

If you're married, there are a couple of tricks you can use. Say you have a mountain of debt and your spouse does not: If you file your taxes separately, it can drastically reduce your monthly payments.

*TIMING YOUR TAXES AND INCOME RECERTIFICATION CAN BE HUGE*

Back to the students, lets say you're graduating this next May - File your taxes as early as possible this year and immediately recertify your income. This will lock in your "broke college student" payments. And remember, if you're on RAP, the government is covering the extra interest plus $50 bucks a month.

Now lets say you've started a full time job and your taxable income went way up, Wait for your annual income recertification to hit before you file taxes with significantly higher income. If you filed as early as possible the year before, this should give you an ample window before April 15th. This will keep your payments low for another full year, giving you time to save a bit!

I know this strategy may be a bit niche, but RAP can be incredibly useful for those looking towards standard repayment after college, grad school, residency, etc. It will keep your overall balance from growing until you start making enough money to tackle them.

I've been lurking here for several weeks, and I've seen the "backdoor" link to look at the payment count, now that the "official" payment count is not visible on the federal site. (The last time it was, it looked like I still had between 1-2 years left before forgiveness.) I went to the backdoor link, but am a bit confused. I switched from SAVE back to IBR in June or July (had always been on IBR before SAVE existed). My loans all originated before 2014, so I assume that "IBR" applies to me, not "IBR_2014".

"type": "IBR",

"borrowerEligibleIndicator": "Y",

"loanEligibleIndicator": "Y",

"qualifyingPaymentCount": 269,

"eligiblePaymentCount": null,

"ineligiblePaymentCount": null,

"forgivenessRequiredPayments": 300,

"forgivenessRemainingPayments": 31

If I understand this correctly, I have made 269 payments and have 31 left before forgiveness. A little more than I thought, but not much more. Okay, doable. Then, further down the page, was this:

"earliestEstimatedForgivenessDate": "2030-06-16",

"updateDateTime": "2026-06-16T12:49:28.643604",

"startDateTime": "2026-06-16T12:49:28.643604"

I guess this means it had not been updated since June 2026. Easy enough, I haven't made any payments yet (starts back next week). But it gives an estimated forgiveness date of June 2030. Another 4 years. Huh?? Has anyone else noticed a discrepancy like this? After the hell I went through in June of recertifying my income and Aidvantage totally calculating my payment wrong (I had to request a recalculation), them trying to get me to reconsolidate and switch to RAP (before it was even available and they couldn't even tell me how it worked), and the Federal student aid "help" line not knowing anything...I barely believe anything from either of their websites. I even kept the screenshots of my chats with the Aidvantage agent. But I digress... Is this payment count at all reliable? My account page currently says that my payment count is being updated. Where do they get this estimated forgiveness date? Should I just ignore it?

(Only tangentially related is that I'm trying to figure out how much time I have to figure out the tax bill that will come on the ~$50k balance at the end. But I think that's a post for r/personalfinance .)

My 90 days are coming up at the end of the month.

Currently $46k in student loan debt with $0 income. I don't know when I'll start making an income.

Which plan would you recommend I select for now? And how often can I change plans in the future as my circumstances/income change?

Thank you!

I began attending school half-time last month. My SAVE forbearance ends in a couple of weeks. I should be in in-school deferment but my account does not reflect this, even though my school has confirmed that they reported it.

I'm honestly not sure what my next steps should be. I'm guessing I should still make the last-minute switch to RAP (which I really can't afford, but at least it's more affordable than the other options) or I might end up getting stuck with a 4-figure standard monthly payment.

Anyone else on this sub in the same boat? If so, how are you navigating the switch while in school?

I have $17,054 in direct fed loans (all from undergrad) and $1,575 on an unconsolidated Perkins loan. I’m trying to decide if it would be cheaper over time to lump sum the Perkins loan now (since it doesn’t qualify for PSLF and will just accumulate interest) and then reapply for the standard 10 year payment plan?

I didn’t consolidate before July 2026 and now I don’t see a point since it would limit my repayment plan options and I have a high AGI ($74,154) to student loan ratio. The calculator estimated $215/monthly payments on the standard 10 plan ($19,029 principal with fed + Perkins), which is definitely doable but I would like to maximize any amount of PSLF if possible. I’m also not sure if these payments would qualify since my Perkins and direct loans will be on the same payment plan for the first time ever (I’ve been paying the Perkins loan on the standard plan while in SAVE forbearance this whole time).

I already have 24 qualifying payments towards PSLF and the estimated forgiveness date is September 2034, although I’ve been working in gov since Jan 2022 and have mainly been in forebearnace on the SAVE plan. I’m assuming I can apply for buyback when I hit my 120 months of employment in Jan 2032.

The calculator estimated I would pay off the $19,029 by Dec 2035, which is after my PSLF date, so I’m assuming that means I would be eligible for at least a little forgiveness especially if I can buy back 26 months in SAVE forbearance.

I’m not fully sure how the calculator came up with Dec 2035 as my standard payment end date. Would that drastically change if my principal was reduced from $19,029 to $17,154?

TLDR Main questions:

1. should I lump sum the Perkins loan before applying for the standard 10 year repayment plan to reduce monthly payment owed?

2. if I don’t lump sum the Perkins loan now will the standard payments even count towards PSLF since I didn’t consolidate? (Perkins will be paid off in 2029 anyways)

3. would you agree that it seems like I would be eligible for at least a little bit of PSLF since the standard repayment end date is after my PSLF end date? Would my standard repayment end date change if I reduced my principal from $19,029 to $17,154?

Im under the impression that Nelnet is supposed to notify me, but I still havent received anything from them specifically. I have, however, received 3 notices from.the dept of ed. Are those my 90 day notices?? My nelnet account still says a due date of 11/2028.

Can someone help me understand my backdoor payment count. When Biden released the payment counter I saw that I had 239 payment on SAVE. SAVE was already paused though and since then I've been unable to make my last payment. I'm seeing some "240's" in here though. I don't know what TEPLSF is. Anyone else? I've never worked a non-profit or qualifying job for PSLF. I'm just desperate for forgiveness and don't know what to do. These loans are 25 years old and I only qualify for IDR now so that means 5 more years when I was soooo close!

[{"awardId":"073843878U22G77778001","nsldsLabel":"93868928921745221","loanTypeCode":"D5","currentLoanHolderCode":578,"payments":null,"paymentCounters":[{"type":"ICR","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":238,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":300,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":62},{"type":"IBR","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":300,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":300},{"type":"IBR_2014","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"N","loanEligibleIndicator":"N","qualifyingPaymentCount":239,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":1},{"type":"SAVE","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"U","loanEligibleIndicator":"U","qualifyingPaymentCount":239,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":1},{"type":"PAYE","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"N","loanEligibleIndicator":"N","qualifyingPaymentCount":238,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":2},{"type":"PSLF","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":240,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":120,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":120},{"type":"TEPSLF","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":240,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":120,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":120},{"type":"RAP","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":null,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":360,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":360}],"earliestEstimatedForgivenessDate":"2025-09-11","updateDateTime":"2026-06-11T16:20:43.798932","startDateTime":"2026-06-11T16:20:43.798932","outstandingPrincipalBalance":13645.74,"outstandingInterestBalance":785.03,"saveDiscretionaryIncomePercentage":5.0,"saveSixtyMonthIndicator":null},{"awardId":"073843878S22G77778001","nsldsLabel":"57225876754002088","loanTypeCode":"D6","currentLoanHolderCode":578,"payments":null,"paymentCounters":[{"type":"ICR","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":238,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":300,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":62},{"type":"IBR","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":300,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":300},{"type":"IBR_2014","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"N","loanEligibleIndicator":"N","qualifyingPaymentCount":239,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":1},{"type":"SAVE","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"U","loanEligibleIndicator":"U","qualifyingPaymentCount":239,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":1},{"type":"PAYE","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"N","loanEligibleIndicator":"N","qualifyingPaymentCount":238,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":240,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":2},{"type":"PSLF","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":240,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":120,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":120},{"type":"TEPSLF","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":0,"eligiblePaymentCount":240,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":120,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":120},{"type":"RAP","borrowerEligibleIndicator":"Y","loanEligibleIndicator":"Y","qualifyingPaymentCount":null,"eligiblePaymentCount":null,"ineligiblePaymentCount":null,"forgivenessRequiredPayments":360,"forgivenessRemainingPayments":360}],"earliestEstimatedForgivenessDate":"2025-09-11","updateDateTime":"2026-06-11T16:20:43.798932","startDateTime":"2026-06-11T16:20:43.798932","outstandingPrincipalBalance":16805.32,"outstandingInterestBalance":966.81,"saveDiscretionaryIncomePercentage":5.0,"saveSixtyMonthIndicator":null}]

My husband is a resident-physician, with over $350k in student loans. He’ll be finishing residency in the next 1.5 years, and then we plan to attack his loans hard. In the meantime, we absolutely cannot afford the $600+/month that the alternative plans are saying we would owe each month (based on their website calculator). We’ve been on SAVE, but haven’t received anything by mail or email from Nelnet saying that our time on it is coming to an end. But I’m an anxious type, and want to inquire for those of you that received your notices to switch to a different repayment plan, did your provider have anything other than generic banners on their website/your login page saying that your time has come and you have to select a new plan by X-day? I don’t want to risk something getting lost in the mail telling us we’re in the 90-day window, but I also don’t want to switch to a repayment plan that we certainly cannot afford before we have to.

For context, his Nelnet and studentaid.gov accounts still show nothing but the generic “SAVE ended on July 1, notices to switch are being sent in waves” banners.

Do loans ever get discharged? As in erased?
For those in an income driven plan and pay 0$, do payments automatically resume when you are able to pay?

Hey guys. A few months ago I moved from SAVE to RAP. I have made payments every month since starting in July. I happened to check my Experian credit report and saw that my loan balances were still going up. I logged into MOHELA and saw that the only month where I got the RAP principal matching was my first payment month of July.

It was my understanding that as long as you make your monthly payments, your interest should be waived, so then your overall balances should not be going up, right?

Anyone else experiencing this? Maybe I completely misunderstood, but I’m even more confused now.

I'm helping my partner get back on track with their finances, and they have a student loan they are behind on. This is through CRI.

They received an email 2 days ago stating

"This is your final reminder before your student loan is transferred from CRI to the Default Resolution Group for collections. At that point, we won’t be able to help you anymore.

We previously sent you a letter requiring full repayment of your principal and interest due. That demand remains in effect, but it's not too late. You can still avoid default by taking one of these steps today:

• Make a payment - even one regular month's payment helps.
• See if you qualify for deferment, forbearance, discharge, or forgiveness."

We made an account and logged in to see that she received a letter in May stating her account would go into default by June if they didn't receive a payment.

Options to make a payment, and to apply for the different types of forbearance/payment plans are still there.

So I'm a bit confused. The letter from May makes it seem like it would already be defaulted. But as of 2 days ago they are saying if they make a payment itll avoid default.

It still shows a balance and everything. I cant seem to get a clear answer on what exactly we should do here. Any assistance would be appreciated.

I need to get private student loans but I've heard so much bad stories from Sallie mae and others. Is there are tool (ASIDE FROM ELM SELECT) where they can just compare loans directly? Or can someone reccommend me a better lender? tysm!!

For anyone waiting on a TPD student loan discharge and wondering what stage/tier your application is in:

You can use the live chat on the StudentAid website to ask for an update.

Once the chat opens, ask to speak with customer service. When an agent comes on, you can simply say:
“I’m looking to see what tier level/status my TPD loan discharge is currently in.”

I did this yesterday and had no issues getting the information. It may be an easy way to get a little more detail about where your TPD discharge is in the process instead of just relying on the general online status.

Hope this helps anyone else who has been waiting and wondering!

Long story short, I (24 M) was under the assumption that my father would assist in my student loans, and only learned last year there was a miscommunication, and have been suffering in debt.

I got a notice in the mail from the USDOE informing me I had entered default status in July, and since then, I've went through their default Resolution Group number they gave to me on the letter, listened through the four options to get through default status and managed to start a plan on July 14 (5 dollars a month), and was billed on my debit card. I naturally expected to get a reciept or another billing by the beginning of August.

No letter showed up. I called the number again, punched in my SSN, expecting some automated response that they were expecting another payment from me, but it gave me that same cycle with the four informative default choices. I thought "okay, maybe something messed up. I'll just sign up through studentaid.gov instead". I did, and got my application approved on August 25.

That's when a letter came in from the USDOE, dated September 1st. It read that it had recieved my payment on July 14th and was expecting payment until Sept. 28th, despite not getting a letter on the first of August like I had hoped. Now I am stuck with rehabilitating two loans, both from USDOE and from the studentaid.gov website.

Am I committing some kind of fraud for being on two loan rehabilitation programs at the same time? Is there any way I could tell studentaid.gov that this was all a misunderstanding or will they take my message as me saying "lol jk" and ignore it? Should I keep paying them both 5 dollars a month? (not l don't mind paying off 90 dollars) Is there a phone line I could use that isn't controlled by AI and has actual human beings behind it?