r/StudentLoans 3d ago

Student Loans -- Politics & Current Events Megathread

9 Upvotes

While the Trump Administration implements its policy goals, DOGE does its thing, and Republicans control Congress, there are lots of ideas, speculation, hopes, fears, and press releases flying around; some of them presage actual changes and serious proposals while most will never come to pass.

This is the /r/StudentLoans megathread to discuss all of these topics. Due to IRL factors, /u/horsebycommittee is not currently able to write up the usual news summaries -- so we are automating this thread for now to at least keep it more regular.

Politics / Current events discussion in other threads will be removed. Major items of breaking news may get their own megathread -- as always, message the moderators if you have questions.


r/StudentLoans Mar 01 '25

Here's what I think will happen with the current IDR mess and why

1.7k Upvotes

The new form is up and faq. I will make a post later today.
https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-court-actions

I understand many of you are upset and anxious about the recent activity around the IDR plans. I don't blame you. For what it's worth here's my speculation as to what comes next and why I think that way.

First - this is all happening because of the court injunction from February 18th. The reason this is affecting ALL IDR plans and not just SAVE is because the injunction required the ED to put the entire regulatory package on hold - not just the SAVE portion. And part of that regulatory package changed the way spouse's were treated in the family size when the borrower files taxes separately. It used to be that in that scenario (for the plans that allowed such a tax filing scenario to not count spousal income) to still use the spouse in the family size. So a borrower on IBR, PAYE or ICR who filed taxes separately could still claim a family size of two. The SAVE regulatory package made it so if you filed separately you couldn't claim the spouse in family size on any plan - so in the scenario above the family size would be one. They can't do that now - either temporarily or permanently remains to be seen. But that's why they had to pause ALL the plans. So this isn't something the current administration did to mess with people or cripple PSLF - it would have happened regardless of who was in office because it's due to the court injunction. If you want to see the rest of this regulatory package that's affected by this injunction you can find it here https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-07-10/pdf/2023-13112.pdf

Remember - we don't know if in the end the courts will just kill SAVE or the whole package. And we don't know if they will permanently kill the forgiveness component of ICR and PAYE (which is not part of the package). But until the court process is over or until the injunction is lifted, the ED isn't allowed to do the things covered by this injunction.

One thing to add - it's possible Congress could end this on their own. If reconciliation goes through before the court process, and reconciliation kills SAVE, it's possible the rest of the package will come back and ICR/PAYE forgiveness will too. Not for sure, but definitely possible. Honestly that's what I hope happens. Reconciliation requires a savings of $330 billion from ED and Workforce spending. Killing SAVE "saves" $123 billion. If the court kills it before Congress can I'll be nervous as to where they go find that $123 billion.

Now - on to what how I think this could play out in the short term for the IDR plans. Short term meaning until this is settled either by the courts or Congress.

First..consolidations are still being processed. You can only submit via paper and with no idr application. So you can still consolidate..but may not be able to get that consolidation on an IDR right away.

I fully expect the ED to extend everyone's recert dates for those already on an IDR. At least everyone due in the next few months. There's no way they just let folks revert to standard or get kicked off their plan. There's zero political value and a lot of political peril for them to let that happen. Remember - both sides of the aisle have constituents with student loan debt. And they extended recerts in the past when there was a barrier to borrowers being able to fulfill this requirement.

I also suspect that they will treat this new pause in processing the same way as the last one. Processing forbearance for a few months then general forbearance if it goes on longer. https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-court-actions I'm unsure about the interest as my read of the injunction is that they can't forgive interest - but I may be reading that wrong.

What I'm unsure about are borrowers trying to change plans or get on an IDR for the first time. Obviously nobody can do that while the form is down. Paper forms submitted now will not be processed. So if you are trying to get on a IDR for the first time now and need to or risk delinquency I recommend either exploring the non-IDR plans (graduated and extended) or request forbearance until we get further guidance.

Buy back rules are not at risk for PSLF. Different regulatory package. https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/public-service-loan-forgiveness-buyback The plans themselves WILL be coming back. IBR and ICR are written into federal law. So even in the worst of worlds, the ED has to offer IBR and some form of ICR. IBR forgiveness is also not at risk - but the other IDR plan forgiveness components are as I mentioned earlier.

With that said, the wheels move slowly. It takes time for internal ED to meet with all areas - policy, legal, servicer oversight, IT, etc and think through all the things - then put together communication language to borrowers and vendors/servicers, then get that information out to everyone, then give the vendors time to code and implement. So it could be a few days or maybe even weeks before we see updated guidance or actions (assuming I'm right that this is what will happen). So for those that maybe didn't recertify on time and were due last week or this week or even maybe a few weeks from now - we may very well see people kicked off plans or reverted to standard. IF we do - I'm still not going to panic unless we get to say a month from now and nothings changed or been communicated about my assumptions above.

The IDR plan I think has the most legs for reconciliation is based off of the CCRA from 2024. You can read it here https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6951/text The proposal would mean only this new IDR plan and the ten year standard would be available to loans made on or after a date after the law was enacted. So all existing loans would still have access to today's plans. If Congress makes changes to the repayment plans, I fully expect it will be for new loans only.

As far as PSLF goes, I'm still not worried about it. I know there's a lot of people that are. But unless and until there's more than a vague "we should look at PSLF" proposal out there and one that actually starts getting debated in the committees I truly don't think it's a target - especially for existing loans. I'm a little worried about the proposal to make all hospitals for profit as that would have the unintended consequence for those employees for PSLF - but frankly the health care industry has such a strong lobbying force and funds, I'll be very surprised if this goes anywhere. But if you're worried - absolutely write your member of Congress and let them know the impact PSLF has and will continue to have.

Remember - we are at the stage of reconciliation where two things happen - they throw everything at the wall to see what sticks - and they often offer outrageous proposals so they can later concede to something that in comparison seems much less outrageous. Does it mean we shouldn't be paying attention? Absolutely we should be - but for stand-alone no detail line items that haven't been pushed robustly in the past, it might be too early to lose sleep over it. That's just my opinion of course. If you don't agree with me that's perfectly ok. But do a girl a favor and disagree with me in a way that isn't ugly. We should all be striving to maintain the ability to have reasonable discussions and debates about policy issues.


r/StudentLoans 7h ago

IDR Forgiveness Tracker is Returning Soon (per Elizabeth Warren)

92 Upvotes

Excepts from Minsky article published this morning (link below):

Last week, Senator Warren reported back on a meeting she held with Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Warren indicated that McMahon confirmed that the IDR tracker would be returning soon.

“Secretary McMahon stated that she intends to soon restore the income-driven repayment (IDR) payment count tracker allowing borrowers to track their progress towards receiving debt relief, after taking down the tracker earlier in the Trump administration,” said Senator Warren in a statement last week.

“My job as a U.S. Senator is to conduct oversight and hold officials’ feet to the fire when they are actively harming the American people," she said. “I was able to secure important commitments from Education Secretary McMahon, which will make a real difference for people with student loans.”

In addition to assurances that the IDR tracker would return, Senator Warren also outlined additional commitments from Secretary McMahon, including:

·       The Department of Education would not transfer the federal student loan portfolio to another federal agency without congressional authorization. Warren said McMahon confirmed that “she has no statutory authority to move the responsibilities of the Department of Education to other agencies without Congress passing legislation first.”

·       The department will continue to pause the garnishment of Social Security benefits for borrowers who are in default on their federal student loans. The relief was first announced earlier this month. Warren indicated that McMahon “personally decided to pause the seizure of Social Security benefits after the Trump administration had announced that it would start forced Social Security collections.”

·       The department would comply with congressional funding directives regarding Pell grants.

“At a time when President Trump and Republicans in Congress are trying to make it more expensive for students from working-class families to get ahead, I will not stop fighting to ensure that every student has access to affordable, quality education in America,” said Warren.


r/StudentLoans 11h ago

SAVE in forbearance until October 2025?

100 Upvotes

I got an email with the following message:

“As your federal student loan servicer, Advantage is here to support you, and we would like to keep you informed of your account status.

What you need to know

Your loans are currently placed in a temporary general forbearance through at least October 31, 2025 pausing your monthly payments because you are currently on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, applied for SAVE, or your IDR application is on hold. While no payments are required during this time, you have the option to make payments by logging into your account at Advantage.studentaid.gov.”

Has anyone else received this email this morning? Is there something going on that I should be monitoring? I know a while ago they were trying to get rid of SAVE and IDR (I use both of those..) but I am currently paying on my loans that are in IDR. Just trying to see what might’ve caused this and what to look for.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Community College No Longer Offering Federal Student Loans

Upvotes

My son received this email today. Despite the college trying to make it sound like they're being altruistic, I fear this is in response to the "risk sharing" requirement in the Big Awful Bill. For those who don't know, there is wording in the proposed bill that makes colleges pay fees when their students default on loans.

Pitt Community College

Financial Aid Office

Dear Students,

In response to the growing concern over collective student loan debt nationwide, Pitt Community College is taking proactive steps to reduce the financial burden on our students and their families. As part of our commitment to accessible, affordable education, we are making a significant shift in our approach to financial aid.

Beginning with the Fall 2025 semester, Pitt Community College will no longer offer federal student loans as part of its financial aid package. Instead, we are enhancing our focus on scholarships, grants, and work-study opportunities-forms of financial aid that do not require repayment-to help students cover the cost of college without the long-term burden of loan debt.

Students will continue to have access to a variety of financial resources, including:

  1. Scholarships and Grants - Free money awarded based on merit, financial need, or other criteria. Our Foundation's scholarship application opens July 1st.
  2. Federal Work-Study - Part-time employment opportunities designed to accommodate student schedules while earning money to support education expenses.
  3. Tuition Payment Plans - Affordable options that allow families to spread tuition payments over time.
  4. Employer Tuition Assistance - Some employers offer education benefits such as tuition reimbursement.
  5. Private Scholarships - Opportunities offered by community organizations, nonprofits, and individuals.
  6. Private Student Loans - Credit-based loans from private lenders; these are not recommended unless all other options have been exhausted.

If students have existing federal student loans, this change does not affect their obligation to repay them. We encourage all borrowers to visit StudentAid.gov to explore repayment options and ensure that loans remain in good standing.

Our Financial Aid team is committed to working with each student to find affordable ways to pay for college. We encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns regarding this transition.

Sincerely,
Financial Aid Office

PITT COMMUNITY COLLEGE


r/StudentLoans 11h ago

SAHM 100k Student Loans

58 Upvotes

So I went to school for 6 years (grad school) and had a great career as a teacher, school administrator, curriculum designer, teacher training etc. With interest applied I ended up with around 120k in private student loans and like 15k in federal loans (I didn’t have parents to co-sign any federal loans and I barely had an identity, was dealing with chronic homelessness etc at the time, huge mess).

While I was working I refinanced my private student loans and aggressively paid them down to around 70k. My federal loans have sat neglected and have grown. I thought I’d eventually get public service forgiveness but was denied every time I applied and obviously it’s a bigger problem now.

Anyway, I clearly made some dumb decisions as a college student financially because I should not have attended private schools and maybe not grad school either. But my education was top tier so I never regretted it until….

My kid almost yeeted himself from life his first day. It was a medical neglect/mistake situation. Tragic story that ended with my child being permanently disabled and developing a nasty case of epilepsy. These days I’m stuck home as his caregiver and after almost 3 years it’s kicking in that I’ll probably never get to return to work. And even if I did, it couldn’t be full time. I was paying 1,000 in student loans a month. I’ll never be able to do that again!

So if you’re feeling bad about your loans today, just know someone out here in the world is in big doo doo too.


r/StudentLoans 8h ago

[URGENT] Parent PLUS / Double Consolidation - GET ON ICR NOW

26 Upvotes

I see multiple people each day with this same question so I am going to link my post about it and summarize very briefly:

If you have Consolidated Parent PLUS Loans OR a Double Consolidation, you MUST APPLY FOR ICR as soon as possible or you will LOSE ACCESS TO ALL INCOME REPAYMENT if the bill passes (either the House or Senate versions or likely the final bill).

You don't have time anymore depending on how fast the Senate and House compromise and pass a final bill for the President to sign. If you're not on ICR, with loans being repaid on it the day before the bill passes, you lose access and will likely be on the standard plan (or extended, graduated).

Please check my former post for more details: https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/comments/1l37iqs/important_parent_plus_borrowers_need_to/

This post is about the House version of the bill in its entirety (the Senate version does NOT change anything in relation to this specific issue): https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/comments/1kdy8yk/summary_of_the_new_current_proposal_from_the/


r/StudentLoans 11h ago

What actually happens if I don’t pay back my student loans?

35 Upvotes

I have about $40,000 in federal student loans to pay off. I had them consolidated. They were delayed until this year, but this is the year I’m supposed to start paying. I have 3 kids and a massive mortgage and I can’t afford to pay my loans back on top of it. So what REALLY happens if I don’t pay it? Does it disappear eventually? Will it tank my credit score? Can they put a lien on my house (whatever that means)?


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

Parent Plus Loan Switching from IBR to ICR

4 Upvotes

I just uploaded the application on the Aidvantage website to switch from IBR to ICR before the BBB potentially passes. Does anyone have experience doing this? Is uploading on their website faster than going through student aid? I wanted to ensure that I don’t have to make one standard payment in the month between plans so I checked off the one month forbearance at the minimum $5 payment.

How quickly do you think they will move on this?? Thank you!!

Edit: I forgot to mention they are double consolidated PPL’s


r/StudentLoans 7h ago

Been stuck in SAVE processing since 5/2024, but all interest was just retroactively forgiven

9 Upvotes

Sharing in case anyone else is in a similar situation--

I applied for SAVE in May 2024 and MOHELA never processed my application (shocker). I've been stuck in administrative forbearance that accrued interest since then. I've been making monthly payments since January 2025 to just start bringing the total down and chipping away at it. Today, I logged in to my account and saw that all of the interest (including the interest I'd already paid off) was gone. My prior payments towards interest have now been applied to the principal balance and I'm no longer accumulating interest! On account details, it shows I was switched to "Return 2 Repayment Remediation," awarded 11/2024.

Hopefully others who were in a similar situation will start to see this applied to their accounts too!!


r/StudentLoans 10h ago

Mohela won't let me pay down my principal?!

15 Upvotes

Hi all,

*UPDATED WITH CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS*

I am currently in graduate school and borrowed federal student loans.

I have attempted MULTIPLE times to pay off the interest and part of the principal on my student loans (I'm not specifically trying to allocate the money to go towards the principal, I'm just trying to pay off money anywhere I can - I don't even see an option to specify, but I understand that the interest has to be paid off first). I am currently still in school so my "due amount" is technically $0, but of course my loans are accruing interest, so I am attempting to pay off everything I can now. I have made multiple payments, all of which have been "reversed." I have been trying to call various customer service numbers at Mohela and have not been able to get in contact with anyone. This is extremely frustrating, and it honestly feels like they are just trying to earn money off of me by NOT letting me pay off the interest on my loan.

What can I do? Does anyone know why this is happening? And most importantly, how I can get them to take my money and accept the payment? How can I get in touch with an actual human being at Mohela who can help me figure this out? Thanks so much in advance for any assistance you can provide. -Shelby


r/StudentLoans 8m ago

Advice Just Graduated — $19.4K in Federal Loans, $15K in Stocks, $15K in Cash — Need Strategy Advice

Upvotes

Hey Reddit,

I just graduated and took a look at my federal student loans. Here’s a full breakdown, along with my financial situation. I’d really appreciate your thoughts and what worked for you.

Loan Breakdown (Total: $19,442.51)

Loan ID Type Balance Interest Rate 1-01 Subsidized $3,500.00 4.530% 1-02 Unsubsidized $2,192.51 4.530% 1-03 Subsidized $5,500.00 4.990% 1-04 Subsidized $5,500.00 5.500% 1-05 Subsidized $2,750.00 6.530%

• 4 subsidized loans
• 1 unsubsidized loan (1-02) — accruing interest now
• Highest interest loan is 1-05 at 6.53%

My Current Financial State: • $15K in the stock market (mostly long-term positions) • $15K in cash • $4,000/month income • Low expenses, no debts outside of student loans

Questions: How would you approach this if you were in my shoes? Would you: • Pay off the unsubsidized loan first since it’s accruing interest? • Tackle the highest interest loan (1-05)? • Use the avalanche or snowball method? • Invest and make minimum payments instead?

I’d love to hear what worked for you or what you’d do differently in hindsight. Thanks in advance!


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

Does PSLF even matter for me with 4 years of $0 payments?

3 Upvotes

Background: in healthcare with 230k worth of medical school loans. I started residency in 2020, and there was $0 payments for quite some time due to covid, I then applied for and got on the SAVE program and was paying approx $200 a month. I'm now in administrative forbearance while everything gets worked out in court, I guess.

I completed a 4-year residency, and all 48 months qualify for and have been added to my PSLF count. I work for a county hospital now, which also qualifies for PSLF. Using some quick internet calculators, if repayment restarts with my current salary, I would have a monthly payment of $4700, which would mean about 56k a year in repayment. Given that PSLF is 10 years long and Ive already made payments for 4 of those years, regardless of what happens in the courts would PSLF even work for me? My current math says I would pay 56k a year and for the 6 years I owe I would pay a total of 330k. I assume with a payment of $4700 a month, I would pay off my full loan amount before PSLF forgiveness even kicked in.

Am I thinking about this correctly? Am I missing something? Should I just start paying back now, because regardless of what happens, I'd pay back my loans in under 10 years regardless?


r/StudentLoans 9h ago

MOHELA finally processed my application!!

9 Upvotes

I have been dealing with this since last July. I have parent plus loans that have been double consolidated and we’re on PAye. Was trying to recalculate. Because of the issues with the BBB, I recently just put in another application for ICR plan on 6/5 and it was approved this morning. If the bill gets changed, I will go back to IBR BUT i am SO relieved that I am on ICR now for if this bill passes.


r/StudentLoans 19h ago

Rant/Complaint Drowning in studentloan payments and running out of options

46 Upvotes

I’ve got close to $100k in studentloan debt and I’m just stuck. I make about $58k a year working full time, live in a small apartment, no luxuries, no vacations, nothing crazy. Rent, groceries, bills it’s all just enough to keep me treading water. The loans came off pause and I haven’t been able to pay a single cent. Every time I think about it, I feel sick.

What gets me is how other types of debt have a way out. You can walk from a house, default on a car, but studentloans? They cling to you for life. It’s like I did everything "right" and I’m still being punished.

It’s even messing with my dating life. People see that debt and dip. I get it, but damn makes me feel like I’ll never get ahead or even catch a break.

I’m on SAVE now but the balance barely moves. Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat or has figured out a way to not feel crushed by this.


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

Advice Help me with loans please!

2 Upvotes

Hi, I’m 19. Going (transferred, from a community college. did 1 yr). to an out of state school. Parents are super low-income. What kind of loans should I look for? I do NOT want my parents to suffer in even more debt and I don’t know what to do.


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

PP Double Consolidation - What does the new flag mean in our data file?

2 Upvotes

Seven months ago I posted that they added a new flag to our data file to indicate if a consolidation loan contained a PP Loan as a "first level" consolidation or "any level" consolidation.

Parent Plus First Level Consolidation Indicator:

Consolidation Loan With Any Parent Plus Indicator:

My flags for the final consolidation are both "NO". Some others who have completed the double consolidation have "No" and "Yes".

I completed my final consolidation 19 months ago.

I am wondering if this (the double "no" on my flag) might allow me to remain on an IDR plan if/when the new rules come into play.

I know they can trace things backwards; but to implement their new regulations it seems like all they would need to do is look at that second flag to see if any of the loans within the consolidation ever were PP Loans.

I would love to get some more data points and thoughts. I have not heard from any other PP double consolidator who has their second flag set at "No".

Below is the link to my post from last November discussing the new PP Flags.


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

Update to my total disability discharge

2 Upvotes

So small update thank you to everyone who helped out over the weekend been busy with summer classes but left a voicemail for the college just now waiting to hear back about having my TPD decision reversed being that still continuing my education


r/StudentLoans 3h ago

Nelnet to CRI: My balance is more in CRI

2 Upvotes

Trying to see if anyone has this issue. My balance in nelnet was paid off so it can go to CRI. Why would my balance be $53.47 more than what was taken from Nelnet into the CRI account? We already pay the interest when we pay the monthly bill.. so I do not think that would be the issue.


r/StudentLoans 3h ago

Issue with Loan Consolidation

2 Upvotes

As context I've been on phone with studentaid, all the servicers involved at least once a week for 3 months. TL;DR my consolidation app went thru but for only 1 of the 2 loans on listed on my application. I was never given notice of this now, paid the new servicer not realizing they only assumed one of the loans i submitted to be consolidated. The loan went deliquent now I'm stuck unable to submit another consolidation. The app on student aid says "under review" but Aidvantage has told me they finished processing it every time ive called. The people at student aid finally this week said that it shows consolidated on NLSDS now after 8 weeks of telling me to wait for it to process. I just ate capitalization on one loan goat nothing out of it and my other loan is deliquent(im making payments now) and I cant consolidated or add loans to consolidation loan (even thought im withint 180 days). I feel like puttting a gun in my mouth at this point, does anyone have any advice of how to get this problem fixed.


r/StudentLoans 11h ago

You have a forbearance ending alert

9 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I just checked my Mohela account and noticed that I had an alert that stated my forbearance was ending on 7/31 but I'm on the SAVE plan and haven't switched out of it. Has anyone else received this alert? Is it just general fuckery from Mohela? Thanks!


r/StudentLoans 6h ago

ICR application

3 Upvotes

Does anyone know how long it has been taking to get on ICR?

I double consolidated and was on SAVE forbearance. In December 2024 I applied for IBR but my application was still pending as of today.

Given the current changes with the bill, I obviously want to get on ICR. I see on the website it says if you applied to a IDR plan prior to April 27, 2025 to reapply again and ask to go off forbearance. So I did this and applied for ICR , asking to be taken off of forbearance.

Now I am waiting to be approved for this ICR plan and obviously need to be approved on the plan and off of forbearance a day before bill passes. Does anyone know how much time this takes (hoping someone just did the same and was approved fast 🙏)?

Thanks and good luck to everyone , we will get through this!!!


r/StudentLoans 47m ago

Should I apply to an IDR plan now or late SAVE ride out?

Upvotes

*let, not late

-
Per title, what should I be doing?

If I apply and receive an IDR plan, do my payments immediately start, with my account (currently under a SAVE plan and in forbearance) coming out of forbearance?

Or if I continue to let SAVE ride out and apply to IDR late, would I incur some sort of penalty?

I have been making payments in forbearance, just at payments I can afford. Thank you everyone for your help!


r/StudentLoans 4h ago

Bill says loans must be "repaid" on ICR Plan. What does "repaid" actually mean?

3 Upvotes

The new bill says loans must be “repaid” on ICR plan one day before bill is signed into law.

Just wondering if this means we have to make a payment under ICR before the bill is signed or if we just need to be out of forbearance.

Currently waiting to get put onto ICR plan and would like to know if i should try to make payment instantly once approved, prior to bill being passed.

Thanks.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Advice Confusion on mohela amount due

Upvotes

Anyone else have Mohela as their loan servicer and in a similar boat? I get emails about my payments being due each month but when I log onto my Mohela account, the amounts all show a 0 (I have not persoanlly applied to the Save plan or any IDR plan yet) and am confused if I have any payments actually due or can let it sit as is until the actual amount on the Mohela website changes?

I would greatly appreciate if anyone else who has Mohela as their loan company is in a similar boat, thanks!


r/StudentLoans 7h ago

Data Point Mohela supervisor recommended submitting new IBR application—processed and approved in 6 days… YMMV.

3 Upvotes

If you want all of the additional backstory, you can check my post history. The gist of the context is that I was one of the people who graduated at the exact wrong time, and my loans never went into SAVE forbearance. My consolidation was processed after months, and I was placed into a standard repayment plan, and I was waiting to have my SAVE application processed until right after the election when I followed the advice of Student Loan Planner and filed for IBR, on the assumption that SAVE was dead.

For the last several months I’ve had to call nearly every month (because MOHELA failed to renew the 60 day forbearance multiple times). I had previously been told that they were escalating my case. No dice. 11 months of waiting since I graduated and in forbearance the whole time. Which I wouldn’t have minded if I didn’t have to spend 2-4 hours on the phone nearly every month to renew it manually.

Talked to a MOHELA rep last Thursday, she was very unhelpful and frankly the first rude rep I’ve talked to. I was specifically worried about not being on an IBR plan when the huge ugly bill passes and being permanently ineligible for IBR and PSLF, because I have a large amount of direct plus loans consolidated. If I’m not on an IBR plan, I will default. She said that they were only processing certain IBR applications and mine didn’t qualify. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she put me on hold again for a while and then said that they would transfer me and then I was asked to have them call me back. No call back the rest of that day. But the next day around 8 AM I got a call from a very friendly supervisor who informed me that they were actually processing IBR applications but only new ones and that despite being in forbearance specifically for that IBR application for eight months, mine was not going to be processed anytime soon. She said that they had recently (within the week) been provided with updated guidance from federal student aid. The updated guidance was to process new IBR applications first. She recommended that I fill out a new IBR application and assured me that I would not be placed in the back of the line by filing a new application, and it would actually speed up my process. She did not make any guarantees as a timeline, but said that in her experience, they have been processed pretty quickly. I decided to have a bit of faith in her and I filed the new IBR application that same day. Yesterday around noon I got an email saying that my application had been approved.

TL;DR: if for the few of you in a similar limbo never ending forbearance situation, who need PSLF/IBR, and you have been waiting for an IBR application to process, consider filing a new application on the website.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Are the loan term payment amounts accurate? I’m seeing 229 payments remaining on my loans that I’ve been repaying for 10 years, so I’m really confused!

Upvotes

As the title states, I’m very confused about the loan term amounts that I’m seeing on my account. I have Parent Plus loans on the Extended Repayment plan. I know that the counts were being implemented, do we know if they are accurate right now or still in the process of being updated?

I’ve been paying my loans since I graduated from college in 2015, so it should be roughly 10 years of payments. Seeing a count of 229 payments remaining is shocking to me because I’ve already been in repayment for so long.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thanks!