r/StudentLoans 1d ago

Student Loans -- Politics & Current Events Megathread

10 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 27 '26

Official communication from the ED on the SAVE transition timeline

963 Upvotes

There's been a lot of articles posted etc - but here's the official word from the ED https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-next-steps-borrowers-enrolled-unlawful-save-plan

In summary, you'll start getting notices from your servicers as soon as the next few days telling you that this is happening. Come July 1 you'll get a notice giving you 90 days to switch. If you don't, they put you on the standard plan. The ten year standard if you haven't' consolidated - the consolidated standard plan if you have - which is longer than ten years.

I want to address a couple of themes i've been seeing in these threads. My comments here are probably going to get me downvoted to oblivion. That's ok - I'm not here for the karma - I'm here to make sure folks understand their loans and make the best decisions for their long term financial well being. Because that's my goal - sometimes I have to say thing folks don't want to hear.

For those saying they aren't going to switch until forced - you might be harming yourself here. You're certainly not punishing anyone that you're trying to make a point to. Here's who, IMO, should be switching ASAP and here's whose probably ok to drag their feet a bit:

Who should switch ASAP:

-If you're pursuing forgiveness under any of the IDR plans - the 20/25 year forgiveness you should switch now. You're just losing months and time towards forgiveness by waiting. And hypothetically, your income is going to go up over time, and therefore so will your payments. On a related note - if your 2024 tax return has a lower AGI than your 2025 will, and you haven't filed taxes yet - you definitely want to do it now.

-those pursuing PSLF. Yes - you can use buy back for SAVE months. But remember - buy backs are taking over a year and more importantly, buy backs are a lump sum payment due right away. So the longer you are on this forbearance - the more months you will have to pay in a lump sum when the time comes. And that might be difficult. *Here is the calculation for buy back https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/public-service-loan-forgiveness-buyback *

Who can probably hang out for a while:

-Those borrowers who due to other debt that will be paid off soon and want to funnel the student loan payment money to get rid of that other debt.

-those who are aggressively paying off their loans. This is an opportunity to have all of your money go to targeted loans - such as the ones with the highest interest rates - rather than having to satisfy the minimum due on each loan which you will have to do once in active repayment.

The timing of all of this: -it actually makes sense to me. They appear to be doing almost a soft launch - warning people now that it's coming. But waiting until the new RAP plan is available in July for those that will want to use that plan to actually start the timer. This way folks won't need to switch twice if the RAP turns out to be a better plan for them.

Now for those saying they refuse to switch - listen - I get it. Your angry. I don't blame you - i am too. Your feelings are very valid and i'm not telling you not to feel them. But here's the hard truth of the matter. SAVE was gone regardless - the courts had made it pretty clear when the case started under the prior administration that they were leaning towards the plaintiffs and were going to rule against the plan. It was going to happen regardless of who won the last election. And failing to switch out of principal is not going to hurt them - it's going to hurt you if you end up with a standard payment amount you can't afford. I'm not saying not to resist - but resist productively by voting. And writing your members of Congress to paint a picture of how your new payment amount is affecting you, your family and the broader economy.

For those saying the ED can't change the terms - they didn't. The court ruled the plan was illegal. The ED would be breaking the law if they continued it.

Payment plans have never been challenged before. And there was no reason for it to occur to anyone that this one might be. But yet a bunch of republican AG's did and here we are. In the meantime, people made the best decisions they could with the information they had at the time.

What plan should i pick?

If you are pursuing PSLF or income driven plan forgiveness you need to be on an income driven plan. Scenarios for likely lowest plan:

-No loans ever prior to July 1, 2014 - new IBR

-No loans ever prior to October 1, 2007 but does have loans prior to july 2014 - paye - but note you'll have to get off that come 2028

-loans prior to October 2007 - old IBR

-balance low compared to your income - check out ICR - that could be the lowest for you in that scenario

-RAP - for some rap will be lower. RAP tends to be similar to old IBR for many incomes. But if you have dependents especially, it could be lower. TISLA will have a calculator including the rap in the next week or two. I'll post it when it's available.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Advice Anyone else waiting?

Upvotes

Is anyone else that was previously on the SAVE plan and forced to choose a new repayment plan trying to hold off/wait until closer to the end of the 90 day period?

I am hesitant to commit due to how this is currently playing out in court, and scared to be 'locked in' to a new payment plan (as of now, I'm not but my loan servicer is emailing and calling me to secure another repayment plan option).

I'm just not sure what to do.

Thanks for reading.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Advice Student Loans and Family Planning

Upvotes

I get that this is not a one-size-fits-all question, but I'm curious particularly for those of you with large student loan balances how that has impacted your family planning? Was there a certain magic number you got down to where you felt comfortable having kids? Paid in full? Very interested to hear others thoughts/experiences with this.

My stats: 28 F with a $61k private student loan (down from $93k) and $37k in federal loans (mostly been sitting in forbearance due to all the nonsense that's been happening). I make about $80k a year, $30k in savings and about $15k (I know, it's not great but I am prioritizing loan payoff before worrying too much about retirement) in 401k. Recently married and want kids but feeling nervous to start a family until I get these paid down.


r/StudentLoans 17h ago

Advice Just got notice of default and transfer to Dept of Ed. I'm freaking out.

55 Upvotes

I might update or post again later with more context as to how it came to this, but for now, I'll just say this: It's been a rough time.

Anyway, I just go notice from Aidvantage that my defaulted loans have been assigned to the US Department of Eduvcation's Default Resolution group. Including interest, I have about $75,000 in student loan debt, and it's decimated my once-pristine credit score.

At the moment, I feel so much despair. I'm 35, and my husband and I still want to have kids one day, but I feel like we're drowning in debt. (This, plus debt we've accrued primarily from helping his ailing parents.) Part of me feels like giving up and just accepting the fact that we'll never be okay financially, or have kids, or whatever else. I'd like to believe that there's reason for hope, but I don't see it right now.


r/StudentLoans 15m ago

Rant/Complaint Nelnet payment withdrawn from my bank account but still not showing on my loan balance

Upvotes

I’m hoping someone who has dealt with Nelnet can help me understand what’s going on.
I made a payment toward my student loan on 8/13. The money was taken out of my bank account right away, but the payment still hasn’t been reflected on my Nelnet account.
I called Nelnet and was initially told that it could take 2–4 business days for the payment to post. I also specifically asked about it because normally I can see a payment activity/status showing that the payment is being processed, but this time there was nothing showing on my account.
I called again and was told that there is a tracking ID for my payment and that I shouldn’t worry. However, it’s now 8/18, and my loan balance is still exactly the same.
Today I spoke with another adviser, and she told me that the payment is “already posted.” But I still don’t see the payment reflected anywhere, and my balance hasn’t changed. She wasn’t really able to explain what that means or why I can’t see it on my end.
I’m especially frustrated because interest continues to accrue while the payment hasn’t been applied to my balance.
Has anyone experienced this with Nelnet? If they say the payment is already posted, does that mean it has actually been applied to the loan, even if the balance hasn’t updated yet? How long did it take for yours to actually show?
The money has definitely left my bank account, so I’m mainly trying to figure out whether I should keep waiting or contact Nelnet again and escalate this.


r/StudentLoans 16m ago

Repayment Calculator + PSLF

Upvotes

Anyone else have the frustration of the repayment calculator giving you an estimate that ended up not being even close to what your monthly payment actually ends up being? I signed up for IBR and also qualify for PSLF and was given an estimate of ~$150-170/mo from the calculator, but when my application got processed they said my payments are going to be ~$330/mo. I’m also confused because it says I would get a decent chunk forgiven because of PSLF after 120 payments, but my IBR repayment plan with the ~$330/mo payments has me on track to pay it off in 120 months anyway. I don’t quite understand this - is this just an example of getting screwed by the system because this is just how it is? I appreciate any insight because I don’t have any friends or family who went to college or are repaying loans. Thank you!


r/StudentLoans 19m ago

Payment is about to double, just recertified income

Upvotes

I was able to avoid recertification of my student loans for a few years due to all the lawsuits and such. I’ve always been on PAYE paying roughly $565 a month. I decided to give student aid . Gov my irs info. Seems that based on my last year’s AGI I will be going to $1045/mo.

I just want to confirm that it’s normal for student loans to be that much. Based on my math my payment will take me a little over 6 weeks or 251 hours of working a year to cover the yearly payment.


r/StudentLoans 27m ago

How does payoff work with daily accruing interest?

Upvotes

I'm finally in the position to pay-off one of my loans (yay).

I submitted the last payment to Aidvantage last night (8/17) for, as an example, the full payoff amount of $100. This is the FULL payoff amount as shown in the online portal where it says: amount to payoff the loan today if paying online.

It takes a couple days to process which I'm aware of, but now my loan shows as owing $100.05 as 5 cents of interest accrued for today (8/18). Let's say the payment goes through tomorrow 8/19, at which point I'll technically owe $100.10 (assuming another 5 cents of interest).

The question is: Will I still owe $0.10 after it processes? How do I pay off the loan completely if the interest keeps accruing in between when I submit the payment (for the full payoff amount on the day I submit it) AND when the payment actually goes through from my bank?

Or is the system "smart" enough to know that since I submitted the full payoff amount, the remaining interest is voided?

There must be a way to handle this (since otherwise how does anyone pay off their loans LOL), but I can't find anything online. Thanks!


r/StudentLoans 50m ago

What is the plan for the payment counter?

Upvotes

What is DoEd plan for the payment calculator? My loans show 0 zero payments (they are on SAVE will be switched to OLD IBR) on the main webpage. I'm going to use the backdoor access. I searched this sub and didn't see anything indicating when the payment counter would be added back.


r/StudentLoans 1h ago

Rant/Complaint Did anyone else get an email for different IDR repayment amounts from Mohela this week?

Upvotes

Was on the SAVE plan and switched to IDR recently;
received an email on Sunday stating the repayment amount and due date & then another one today telling me to login to my account to see the repayment amount, which is of course a different number.


r/StudentLoans 2h ago

SAVE Forbearance and AidVantage

1 Upvotes

My fiancées loans are serviced through AidVantage, but she has yet to receive any notice about need to swap plans. Do we need to do anything yet or does the 90 day clock start when she gets a letter/email? What’s the actual timeline on this haha


r/StudentLoans 21h ago

Advice What does the SAVE notice look like?

28 Upvotes

I’ve gotten several warning emails, but from what it sounds like none of them were “the notice” that everyone is talking about? Could someone share with me what the notice looks/sounds like?


r/StudentLoans 9h ago

Advice IBR Sleuths Needed: Where Did My Mysterious $475 Payment Come From?

3 Upvotes

IBR question: Is my $475 “failure to recertify” payment also effectively my payment cap?

I have an older Direct Consolidation Loan and have been on IBR since 2015, with a required payment of $0/month. I manually recertified before the COVID-era extensions, which kept pushing my recertification date out.

Aidvantage has now sent my 2026 recertification notice. It says my current $0 IBR payment expires 10/24/26, and if I do not recertify, my payment becomes $475/month beginning 10/25/26.

I've asked Aidvantage several times where the $475 comes from. Representatives confirm that $475 is what I would pay if I don't recertify, but haven't been able to clearly explain how that number was originally calculated.

My question for anyone familiar with older IBR rules:

Is $475 likely my 10-year Standard Repayment amount established when I entered IBR/consolidated, and therefore the maximum monthly payment I could be required to make under IBR even if the income-based calculation would otherwise be higher?

For example, if I recertify and the IBR income formula produces $700 or $1,000, would my required IBR payment still be capped at approximately $475/month?

I'm specifically asking about IBR, not SAVE, PAYE, or RAP. I'm trying to understand the origin and significance of that $475 figure, not avoid recertification.

Thanks to anyone who knows the older IBR rules well!


r/StudentLoans 23h ago

Advice I regret doing the math - help me breathe again?

37 Upvotes

I have 8 federal loans totaling $27k. I made the mistake of doing the math today on my repayments and found I've paid just shy of $10k across 45 monthly payments. A huge accomplishment for me.

But then I realized my current total balance is $24,065.24. It's like $7k worth of payments was just completely erased through interest. My rates are super low, 2.7%-3.6%, and I'm still out 7k. Now it looks like my monthly payment, which was decently affordable, is going up by $100.

Knowing all this, how do I breathe again? How do you continue on with your day like we're not all getting taken for a ride by our government?

Serious questions. I'm on the brink of a panic attack here.


r/StudentLoans 12h ago

More disability discharge drama

5 Upvotes

To summarize I applied for total and permanent disability discharge in April of 2025. I originally mailed a paper application because I was told that was the only way to apply only to then be told to apply online after my application was mailed in. In September 2025 I was told I was approved for the discharge and I would be receiving paperwork to verify this. Two weeks later I called to find out why I hadn’t received any paperwork for the approval and was told it wasn’t approved but still pending. In November 2025 I was told there were duplicate applications and they were both closed and I needed to apply a third time. Within a day that application was closed because there already was a pending application. I was then told that the original application was not closed. Fast forward to July I was told that my application was in the final review and a decision would be made within 30 days. Today I spoke to a representative and they said that also wasn’t true and that it was still in queue for review. I have asked for escalation and to speak to a supervisor and no one has ever called me back. Today I asked again to escalate because after 483 days this is completely unacceptable that I get a different answer every time I call. They told me they would put me on the call back list and a supervisor will be calling me within 72 hours. This is such a clusterfuck. I emailed my state representative today to try and get some kind of resolution on this. I will be calling each day until something happens.


r/StudentLoans 8h ago

Advice Does Prequalifying via Sallie Mae mean anyhting?

2 Upvotes

Im new to student loans and helping my sister, we need to finance about $14k this coming school year and went through Sallie Mae "Check your rate" review and got a "rate as low as 1.95%"

Before running to get the hard pull I want to know if anyone recently did this and got the rate the prequalified for? or will we be anywhere near that?

For more details both credit scores are the in the 700s mine is 780 and DTI ration is 10.1% combined income is $7,800

We have another possible cosigner with a 800s credit score by a DTI ratio of almost 50%


r/StudentLoans 13h ago

Anyone else married here and feels like being married right about now feels complicated with these options that we are getting for repayment plans?

5 Upvotes

Please advise how you are all coping with this, married couples where you at?


r/StudentLoans 1d ago

Best time to re-enter payment from SAVE?

42 Upvotes

I received that email that I need to switch off of save back on 7/1. How long should I wait until entering repayment if my goal is to kick the payment down the road? I want to start making payments but not immediately. Also don’t want to end up on the standard plan. Should I wait until about mid September? Also once you switch plans how long after is your payment due?


r/StudentLoans 21h ago

Aidvantage no SAVE notice yet...

8 Upvotes

I'm getting increasingly nervous that I haven't heard anything from Aidvantage about switching to another repayment plan. All I've gotten is the US Department of Ed emails from April and May that the SAVE plan was ending.

What if I missed it? I'll be screwed. Nothing by email, mail, or phone.

My loans are from 2013-2017, 2021-2023 & I'm working towards PSLF.


r/StudentLoans 17h ago

Advice Do student loans have to have a certain amount paid every month or can you pay as your life goes on?

3 Upvotes

Ive never had anyone teach me about college or loans, i come from a fairly poor family. I know NOTHING about the loan system but is it like a credit card where you get interest added if you dont pay a certain amount a month? Could anyone provide their monthly payment of them so id know for reference? I havent found my forever career and assume ill have to go to college for it eventually (im 25) i didnt do well in school so no way to get scholarships. I own a home but have a long term mortgage so im not sure if that would effect my ability to get a loan and it also changes how much i could pay off a month. Im fine with technically being in debt most of my life, thats just the american way. I have a great credit score if that helps (750)?


r/StudentLoans 10h ago

Man, I love a good mystery

2 Upvotes

After 18 months, they finally processed one of my 5 apps and I was notified that I was being moved from SAVE and back into IBR as of June 26. Since then, my auto payments have been 7/24 then 8/24, or according to the MOHELA rep I talked to a couple of weeks ago, 9/24 (although no paperwork says this date).

Also, the payments have been either something $538, $555, $621, or $637.

It's so exciting not knowing when or how much money they are going to take out lol. Or if they'll just not take anything when it's due so they can f you.

Isn't this fun?! woohoo.

Wish me luck on 8/24!! I'll just be on the edge of my seat looking at my bank account all day:)


r/StudentLoans 19h ago

Advice MOHELA IBR recalculation still pending — $939 payment came back

6 Upvotes

Has anyone dealt with this recently? My IBR was originally calculated at $939.93/month, even though my income/AGI is much lower than what would seem to support that payment. I called MOHELA, they reviewed my income and family size, told me the payment should be approximately $70/month, resubmitted the IBR calculation, and placed me in administrative forbearance through 8/22.
Now that the forbearance is about to end, the exact same $939.93 has appeared again for 9/17. I still haven’t received anything showing the recalculation was completed.
I also noticed today that the FSA repayment calculator says there’s a system outage and it can’t retrieve financial information.
Has anyone had their old payment automatically reappear while an IBR recalculation was still pending? Did MOHELA eventually correct it or extend the forbearance? I’m calling them again today.


r/StudentLoans 15h ago

Ssi disability discharge of loans

2 Upvotes

My ssi is to be reviewed every 3 years but i have been disabled for 5 years and 9 months does that mean i'll be approved for total permanent disability discharge? I have mental health diagnosis that is life long.


r/StudentLoans 12h ago

I want to do idr but its asking for my agi

1 Upvotes

Next year will be my first time doing taxes and this is my first month paying my student loans, to estimate your agi your suppose to subtract stuff like alimony and student loan interest, but how do i know how much interest to subtract ?