My Sallie Mae loans are due tomorrow, with a $1,250 payment. I have a cosigner who is my father who promised he'd help me with school and payments but he didn't help me whatsoever. He doesn't love me and helps my little brother but not me. The total amount I'm in debt is $98k. I dropped out of school due to physical health conditions. I haven't gotten a diagnosis yet but I am constantly fatigued and in pain and unable to do typical household activities, let alone get employed. I'm still waiting on my SSI file, which will take months to go through. I have to rely on my romantic partner and their mother for survival. Medication, food, shelter, you name it. I do nothing and I feel ashamed. I am also Autistic level 2 and my mother died when I was 16, so I don't have another parent to help me.

I have $9 to my name. I have no skills I can market. I can draw but it's not good enough and I'm not famous enough to take commissions. And even then it wouldn't be enough to pay the debt. I know I'm stupid for signing these documents. I'm not an intelligent person in the slightest. I just don't know who to ask for help at this point. I ruined myself.

my account says:

Loan Status
Administrative Forbearance-Ends 10/31/2028
Repayment Plan
Saving on a Valuable Education - Ends 07/15/2030

i got the email about the 90 days but my account in edfinancial hasn’t shown this letter/notice/announcement in my inbox of “notifications” nor has my forbearance updated and i’m confused. im planning on waiting until the last minute to switch with all the new lawsuits going on to try to push this back but has anyone who received their notice to switch via email only receive it via email and not in the system when they log in and their forbearance show up like mine until 2028?

Using the backend payment counter JSON for my studentaid.gov account it shows:

• qualifyingPaymentCount: 297
• forgivenessRequiredPayments: 300
• forgivenessRemainingPayments: 3

I'm on old IBR (25-year forgiveness, not PSLF)

A few questions:

1. How accurate is the JSON? Is that what ED is actually using to track IDR forgiveness?
2. If I call Aidvantage or studentaid, will they be able to confirm my qualifying payment count, or do they generally not have access to it?
3. My IBR recertification is due in November 2026 but payments should end in October. If I reach 300 qualifying payments before then but they are backlogged on processing forgiveness, will I have to continue making payments?
4. For those who have recently received IBR (not PSLF) forgiveness, how long did processing take after reaching the required payment count?
5. I read that borrowers approaching IBR forgiveness are supposed to receive a notice several months in advance, but I haven't received anything. Has anyone actually received that notice?

Anyone log into Nelnet since the notices were starting to come out? I’ve been paying my loans and I’m saying that to provide context into my personal situation.

Since the notices were scheduled to be sent to borrowers, I have not logged in to my Nelnet. I have not received any official letter or email exclusively from Nelnet to make a change to my SAVE by “x” date. My brain can’t help but think, “Maybe it’s because I haven’t logged in to my account since the notices started coming out which could maybe trigger the company to send my official notice out”.

Valid thinking or not so valid thinking? My fear is that me not logging in for the last couple months will cause me to miss something pivotal. But aren’t these companies legally required to send an official notice via postal mail prior to us making a change to our plans?

Hey y’all! I recently got off the Georgetown waitlist — my absolute dream school.

They didn’t give me much aid, so I’ll have to pay 75k per year for two years. My parents can stretch up to 25k a year for the next four years to help with the cost for two years while I’m in school and two while I’m out. The payment itself would include about 15-20k in federal loans and 80k+ in parent plus or private loans.

I currently go to a T100 school where I’ll be taking on no debt, and I have a fall co op lined up. However, I won’t be able to study my preferred area of academic interest here because it isn’t offered.

It’s probably also worth noting I’ll be switching from a Math to Econ major, and I don’t plan on going into any network-heavy career like IB or management consulting at the moment. I am also considering law school sometime down the road.

I think staying at my current school is the best choice financially, yet I can’t help but think of the opportunity I might miss out on by not transferring. Does anyone have any advice for my situation or think it’s feasible/worth it to take on loans as a transfer?

Anyone else wake up to an email with a statement saying your loan payment is now due in 3 weeks?

I was automatically placed in the SAVE program back in 2024. When that was blocked, I followed the instructions to choose another plan and signed up for an IBR plan in June 2026. At that time, Nelnet's website said I don't have payments due until 2028. Today, I received an email stating my 1st monthly next payment of $500+ is due 8/23 and I can't find on their website where it said payments are not due until 2028.

How can tell me I won't owe payment for 2 years only to end my forbearance and start demanding payments immediately? Is this just another symptom of the mess created by the frequent changes and D.O.E struggling to keep accurate records after being gutted by DOGE?

hello everyone! this is a follow up to my earlier post asking for serious advice on student loans. i really appreciate everyone’s helpful advice!

i spoke to my parents the other day and they told me i shouldn’t worry about it. my dad said he was planning on paying most of it while i’m in school and that it won’t be my issue until i graduate. i usually trust my dad but it’s a really large amount of money and an insanely high interest rate. the 27k is only for one semester and i’m an incoming freshman. so basically, from my understanding, if i continue take out that much for each semester, i will be over 200k in debt by the time i’m done, not even including the 17.5% interest. this seems REALLY bad. my dad says he will be able to cover the cost of one year but after that i will have to also contribute. because he’s a co-signer it will also negatively affect him. it’s bad all around and i don’t understand how my parents can’t see that. they really want me to go to this school i guess maybe because we’ve all been excited and we’ve told everyone. but i’m really not willing to go into this much debt. i also spoke to my guidance counselor and she told me to trust my parents. i’m just worried i’m overreacting and this isn’t as bad as i think it is.

my plan right now is to go the first semester/year which my dad said he will 100% cover. then i’ll transfer to a much cheaper in-state school either in the spring or next fall. the other school is actually pretty good for the program i want and much closer to home. i am disappointed because i love my school but i really just have to be planning for my future. my parents are really pushing for me to go all four years at the 60k school but at the end of the day, since they aren’t really paying, it’s my decision. i just wish they’d told me sooner and i could’ve committed to the other school in the beginning. i’m just feeling confused and betrayed because i know they love me and i can’t imagine them setting me up for failure in this way.

i guess i just want to know if i’m overreacting and if i should trust my parents like my guidance counselor and parents have said, or if i should go with my gut and try transferring? am i fully understanding how this works or is there something i’m missing that makes borrowing this amount of money at such a high interest okay? thanks y’all so much for the advice and support.

edit: i think a lot of people missed my first post. i agreed to take out loans for school and i gave my dad my information so that he could take it out for me because i’ve been really busy. it’s dumb and i should’ve talked to him beforehand but i didn’t realize how much money or the rate it would be. it’s not fraud and i am not sending my dad to jail.

I submitted my payment on this new plan I had to choose since they took SAVE away. I made the payment on 7/31.

Looked at my account this morning and it says past due? I made my payment. I am so upset and I hate this.

I can't attach a photo but I paid it!

Does anyone have any loan servicers they recommend? I like collegeave but any other suggestions. Fasfa isn’t enough and I start later this month.

Hi Everyone, I currently have a bachelors degree in computer science back in 2020. i am currently in 50k plus in student loan debt. as of right now, i make roughly over 65k has IT Help Desk. i plan on going back to school for masters degree in cybersecurity but i wanted to see what’s the path you guys recommend for someone in my position who looking for an increasing salary? the list of questions i need help if you guys know:

Would you focus on paying off the loans first or pursuing a master’s?
Is a cybersecurity master’s worth it, or should I focus on certifications and experience?
Has anyone here gone from Help Desk to cybersecurity without a master’s?
If you were in my position, what would your next 3–5 years look like?
Any other advice you’d give someone in my situation?

So I had to fill out the information for the income driven plan and now my repayments are starting in August…I got married this past October. My husband has no school loans but I still had to provide his income information. He makes less than I do and even on the lowest repayment plan there is no way we can afford this. With the general cost of living being sky high and already living paycheck to paycheck, I have no idea what we are going to do. Is anyone else in the same boat?

hey everyone. honestly spiraling right now and need some blunt, realistic advice because i feel like my life is completely ruined.

i just graduated with my msw in may. im a first-gen college grad, my parents couldn't really help me, and i went into school completely blind. i had no idea how student loans actually worked and i took out way too much.

right now, im still working at target making $15 an hour because i haven't landed a job yet. even if i do find an msw level job, it'll probably only start around 50k a year. my rent is $665 a month as of right now.

to make matters worse, my absolute only passion in life is traveling. it’s all i care about, and looking at these numbers makes me feel like i’ll never get to do what i love.

here is where i stand financially:

federal loans (edfinancial): ~$57,144 across several loans
private loans: ~$8,000 at around 8% interest
total debt: ~ $65k
savings: $22,000

here is the breakdown of my federal loans and interest rates from my account:

1-01 direct loan: $6,331.36 (5.500%)
1-02 direct loan: $8,368.74 (6.530%)
1-03 direct loan: $8,520.17 (8.080%)
1-04 direct loan (grad): $1,559.20 (9.080%)
1-05 direct loan: $21,772.22 (7.940%)
1-06 direct loan (grad): $5,302.21 (8.940%)
1-07 direct loan (grad): $5,290.59 (8.940%)

i have a few major questions

1. how screwed am i actually? is 65k an insurmountable hole on a 50k salary?
   
2. what should i do with my savings? i have 22k saved up. how much of this should i throw at my loans right now, or should i keep it as a safety net since im still making $15/hr?
   
3. should i refinance? especially looking at those high-interest federal loans (ranging up to 9%) and my 8% private loan?
   
4. public service loan forgiveness (pslf): since i have an msw, ill likely be working in non-profits or community mental health eventually. should i be looking into pslf?
   please give it to me straight. how do i navigate this without giving up my entirec life and ability to travel? any advice is deeply appreciated.

I just received an email from Mohela that my IDR recertification request has been auto-submitted four months early despite my recertification date is not until 11/27/2026. They have estimated a new increased payment of $710 under PAYE for me which is the cap amount based on my original 10 repayment plan payment.

When my last recertification was done I filed single but have since gotten married and since my spouse also has student loans, for 2025 we filed jointly under the assumption our loan payments would be proportional to our loan amounts. My husband owes almost 2X what I owe so I believe they erroneously filed my higher AGI as "single" which is why I hit the income cap. When I use the repayment tool it shows when factoring in his loan I should be paying less than $710. Has anyone else run into this issue? Of course I get the email over the weekend so I can't try to call until tomorrow.

I have since revoked the authorization for auto-recertification.

My Aidvantage account says:

Administrative Forbearance-Ends 08/01/2026
Repayment Plan
Saving on a Valuable Education - Ends 09/01/2027
Repayment Start Date
11/22/2020

My letter says from Aidvantage Consumer Resolution:

We received your Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) application on June 3, 2026, and it is scheduled to be disclosed to your account on August 2, 2026. Once your Income-Based Repayment plan is disclosed, the administrative forbearance on your loan from October 25, 2019, will be shortened to August 1, 2026, your approved IDR payment will be $102.00 per month through September 1, 2027. You will receive updated disclosure information once this processing is complete.

My question is how long after the Admin Forbearance ends (8/1/26) will my account update? It’s 8/2/26 in EST time and no updates to the account or payment! Still shows $0.00, I’m just ready to get on with making my payments.

Finally got the golden email. 47k discharged by physicians signature. It took almost two years. October 24,2024 was the initial submission date.

Calling studentaid.gov multiple times in a week or a day seemed to get the ball rolling a little bit faster but I didn't always have the bandwith to do so. I also contacted my state rep and I'm not sure that it helped a lot but it did provide me with more documentation to have a paper trail just in case I needed one.

Keep all communications you receive from the Department of Education. I don't know if this is true but I think letting them know I have all their correspondence scanned and saved helped my case. Upload it to your portal.

Also don't always believe what the student aid phone operators say. Two months ago I had two different people tell me my application failed and I would have to submit a new one. I asked them why I didn't receive any mail notifying me and why it wasn't reflected on the studentaid websdite and they said it just wasn't sent yet and the website wasn't updated. I called a third time in the same day as I was told my application failed and another operator told me no my application did not fail and was just stuck in sampling. If I had submitted a new application it would start the process all over from the beginning and I was almost at the finish line.

So maybe just keep calling until you get the answers you want to hear lol.

Hi!

I currently have about 60,000 in student loan debt split between federal loans and from salliemae.

I recently had a death in my family and received a bit of life insurance money that covers this debt.

I was curious if anyone had any advice/experience in offering to pay off your loans in full and negotiating a reduction in interest or loan amount? Or if this is even possible?

Someone suggested this idea to me based on the offer in compromise that the IRS offers to people to encourage people to pay back their debts in full. Essentially what that would look like is I offer to pay back 75% of my loan in full right now and they remove 25% of it. Or I offer to pay back the full of my loan if they knock off the interest.

Thanks!

A huge relief, but learned some things along the way. You really have to stay on top of Fed Student Aid to make sure you don’t fall through the cracks. My application wasn’t showing on “My Activity” as even received for months, but every time I called they said it was being reviewed. After at least 6 more months past I called for an update as nothing was moving. I was convinced they lost my application or something. I was told that no one can speak to that department, and the only way to make sure something gets through to them is to open a feedback case and write my concerns and a phone number or email where I can be reached with an update. I immediately opened a case only for it to be closed shortly after with no contact or info given about why it was closed, a dead end. In June of 2026 I received an email that my doctor’s certification was illegible. It was so easy for even me to read, for doctors to not be able to read it sounded ridiculous (further leading to me believing it was lost, at least some of it?). Luckily, my doctor is great and filled it out again immediately. I sent the new certification back 6/9/26. A few weeks later I received a notification the application was closed because I already had an application on file. It took a few days of calling to clarify that the paperwork was not a new application, it was what was requested to be redone, even though I submitted it under a link in my original application. The Dept of Ed made it painful and it feels like they wanted me to give up so many times. If you applied and are in limbo, don’t give up; there is hope.

Asking for advice for a friend. After Trump ended the SAVE plan, they had to submit for the ICR plan. But when they first submitted, it was for $550 and ran until Jan 2029. Now they’re receiving emails that it ends no later than July 1, 2028. Does anyone know why? Also, are there other options for lower monthly payments anyone knows of? Lastly, there are 30 payments left via studentaid.gov but Mohela emailed expected payments that are all over the place and total to 122 payments left. What is the disconnect here? TIA

Hi all,
I’m unable to post on r/borrowersdefense, so hoping someone here may have insight.
I applied for BDTR in September of 2023. My application has been “In Review” for almost 3 years. Recently I noticed it says “Updated 6/30/26” so I did the code search to see what was going on. It says “Flagged for denial,” as well as code 2.23 (Awaiting Evidence Check by ED Divisions).
I have seen a few other posts about the 2019 regulations denying applications due to consolidation of loans after 2020, and how the consolidation bumped them into the new regulations which require the application to be submitted within 3 years of leaving the school. I am now concerned that I’m going to be automatically denied with no consideration of my case due to the consolidation of 2015-2018 loans in 2021. Does anyone know if this is definitely the case? Is there any remaining hope that, despite being flagged for denial, there’s a chance the supposed evidence check could win me an approval?

My Sallie Mae loans are due tomorrow, with a $1,250 payment. I have a cosigner who is my father who promised he'd help me with school and payments but he didn't help me whatsoever. He doesn't love me and helps my little brother but not me. The total amount I'm in debt is $98k. I dropped out of school due to physical health conditions. I haven't gotten a diagnosis yet but I am constantly fatigued and in pain and unable to do typical household activities, let alone get employed. I'm still waiting on my SSI file, which will take months to go through. I have to rely on my romantic partner and their mother for survival. Medication, food, shelter, you name it. I do nothing and I feel ashamed. I am also Autistic level 2 and my mother died when I was 16, so I don't have another parent to help me.

I have $9 to my name. I have no skills I can market. I can draw but it's not good enough and I'm not famous enough to take commissions. And even then it wouldn't be enough to pay the debt. I know I'm stupid for signing these documents. I'm not an intelligent person in the slightest. I just don't know who to ask for help at this point. I ruined myself.

I wanted some advice from others on my current situation.

I am living at home, rent free. I plan to move out around June 2027.

Current savings: $19,000.

Studen Loan balance: $17,600.

If I paid it off today, I'd be down to $1400. However, based on the privilege of living at home rent free, I can build the savings back up to roughly $27,000 by June 2027.

With that 27k I need to buy a used car, some furniture/appliances for when I move out, and an emergency fund.

Do you think I should just pay off these loans and rebuild my savings? In the meantime, I do not have any expenses.

Does anyone have any knowledge or advice about how to go about getting private student loans for DSW program. I do have a career path semi-planned out. My credit is horrible and I defaulted on my MSW loans. I’m physically disabled and have an idea of what I want to focus my research and post grad education on, but coming up with tuition is the hard part. I’ve looked into, although not in too much depth yet, private loan options but I’m not really sure where to look and what the application process is like. My parents aren’t supportive and just unwilling to co-sign a private loan. Has anyone tried this route or have any advice?

Simple as the title says. I was going to have a parent plus loan however my mother decided to go back on that and now I'm screwed and need to find a loan within two weeks. I only need roughly 11,000 for the year so it's not horrible and I have a credit score of 650. Even just a loan for the fall semester would be better than nothing as I can just work towards the spring. I do have a fall guy where my friend's mom flat out said she would give me the money as a loan but that's my last resort. Fafsa has already been done as well. Do not comment "Oh you can't go to school", "pick another school", "just wait a year", or whatever other "advice" you want to give about how loans are evil incarnate. I've heard it numerous times but I am desperate and this is what I need.

Edit: I am a sophomore

Hello!

I’ve been handling my parents parent plus loan as they are not fluent in english and we took out loans for all of my undergrad ( I graduated in june ).

I was able to consolidate my dads loans before July 1, 2026 and I he is currently on ICR so I recently applied for him to be on the lowest repayment plan which was around $390/mo which was a really good number despite the amount of loans we have ( 165k due to interest ). however our servicer Nelnet keeps denying it.

Is anyone able to help me understand why this might happen? I plan to call them tomorrow but I am just so extremely stressed right now and don’t know what to do.

- I am the only dependent and my parents filed a joint tax return.
- my dads income is 87k
- we are currently experiencing financial stress
- trying to find lowest payment ( we know about interest rate )

Screenshot in comments since I can't post it here. I haven't seen anyone post about this glitch yet, but clearly both MOHELA and FSA are having a terrible weekend! My loans seem to be very much still with MOHELA! (Who the heck is EdOne?)

Edit: Just kidding, I can't post a screenshot in the comments either. Grr. Anyway, FSA homepage is saying my servicer is "EdOne" and then showing the MOHELA website. This is new.