I graduated from a liberal arts college and now have 84,000$ in private Sallie Mae loans, and tbh I don’t even know how many in public loans. I assume it’s around 20-30,000$. Even writing this, I’m realizing how bad this is. Going to a good college was all I ever wanted. I did it, got my degree, and now I have no job and no ability to go to graduate school. Currently, I’m taking community college classes to defer my loans so they don’t go to collections. I hate it so much I can hardly bear to make myself do the work. I should be doing graduate level work, but whatever. I already defaulted a couple times prior to taking these classes due to extreme circumstances.

Some background: my grandpa co-signed with me, but he died while I was in college. He helped raise me, and he told me before accepting my school’s offer that he had money saved up in case I ever got in trouble. He showed it to me. It was my safety net. First I would try to pay it myself though. It was agreed upon that I would accept the school’s offer. Fast forward, and a bunch of shit happened after he died, and I believe the executor of his estate destroyed his will. I don’t have any proof, and the executor is a powerful lawyer. Regardless, I was left on my own with no idea what to do.

Him dying destroyed my mental health in such a way that I was unable to attend grad school in a timely manner. Now, it’s sorta too late. I moved back home, and I am miserable. I loved where I lived in college. My options? Continue to live with my parents and take community college classes while hating my life and biding my time, or get a tefl certificate and teach abroad. Or perhaps I can try being an au pair. Since he died, I can flee the country, and no one will be affected but me. Of course, I know the risks of being sued and returning. Id hate not to be able to visit the rest of my family, but it seems like leaving is safer / better anyway. What should I do? I’m scared. I’m about to be 24. This country is a mess anyway; it’s always been. I hate it here, so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that my debt makes it all the more important that I leave? Help.

I also don’t know how the Trump administration will change things, but I have a feeling it won’t be good. Not that it was good before.

I used to be an over achiever. I’m writing a book. I have a lot of determination, but I feel broken. How do I do this? I don’t have anyone else who can really help me with this. I was never taught about finances, just how to achieve things in a school setting, which is no longer really applicable to me. Please help. Please be nice, too.

EDIT: I want to leave the country regardless of my loans. I’m just scared. It’s a more complex situation than I can explain in one post.

Nelnet, ICR repayment plan. I recertified on 2/18 and was put in a forbearance, with the letter clearly stating that my interest rate is set to 0% while in forbearance.

I got another letter today saying my recertification date has changed to 1/15/27 and that this change has no impact on current forbearance status. Checked out my balances while I was logged in to read this new letter, and found that my balance has increased and interest is still being charged.

Anyone else noticing this??

Hi all! I had called the student loan line and got to talk about the details of my loan. I previously was on save plan prior to this court action. I was also on save before I went back to school again to finish last year. When I asked the representative on the phone about recertification of income for 2026 in regards to save. She said something along the lines of “I’ve been telling everyone to recertify ahead of time (about 30-60 days to deadline) because there has been possible talk of users being grandfathered in to the SAVE plan if they were already on it.

I know we can’t take what they to heart but I feel like this is good that they are considering this.. any thoughts or has anyone heard the same idea?

I went to Riverland Community College in Minnesota for their Wind Turbine program. I’m sharing my story because I think I was misled into taking on way too many student loans—loans I’m now struggling to deal with.I had to take extra general education classes because of a placement test and some “Academic Assessment & Success Contract” I didn’t really get. That pushed me to borrow more money, including Parent PLUS Loans in my mom’s name—without her getting proper advice or even the refund checks she was owed.The wind turbine program itself was a mess. The on-site turbine never worked, key classes didn’t teach much, and just two years after I finished, they shut the program down. Still, they charged me full tuition.Financial aid help was almost nonexistent. No one told me to borrow just what I needed—they just gave me the max loan amounts and said, “big loans take longer to pay off.” Now I’m stuck with over $50,000 in debt, and I believe a lot of it shouldn’t have happened.Riverland still hasn’t given me clear financial breakdowns or the documents I’ve asked for. I’m determined to get answers—not just for me, but for any student who might’ve been taken advantage of like this.If you’ve been through something similar, I’d like to hear from you. And if you’re just starting college—please, ask questions, get other opinions, and don’t assume your school’s looking out for your money.

I have it set up so that my bank mails 2 physical checks for $100 to her every pay period.

I do this to maximize the cost of processing the payment.

I just think it would be funny to add a stupid memo.

Not funny enough to risk the payments getting rejected though.

PS: If anyone's wondering my logic is that if they're going to make money sucking the marrow out of all of our bones, they're at least going to have to pay a check processor to open the payments up and apply them.

I’m 17 years old and deciding between two colleges (one with a full ride, the other about 70k a year). The full ride comes from a decent school, but the 70k a year one is far more prestigious and the name itself would open a lot of doors (ranks #1 for my major). I plan on majoring in Econ, and I am really learning towards going to the more expensive school since it’s been my dream school. However, I always hear horror stories about student loan debt. How bad is student loan debt? Please try to fear me out of it.

I'm on the PAYE repayment plan with nelnet, and my recertification (my first since covid) was due this November. However, this morning I received a message in my nelnet inbox that my recertification was pushed until November of 2026!

Since I'm on PAYE and not SAVE I am accruing interest (which sucks 🫠) but Im also relieved because maybe by then Trump will have stopped messing around with (or messing up) the department of education/student loans.

So yeah check your nelnet accounts if you're on PAYE and were due to recertify this year.

I believe the next step in the Missouri district court litigation is for a broader preliminary injunction to be entered by the court. And after that, the court would still need to reach a decision on the merits of the case. My questions are (1) When do you expect the revised preliminary injunction to be entered? and (2) When do you expect the court to render a decision on the merits? I know nothing can be estimated with a high degree of certainty. I'm just asking for your best estimates.

P.S. I realize an 8th Circuit appeal and cert petition to the Supreme Court could follow. But I'm less curious about those issues because I think the outcome and timeframe for those items are easier to predict.

Thanks!

So I took out one Sallie Mae loan during undergrad. I graduated and tried making payment arrangements with them and they had already sold the loan to someone else. I defaulted with them because that’s the life of a single mom with a medically needy baby. They sold it to another party (so it has changed hands twice now) and I have contacted them several times via phone and email with nothing in return. I don’t know how to submit payment or anything. They served me the other day. I’m not sure how this process works. Do I show up to court and set up a payment plan through the court? Do I hire an attorney? Is an attorney needed?

Anyone else who is still waiting on any movement on your discharge? I just checked my federal aid account and they’re now all reported as being in default. Not sure where to go from here, I’ve called a few times and it’s not been helpful. Is this going to affect my credit after all now?

Hi All:

I’ve seen it as a FAQ and discussion here. Just letting folks know as a none SAVE plan person, my recertification was extended from 08/2025 to 08/2026. I got an email to check my inbox on Nelnet which confirmed it.

Hope this info helps someone out there.

We’re in this together and any bit of good news is welcome in these difficult times.

my ex partner has stolen my financial details from my daughters student finance application. We already had an agreement in place for me to pay maintenance and what ever money my ex needed for the kids. She has seen what I earned last year and has made a claim through the child maintenance service. Just wondered if anyone has had something similar happen to them and is this classed as a breach of data protection or something similar? Surely this must be classed as some sort of theft?

Thanks in advance

Two year program, 25k per academic year.

Fafsa covered some, leaving me with about 15k left.

I qualified for a loan from Sallie mae for the exact amount, but at 12.625% interest (yikes).

Any recommendations for where to look next? Or where I can take that offer to?

No one at Studentaid.gov nor my loan servicer, Aidvantage, can give me a straight answer. I was able to see my account until January 15, 2025 which had showed Estimated IDR End of Payment Term January 2025 with 301 out 300 payments. Then, on January 29, 2025, it read Estimated IDR End of Payment Term April 2025 with 297 out of 300 payments.

Since February 1, 2025 cannot find either of this estimated IDR end of payment. Furthermore, the Dashboard where My Aid is located is blank except with the words You currently don't have any federal loans or grants.

Both Studentaid.gov and Aidvantage place the blame on one another for not updating the information. Studentaid tech has reached out with the same old, same old - change browers, clean out cache, etc. and none of that has changed the dashboard. Aidvantage, meanwhile swears up and down that all of my current loan information was forwarded to Studentaid so they can't understand why the screen is blank.

The only suspect thing is that when my loans were consolidated and I was placed into forbearance, I had to start repaying at a lower rate to Aidvantage in August 2024. Subsequently, Aidvantge would tell me that I should not have made any payments from August 2024 to December 2024 for the forbearance should have been extended automatically. Hence, none of those payments (5) would count towards IDR end of payment. Talk about the loan servicer giving out wrong information.

Aidvantage never missed a chance to send out notices about next payment due, but couldn't tell me "Sir, uh the forbearance has been extended so stop paying." Now, I am in the process of making those 5 payments count towards my IDR end of payment term.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is going on with my account?

Ok I know there are a lot of posts on here claiming that refinancing with Sofi is a bad idea. I have had federal student loans since fall of 2008. My balance has barely decreased at all since making payments from 2010 onwards. I have a balance just under 19k. I had qualified for the 20k in forgiveness, got the notice it would be forgiveness then that was blocked. I have like 6 or so loans and 6 or 7 % interest on them. There are too many to list. It wasn't my doing, my loans were sold to greatlakes and split up. Then to Nelnet during pandemic times. I've been on IBR the whole time. My payments have always been about $260 / month. My income is supposed to be up for Recertification by 5/18 (next month). My projected payment after that is shown as $778. I can't pay it. I am struggling financially in all areas as most of the nation is right now. I actually don't think I qualify for IBR anymore. I somehow didn't have to submit my income for the last like 7 years. I make 74k/ year (in northern California) and really struggling. I looked at the standard repayment plan and it also says it would be over $700. How is that possible on a balance under 19k? If I paid $700plus each month for 10 years that is over 90k. How is that possible ? That is absolutely insane. I looked into private refinancing. Sofi (without officially applying) says for 10 years I'd pay about $250 / month. Or 150 at 15 years. Every time I log into Nelnet I get threatening messages that if I don't pay it's going to ruin my credit and whatnot (which I am aware of. I am not inexperienced with credit at all). The only option is to try and call them. But I don't have confidence in that. Tried calling them last year and never got ahold of anyone. I am feeling like this is my only option. Why does everyone think it is such a bad idea? What am I really missing out on if the IBR doesn't even help? I've never been unemployed since I have had the loans. I doubt that I will ever qualify for disability. I somehow didn't qualify for loan forgiveness of any kind. Despite paying for over 10 years now. No forgiveness. The only forgiveness I qualified for was blocked and is no longer a possibility. So what do I have to loose ?

Hi,

Where is everyone refinancing their student loans? And where do you begin?

The FTC is charging all of these companies that are ran by the same office, same owners, same team. If you have worked with any of the companies it appears they are also trying to have them issue you a refund. It is a common scam aka a "doc prep" company. They are basically being charged with claiming they are part of fThe Department of Education when they are not. They charge a high upfront fee and then monthly fees after. If you don't want to click a link just look up "superior servicing FTC". Who knows if anyone will get a penny back but there is a chance you might. Just wanted to help those who have been lied to<3FTC posting

PSA for anyone out there working towards student loan forgiveness (under PSLF or other plans), you may want to logon and check on your plans. They changed eligibility under certain repayment options and they also placed loans in forbearance (without giving credit towards qualifying payments) without alerting me. Just putting it out there, because I had no idea until I logged on today to get my tax forms. I would personally re-certify and make sure you don't need to apply under a different option.

There is an option to buyout months that you were placed in forbearance but when I follow the steps online, the link for "Verify the months of deferments or forbearances you want to buy back and confirm you have approved qualifying employment for the same months (see how to verify these months)" just refreshes the page I'm on. I am only 3 payments away from forgiveness despite having worked in non-profit for 11 years (due to being placed on forbearance multiple times without my consent). Does anyone have experience with this buyout option? Would a lawyer be able to help me? I just want these loans forgiven before they try to discontinue the plan. I'm tired of being dragged through various hurdles and just want it to be over.

Hey everyone, I really need to vent and get some advice because EdFinancial has completely messed up my situation, and I don’t know what to do.

Back in 2021, I started college and got grants, an unsubsidized loan, and a Sallie Mae loan to cover my expenses. After I graduated in 2024, Sallie Mae emailed me that payments were due. I set up autopay right away, paid more than the minimum every month, and felt like I was staying on top of everything.

Then, out of nowhere, my credit score dropped by 300 points! I was shocked because I’ve never missed a single payment and have always paid the full amount. I called my loan companies, and they said I was in good standing with no missed payments. They told me to check with TransUnion and Experian, so I requested a credit report and that’s when I found out about two overdue loans from EdFinancial. I couldn’t believe it.

Here’s the most frustrating part: EdFinancial never sent me an email, letter, or phone call to let me know these payments were due after being deferred for four years during COVID. If I’d known, I would’ve started paying immediately. Because of this, my credit score tanked, and soon after, my credit card limits were cut in half.

When I called EdFinancial, their rep admitted they tried to reach me, but nothing went through. They waived the late fees, but still, it’s unbelievable that they had my address and phone number and didn’t even try harder to notify me!

I’ve read stories about other students dealing with the same problem. It’s insane to me that EdFinancial could see all these failed attempts and just leave it at that. How is this even allowed?

I feel so angry and defeated right now. I worked hard to build my credit and was proud of it, and now it feels like it’s all been taken away from me. If anyone has advice on what I should do next, please let me know. Thank you for reading this I could really use some help.

Why is it no one talks about regulating the escalating costs of colleges and interest rates, rather than 'loan forgiveness?'

Why is it that colleges are allowed unchecked discretion to raise their student fees to fund fancy dorms and student living amenities, new constructions, executive level salaries and other nonsense? I feel like colleges have become a business targeting young adults without much financial knowledge, and expecting government to essentially fund them.

Why can't government limit federal loans to colleges that have an excessive amount of graduates with student debts that they cannot pay because the college did not provide them with the promised job opportunities to repay?

Why can't interest be replaced with a flat fee charge for taking the loan? So the amount owed doesn't increase exponentially and gives a real chance for borrowers to repay without undue burden?

Right now, it seems like colleges can go about their merry way charging exorbitant fees without providing any service/benefit worthy of the fees, while taxpayers and students and expected to pick up the slack.

Are we not currently in another period of forbearance? Should I have taken an additional step? None of my other student loans have anything due. Help!

(TLDR BELOW) So I finally got in contact with someone at Mohela after calling at open (8am EST) and finally getting an “answer” at 1045M EST.

Now, I explained how I was on the SAVE plan and received a letter from MOHELA stating no interest would accrue on my account (it did). The lady I talked to sent me to an advisor (another hour wait) and the advisor told me the following: MOHELA is aware of the issue, they stated they will correct it, and any additional payments made during this time will be negated from the balance before the interest was wrongly applied. I hope this helps someone as I’ve seen posts on this issue.

Now side note, I did record the call, I’ve downloaded and saved all correspondence, and check back regularly.

TLDR: Mohela knows interest is accruing on SAVE plans when it shouldn’t, they don’t know when it will be fixed but, according to them, it will be fixed.

So I owe maybe 10 k in student loans. I got a small settlement 25k. Should I just pay them off? I have been paying on a no interest plan an paid down from 20 or 15k. I want to buy a home and as a single person the mortgage is a big commitment. So i figure just pay them off

i took out a parent plus loan last school year (23-24) at a different university. i transferred to a community college for 24-25, and i’m still full time. i requested a deferment when i took out the loan. however, my loan went into repayment despite all my other loans not going into repayment. i’m having a difficult time contacting MOHELA about it. how should i go about this?

I have a check, but I don’t seem to need it. I’m set up to get more each semester till I graduate. If I haven’t used my first loan I don’t think I need the others. Should I return the money?