I received my 90 day notice to switch off of the SAVE plan at the end of July. Technically, my "90 day" mark was on 10/26; however, I am still enrolled in SAVE and never received a 30 day notice or anything like that. Should I just stick it out and see if anything comes through or if I get forced off? I'm kind of torn between that and just switching plans ahead of time. I'm returning to school part time in January so plan to put my loans in deferment then anyways.

I got lucky because I graduated with my MA in 2019 and I certified my income with my 2018 tax return and my payments were $0/month. Then bam, COVID happened and I've had $0 payments for the last 7 years!!! I was on the regular IBR plan. Throughout all these years I've always wondered "is something gonna happen? Or go wrong? Will these payments *actually* count towards PSLF? And every time I certify my employment, that count goes up!

Then in July/August, I got the "90-day notice" to switch plans. PAYE was the cheapest option for me at $669/month. I recertified my income + chose that plan on September 17.

Normally, my "payments" of $0 are due on the 26th of each month. I knew September & October would be $0 as they needed to approve my application...but wasn't sure if I'd get lucky for November too.

But, it's October 27 and while switching to the PAYE plan is technically still waiting to be approved, I just checked my loan servicer (EdFinancial) and bam, $668.90 payment pending, due on November 27th.... nooooooooo :(

I know I'm lucky that I had $0 payments for so long and that I only have 3 years of PSLF left. But it's just still such a punch in the stomach. To go up to basically $700 payments on 3 months notice feels so, so cruel...

Other context:

I have 9 loans, and currently some of them are missing payment counts from June 2024-January 2025. And then August, September, & October aren't showing up for all of them.

6 of them are at 80 payments.

2 of them are at 74 payments.

1 of them is at 73 payments.

anyways, just figured I'd share my story. I feel so close, yet so far away. I know so many other people are feeling the same, especially those who hit their 120 during this wild processing time... sending love and light.

Moving off of SAVE soon and thinking of putting my loans into forbearance while I figure out ways to increase my income so I can make my payments and still afford to live. I’ve also been in SAVE Forbearance since I was placed there automatically, so wondering if that affects my ability to do that?

I made a payment yesterday at noon and it is still processing as of noon today. Now the funny part is that as you're making a payment, it gives the option of using debit card or bank account to pay and states clearly that if using a debit card it could be a few days, and with a bank account it will post that day if the payment is made before 4 pm. I used my bank account to pay.

I obviously made my payment before 4 pm and yet I'll get charged another day of interest at what should be the old because THEY'RE not processing it in the time that they stated it would.

Now some may say it's my bank, but my bank shows every transaction instantly when it comes to literally any other transaction. So I don't see how it's the banks fault, especially when the loan agent itself says it will be processed the same day as long as it's before 4 pm.

I'm now adding a day of interest to each payment to help account for this, but I shouldn't have to do that.

And in case someone asks, my loans are theough Nelnet.

Which would you choose? Debt consolidation is not an option, income is maxed out. I’m not asking for any other specific financial advice and this is somewhat hypothetical.

If you had to choose between making a $900 student loan payment, or paying $900 in credit card payments a month, what would you do?

I'm at the deadline for switching into a new plan from SAVE, and my head is swimming with the options. My AGI is about $60K. Here is what the calculator is saying:

Based on the "discharge $0" on every plan, I assume that means I will pay it off before my forgivness date. Grant it, I haven't a clue how many payments I actually made towards forgiveness. I took my first loan out in 2010.

Money is very tight so I'm thinking I could do the extended graduated payment and just pay more on it as more money becomes available to keep the total interest down? I couldn't do the IBR or standard payments but if I really scrounged every penny I might be able to swing RAP. But I'm not sure if that makes any sense.

If I'm going to pay off regardless then is there any benefit to doing RAP / IBR?

Hey guys im an international student in the Uk studying pharmaceutical science and in my second year…the tuition cost is about £17500 which is high plus my parents happened to cancel my sponsorship visa to study in the UK, tried calling to know if I did anything wrong but they are not replying back. I am open to any loans any one has to offer dont want to go back with the shame of not having to complete my studies. I have asked some of my friends for help but they don’t seem to be responsive, most of which stopped texting back. I tried snuffing myself twice, didnt die so im guessing God has a plan for me. So guys please any form of help would be much appreciated. I drive Incase you need me delivering anything if yk what i mean… I don’t know I just want to put my hands anywhere now to just finish my studies so guys please….after my second year I have one more year left so I don’t want to be stuck in this mess….😭😭

Hello,

My parents took out some Parent PLUS loans and I'm trying to help them organize repayment options and what they should go with. I graduated at the end of 2025, but my dad somewhat recently lost his job which has made things difficult. My dad contacted StudentAid.gov customer support (which from skimming this subreddit doesn't seem the most reliable?) and they told him to consolidate the loans and then apply for unemployment deferment (for up to 3 years).

I have some questions regarding what the best plan of action would be, or at least the steps for me to figure that out. Apologies if I'm asking too much but many people here seem well-informed and I'm doing my best to become more literate with these matters.

Details:

• The loan servicer is Aidvantage
• There is a mix of a few different subsidized/unsubsidized loans

Questions:

• I had seen that income based repayment options had expired in July, but if I looked at the StudentAid website there are still some options listed like IDR. Is this a mistake or am I misunderstanding this as an option?
  • Source: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven
• What is generally the purpose of consolidating the loans? From what I understand that reduces all the loans into one loan. Does that reduce the interest rate? Or at least, what can I look at to better understand what the trade offs could be. From what I've seen, refinancing is not a good idea as my parents would lose the tangible benefits of federal loans. Does consolidation still result in federal loans.
• If income-based repayment is currently not available, it seems that doing the 3-year unemployment deferment would be good to do so that hopefully such a policy would be reinstated, or at least give my parents a grace period to be able recover. Are there any drawbacks? Should my parents consolidate before this?
• If there's any options I haven't considered or questions you have, or that I should be asking myself please let me know!

Edit: Some more details

• The loans are currently NOT consolidated
• The most recent loan period ended in December 2025.

this got removed from r/mohela for some reason :(

Hi all. I have had the most aggravating year with MOHELA and every phone call I make with them continues to get more confusing and my loans keep getting more and more screwed up.

For context, I exited my first round of graduate school May 2024 and entered repayment (I thought) November 2024. I entered a brief forbearance between July 2025-January 2026 (actually, it was meant to be until then but Mohela kept me in it until March 2026 against my knowledge). I entered repayment March 2026. During this time I worked for another university and got a second master's. fully funded through my employment. I graduated May 2026. In August 2026, I noticed I never got a payment and all of a sudden none of my PSLF was being counted. I called Mohela and FinAid and they said that my university updated my status so my loan was put into a retroactive in-school deferment plan for the past two years, despite me actively repaying.

After a month of back and forth -- initially, they told me I could reverse this -- they said because I never permanently waived in-school deferment, they couldn't undo this. Fine. Apparently though my payments would be paid in advance until Feb 26 (not to mention, I lost all of my previous PSLF progress). On a whim, I checked my account today to make sure everything is going okay only to see that I now owe a balance? I have received no notice and more frustratingly, I don't know how much they have from me (my monthly payment amount changed in the middle of all this) and have no documentation that I was in a paid-ahead status.

I'm waiting on a callback from resolutions (ironic name as nothing is resolved) but I'm so frustrated. I am in the process of paying for different schooling out of pocket and have no clue how much Mohela has taken from me now. Has anyone dealt with this? Every agent gives me different, more confusing information and I am very frustrated

My income was $150k+, with my payments about $1300 per month on IDR.

My income dropped to about $100k, but my payments are the same since they're using gross income rather than my tax return. It's marginally less than $1300.

Any solutions? Or am i SOL?

I submitted my application and am waiting for it to be processed. My payment is due in December and want it to get approved before that payment comes.

I currently have a student loan through Tuition Options that is for $36,000 at a 10.50% interest rate. This is a locked interest rate; it's the only interest rate they offer, and it's for a 10-year loan. It was initially for $45,000 about 3 years ago, and I've been making payments of $533 monthly. Given all things, it's being paid off at a pretty decent rate.

However, I really want to refinance it and get a better interest rate. It's not a Title IV school, and I didn't realize this would be an issue until after I graduated. It's considered a private trade school, so it isn't accredited through federal aid programs. Because it's not Title IV, no banks will accept it as a valid school loan and thus I can't refinance it. I didn't realize private student loans don't offer loans unless they're Title IV.

Does anyone have any suggestions? A personal loan has a higher interest rate, so that's not really a better option. I see no other options outside of paying more monthly (which I do when I can). For the record, I just really hate the interest rate. The monthly payment isn't an issue.

I'm wondering if anyone has any info on why this might be happening. And I apologize if the answer is already out there, but I haven't been able to find it. I have been on PAYE for like 5 or 6 years, and when asked to rectify this year applied to recertify PAYE but was told I am not eligible for this plan. (It seems only IBR is the only one they would like me to use). Why would this be? I mean I've been on the plan for a long time, what changed? Thanks in advance for any help/guidance

Hey all. My deadline is fast approaching, and I have my IDR application ready to go. I'm just not sure if I should wait to submit until after the deadline comes to see if they extend it another 30 days or not like others have experienced. My servicer is Nelnet, and I was one of the people who saw the deadline change in the portal and then change back again.

So what are we thinking? Should I just submit the app? Or wait and see if they extend it?

On October 23rd I have an email that says my “request for In School Deferment was approved”… I’m not technically in school (I did educational courses through a grant from my employer at a university all last year). Even if this counts, I didn’t submit any request for deferment.

October 24th email: they will charge me my old monthly amount from my SAVE plan on the 27th of October.

When I called MOHELA this morning, they confirmed they did charge me the amount from my old SAVE plan. (the call dropped mid transfer to a specialist so I don’t have more information). Before I even spoke to anyone, the automated system said my account was in forbearance and my next payment wasn’t due until this December…

I got my 90 days notice of needing to change plans a few months ago, which means I need to change plans by the middle of November… and yet I’m being charged my old Save plan amount while in a forbearance???

What the Fried Chicken is going on? Is anyone else in this situation? Can they even legally charge me if I am in a forbearance, especially before I’ve selected my new plan??

After filling out the forms and sending income documentation, I was set up for an IDR plan with a $319.09 / month payment. Honestly, this amount is not realistic for me to pay on my salary because I have other student loans and debt. I am seeing the standard payment plan option for me is $262.93 / month. Why would this be lower than the IDR? Can I just go ahead and choose the $262.93 / month payment plan?

Does anyone have a suggestion for getting Mohela to accurately account for my spouse’s student loans when calculating my IBR payment? I applied for IBR with a PDF application uploaded to their website with my tax return, as was advised due to the known glitch in payment calculation when applying via studentaid.gov.

I received an approval on 10/22, and my payment amount was what should be the total of both my wife’s and my payment. The FSA calculation rounds to the nearest dollar, but the amount Mohela says my monthly payment will be is 35 cents more than the sum of what the payment calculator shows for my payment + my wife’s payment on IBR.

I then tried to resubmit the application with a note indicating that the payment is wrong, what the payment should be per FSA, and pointed out that the payment calculation did not take my wife’s loans into account, as it is the exact amount both of our payments should add up to. Just got another payment plan approval for the exact same payment amount, to the penny.

We have been married since 2013, and have both always been on an IDR plan until the COVID forbearance. We’ve never had any trouble with our payments amounts being correctly calculated based us both having loans until we were automatically moved from REPAYE to SAVE, when my payment was correctly calculated, but my wife’s SAVE payment was double her REPAYE payment because they didn’t factor my loans into the calculation.

Also, does anyone know why my repayment schedule would only show 11 months at the new payment amount, rather than 12? I thought an income certification would be good for a full year, not 11 months.

Thank you!

Hello all. I have around $150,000 in federal loans and $80,000 in private loans. My current payment plan has me sitting at $600 for my private loans and somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,400 for my federal. I have been able to afford the $600 a month payments, but the additional $1,400 is not feasible.

My question is: has anyone just made a payment of "what they could afford" and been okay in these situations? It's not ideal, but I don't want to default unless absolutely necessary. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I graduated in 2022 with $100K of student debt with various government loans ranging from 3-7.6%. Today I made a $3.6k payment annihilating my highest rate loan of 7.6% and bringing my total paid over the last 4 years to just a bit over $50K. Even with a 99.3K starting balance and 50.2K paid to date I have 62.2K of student debt left :/

On the bright side I do have enough in HYSA and stocks to get rid of the rest but probably wise to have a good emergency fund.

Just like the title says, I got a email from my server aidvantage that I sent a repayment application that I never sent? Well I can confirm the email is also 100% real but instead of having my first name it just says “[first name] we’ve received your payment application.” I also checked my account. And my account notifications it also says A repayment plan application was sent. I am currently on a IDR plan and mosty trying to figure out if 1. This happened to anyone else recently and 2. What this is about.

I was on the SAVE plan, which was discontinued. While evaulating my options on the student aid dot gov site, I found that the payoff date under the RAP does not make any sense. Here is my situation:

SL Debt: just under $53k. Rate: 6.375%. This works out to a monthly interest of $281.

All my loans were consolidated in 2023. (This combined with my current amount makes a number of the available plans equivalent, btw. The graduated and extended graduated plans are exactly the same for me, for example.)

If I, for example, put in an AGI = $70k, the calculator give a payment of $350/mo (correct) and a payoff date of 2038 ($0 discharged). Under the standard repayment plan and extended fix repayment plan, I would have a payment of $357/mo and a payoff date of 2050. How can this be correct? The 2038 date is way off from the simple interest calculation, and what I have read says there would be no payment assistance for me under this scenario.

Thanks in advance.

Have Nelnet. Got my notice on 01Jul. Mid-September I bit the bullet and just reapplied to my previous graduated plan. About 2 days later plan was approved and I got the email for all of my loans (I have 68k but not consolidated).

Then came the this is your final 30 day notice. And still, no due date. To be honest I’m not too worried about it the website says they’ve received my application and I’ve been approved. But just think it’s odd that now 30 days later I’m still in save plan forebearance. Guess if nobody knows I’ll update you all Nov 1.

What are my options? Due to inflation I currently have more month than money at the moment. I don’t have any extra liquid assets right now and I can’t make payment on a credit card.

I have a Fidelity 401k so I could stop putting money into it I still get matching of up to 6% for paying my loans instead. That 6% of my income though is still less than my payments for the year.

I can’t just print my own money. I planned my life around SAVE.