I got my letter to switch August 12th = I have until November, correct?

Since then - I’ve gotten multiple emails reminding me to pick a plan & now I’m getting texts.

I get that they’re reminders - but they come across… threatening?

And I really wanna say to Aidvantage: “y r u so obsessed w/ me?”

Anyhoo - hats of fellow procrastinators putting off leaving SAVE. <3

I’m a low-income student from a single-parent household with a -1500 FAFSA SAI. I’m a transfer student, and I’ve only completed one full year at my current university + two summer classes.

I’ve accumulated about $15k in student loans so far. $8,477 is private, while the rest is federal subsidized/unsubsidized loans offered through my school.

I have 3 semesters left, and I’m worried about graduating with $30k+ in debt. On top of that, I plan to study abroad next summer, which could cost another $7k–$12k.

Is $15k already a lot at this point? Am I borrowing too much, or is this pretty normal given my situation? If this is too much what should I do?

Edit: I major in international business and my major requires me to study abroad or work abroad to get the degree.

Today I finally got my monthly payment amount for RAP. Previously on IBR I was paying $350 a month. I have approx 30k in student loans and make abt 50k a year and qualify for PSLF. The interest did capitalize on 2 of my loans but it wasn’t terrible to move everything to one servicer

I just got notice that’s it’s dropping to $210 a month! If it ever gets to the point above $350 I’d just switch to the standard cause it would be abt $350 anyways… just wanted to share for anyone thinking abt RAP

Reminder to enroll in auto pay if you can as it should take 1 point of interest down (from 7% to 6% for example). I believe the deadline is September 30!!!

Hi,

My wife (Indian citizen - Canadian permanent resident)refinanced a student loan (not federal) with SoFi which is approximately 45,000 USD ( no co-signer)

She lost her job and permanently moved to Canada and still struggling to find a job and it’s been difficult to meet ends with this loan.

If we don’t pay the loan, what implications would we have?

- once she becomes a Canadian citizen can she visit USA? ( she is not planning to ever work or live in the USA)
- Would she have any impact on Indian credit or Canadian credit?
- her relatives still live in the address on file, would debt collectors vist them?

Any suggestions would really help! Thanks!

I paid my first year in full out of pocket and I had some grants and scholarships but now I have a less well paying job and I somehow got NO fafsa help and all i can take is an unsubsidized loan. I’m terrified of taking loans with interest. My parents were not financially responsible and had so much debt growing up and I don’t want to be like that. The problem is I don’t go out or do anything I took up figure skating as my hobby and that’s the only thing I budget for. I work 60 hours a week with 2 jobs and go to school full time to pay for school and pay off my car since it has a good chunk of money left on it and it’s been experiencing issues and i don’t want to be upside down on it. So all my extra money has been going towards that but im finding that i’m absolutely miserable and my academics (even though school just started) and mental health is declining. I’m already finding it hard to find the motivation to do and school work and my room is a mess. I know I should take some loans to lighten the load and pay off the car which is more pressing atm but im so terrified. Can someone help me find a way to deal with the anxiety? Even taking like 1000 per semester would help greatly but idk how bad that’s going to be in interest over the years 💔😭

I live paycheck to paycheck working 9-5 just barely making ends meet each month. I do not have any disposable income at the end of the month. In fact I’ve had to sell some of my things just to have enough cash to survive. I live a pretty simple lifestyle, i have a small one bedroom apartment, I don’t drive an expensive car, i don’t spend money on things I don’t need nor do I eat out. I have 2 credit cards I’m making the minimum payments on, a car loan I’ve had for 2 years that I’m current on (never missed a payment). I have no major assets besides my car and about 22,000 in a retirement account. I have about $130k in federal student loans mostly from undergrad that I was in the save plan with and plan on asking for forbearance because I can’t afford a bill with an extra $230 per month with RAP or IBR.

I also have 180k in Sallie Mae private student loans mostly from grad school and I don’t have a co signer. This sounds like a massive amount but I owe nearly double what I originally borrowed on the private loans due to an extremely high interest rate at 15% and by the time I graduated, I owed about 150k. I currently make about 53,000 a year before taxes and take home 3600 a month. I have been trying to do the right thing communicating with the lender and working hard at increasing my income so I can pay it but I haven’t been successful and I keep getting denied when I apply for new jobs. So my degree isn’t helping me.

Sallie Mae wanted me to pay them 2500 a month and unfortunately they absolutely refused to work with me. From what I’ve read on this sub and other debt subreddits They are known for being predatory and super aggressive in collections. So I’m 3 months delinquent about to default and in the state I live in they can sue me and garnish 25% of my wages. I would be homeless and destitute if they did this because I couldn’t pay living expenses and I would lose the job I do have. So I can’t afford a garnishment.

Usually if we are faced with a situation like this and can’t pay debts from an aggressive creditor and can’t afford to live if garnished we would file for bankruptcy. That’s why it exists but I know historically student loans are treated differently in bankruptcy and many attorneys will say there’s nothing they can do but at this point I literally don’t have the ability to pay them unless I drastically increase my income which I’ve so far been unsuccessful in doing.

I understand I made some poor financial decisions in my 20s as I was very naive and lived a very sheltered life. I got myself in this mess but I don’t need anyone to admonish me I’m just trying to do the right thing and find a viable path forward. I’m not really as concerned about the federal loans because I have options and if I had a higher income I could pay on those but I have few options with Sallie Mae. To be frank I would much rather pay them then file for bankruptcy but I literally can’t give them what they’re asking for and live and I don’t know what else to do if I can’t increase my income and my degree isn’t helping me do that.

Hey,

So i only have 1.2k left to pay but my family dont have to funds for it, I was offered two options the PARENT PLUS LOANS and the PRIVATE Loan. I did my research and seen they both are vastly different with its interest rates and the amount. Is it worth it for a parent plus loan? Especially since ill be working and i offered to pay monthly for my mom who'll sign it. I am a bit nervous but i also want to get these courses out the way, ill take the punches and i am 100% paying anything i owe back.

Hi everyone,

I just got a letter from Nelnet (dated July 14, 2026) saying the SAVE Plan is being discontinued due to a legal settlement and I have 90 days to select a new repayment plan or I'll be automatically placed on Standard Repayment. Additionally, my Nelnet account says my next statement will update 11/1.

I'm currently in SAVE forbearance but want to switch to RAP (Revised Pay As You Earn) instead. I'm planning to wait until the absolute last minute to apply for personal reasons (building my emergency fund still) and was thinking of switching over the last week of September, that would mean my first payment under RAP would be due on 11/1?

Based on the 90-day window from July 14, I calculated my deadline as October 12, 2026.

Can anyone confirm I'm doing this math right? I want to make sure I don't miss the deadline and get stuck on Standard Repayment by accident.

Also, any tips on the RAP application process? Should I use the direct IRS tax data consent option to speed things up?

Thanks in advance!

Hey, guys! I have about $40K in student debt that I need to start paying in November this year. I really want to avoid putting it off because of the interest, so I wanted to see what other people have done. I make about $65K a year and work for a non-profit. Thank you!!

I am going through my old emails to make sure that all of my loans are federal. I have emails from Sallie Mae from as late as October 2014.

I understand they stopped handling federal loans that year. But how can I be sure that I don’t have any private loans with them? I don’t recall ever apply for private loans specifically but it was over 12 years ago so I’m not sure

I just want to be sure I don’t have some private loans racking up interest

Hi all,

I'm sorry if this has been asked a lot but I'm not sure what search terms to use to find this info in the sub.

Basically I've been in SAVE since they switched me over and before that I had been in REPAYE. I haven't had to pay or recertify my income in forever so I don't know what steps I need to take now.

I'm also in pslf and I'm 5 years in but hadn't had my employer recertify or whatever it's called since a couple years ago.

I'm very financially illiterate and struggle with these types of processes. They feel so huge and I don't want to make mistakes which is why I've put it all off for so long.

Can any kind soul tell me what the steps are that I need to take to make sure I can get this done soon? I got the 90 day notice on July 1 so my deadline to switch is coming soon.

Do I just do it all through my servicer (mohela) or do I need to do some steps through the federal site first?

I think I should qualify for PAYE and that's what I'm going to aim for until that one goes away. Is there anything special I need to do to get approved for that one?

If there's already an existing post with all this info I'm sorry! Please point me to it if you have easy access to it.

Thank you!

Let’s say your FAFSA covers tuition and fees and you get a few thousand back that you use for food, living expenses, etc. Do you need to report it for taxes?

Edit: even if they are not taxable, do you still need to report them?

Edit: I went to school like 6 years ago and I never reported as income. I’m worried that this was a crime

This is probably a really annoying post, but I am terrified I messed this whole thing up.

I applied manually directly on the MOHELA website using my 2024 tax return, but I fear I should have just applied online at studentaid.gov and allowed access to my IRS info.

I hear the difference is a few days for the latter versus several weeks for the former.

If MOHELA processes my application by October 1st, but the calculation is wrong, that only gives me 10 business days to apply again for a recalculation and have no issues before I have to file my 2025 taxes which shows a higher salary. If I have another issue after I've filed my 2025 taxes on October 15th, then I will have to use my 2025 tax return to apply. It's difference of basically $150/mo at worst

My stats: 2024 tax return shows AGI of $51,310. My filing status is MFS, so my family size should be 2. My loans are all between 2017 and 2021, so I qualify for new IBR. My payment should be exactly $157/mo.

I am mostly worried that with the regulation and policy discrepancies regarding MFS people having a family size of at least 2 will factor into a mistake. I fear they will exclude my spouse from family size, which they shouldn't. that would make my payment go from $157/mo to $228/mo. If I have to use 2025 tax return, my AGI jumps to $61,456, making my payment $242/mo if my spouse is included in family size, and $313/mo if she isn't included.

So basically there are multiple factors at play here that could result in me paying $157/mo or $313/mo based on pure chance. I hope to god I have a competent IDR reviewer at MOHELA.

Hey guys,

Have people from advantage still not received the email? Currently on and SAVE, and I have not received a single correspondence from them since like June when they sent me some quarterly interest statement.

Any thoughts? Does this mean timer only starts from when they actually send me an email?

I am an assistant professor at a large public university who mainly does research. My colleague just told me about an NIH program that will pay off my student loan debt, but the approval process (if I get approved) will take almost a year. Until that point, I would likely need to pay >1,000 a month for my loans.

I am thinking about starting an online degree program half time to go back into deferment for a year or so until the payment is potentially approved. It is too late to register for classes at my university and I am not sure how happy my dean would be with a current professor taking classes while fully employed as a researcher. Are there fully online degrees that I can work towards that I can enroll in the next couple of weeks that will put me in deferment? As long as the tuition isn't crazy, I should still come out ahead. Thanks for any advice!

just graduated PT school, doing travel to pay down loans. hoping i can pay them off in <2 years.

i always catch myself in this situation though- i grind towards something and don’t know what else to do after.

i just wanted to hear it from people who’ve done it… what does it feel like???

Anyone else with a loan through Aidvantage still not get the 90 day notice? I haven’t and I’m not sure what to do!

Whohoo!!!

Hi everyone,

I too have student loans with everyone’s favorite, Mohela. I have been in the save forbearance but mine ends Oct 1. With the new plans being so expensive, we just don’t have the funds while we work to tackle other debt.

While I know delaying this further is dumb as the number will continue to go up, but I am planning to file married filing separately on taxes next year so that my payment isn’t so steep and I can pursue PLSF…

All that to say, I keep seeing people say that you have a bank of forbearance you can just use. Has anyone had luck calling in to Mohela and using that forbearance? And any advice on what to say? I know they are difficult to say the least and want to get to the end of it as easy as possible.

Thank you!

Finally paid off all my loans... Just wanted to tell someone, feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. I had about $15k at 5% which isn't bad but it was always in the back of my mind.

Hi, I am a parent. I am researching on how student loans work. I am willing to co-sign for my son and be responsible for it. I have a good credit rating and stable job; What kind of rate can I expect? I see some wide range of APR here https://www.credible.com/student-loans (I am more comfortable with fixed rate).

Thanks.

I have been trying to apply for PAYE for weeks in the student aid website but keep running into a technical error. I did a live chat with on student aid website and they said I’d have to contact nelnet. I got on the Nelnet website and it says I can only apply for the IDR through the student aid website. What the hell do I do? I just graduated and don’t want to be thrust into a fixed repayment plan for $700 plus a month when I could qualify for PAYE.
Based on the “help” I’ve received from both parties I have a feeling the government has offshored or outsourced their workers which is pissing me off. It’s one thing to outsource a phone company but for something that holds tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, there’s no way that’s right.

I selected to move off forbearance both times I applied. I was on save with mohela and filled out IBR on studentaid.gov. I double checked the second time to make sure I selected to move off forbearance status. What am I doing wrong?

In January I paid off 2/6 of my loans. There ended up being an over payment of over $300. I called Mohela several times and was never able to speak with anyone helpful. Wait times are hours and hours for an “advanced” rep. I filed a complaint with studentaid.gov which has been “in review” for months- way longer than the promised 15 days. I wrote letters and sent docs to my local reps…not helpful. Today I get an email from Mohela saying congrats on paying off 2 loans. (9 months later). I log in and look at the paid off loans, they finally show $0.00 instead of the over payment but….WHERE DID THE OVER PAYMENT MONEY GO??? no where on Mohela does it show they applied it to my other loans. No where can I find any info they are refunding me. Where is the money and what can I do????