I think the rep may have been mistaken. For example, I was just chatting with someone who had a PSLF certification processed just this week.

Likewise, I don’t think we are stuck waiting for the courts to make a final decision.

My read of the situation is that the lawsuits were something the Department of Education didn’t expect, it has caused some chaos as they firgure out what to do, they are trying to instruct servicers how to handle the change, and it has cause some massive delays and temporary processing pauses.

I spoke to someone at Mohela yesterday (after being on hold for 86 minutes!) and was told that due to the SAVE plan litigation, NOTHING is being processed. So even if I have reached the threshold for forgiveness either for PSLF or IDR (which I still have nothing on any website showing what my count is for that) nothing is going to happen until the litigation has been resolved. Is that true? Are we all stuck, waiting for the courts to make a decision?

Hi Shannon! Lots of great questions here.

I don’t think you are being ignored for IDR forgiveness because you are workign toward PSLF. There is some overlap between these programs, but one doesn’t preclude the other. There also isn’t an application for IDR forgiveness.

As for the Trump impact on these programs, there is a lot we don’t know yet. However, I’ve shared detailed thoughts on where I think the various student loan programs are headed in the next adminstration, and that might cover a lot of the questions you asked.

You last question nailed it. The Department of Education is taking over on tracking PSLF progress, and the notice you received is the heads up on the transition that is happening over the next couple of months.

Hi Tabitha,

It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate.

I’d suggest going with two strategies at once. First, I’d encourage you to file the borrower defense against repayment application. The Department of Education has a really good page on how to make your application as effective as possible. It will probably take you at least a few hours to get through the application, but if there is even a chance that it is successful, given the size of your debt, it is probably worth your effort.

Second, I’d suggest coming up with a plan to get out from under the debt if the borrower defense effort doesn’t work. The new SAVE plan can make monthly bills much more affordable and help borrowers on a tight budget. Additionally, if you’d like to talk with me about your loans, you can schedule a consultation.

Hi Julie,

Unfortuantely, I don’t have much to offer you in the form of good news. When you refinance the loan with a private lender, it pays off the old loan in full, which means the original debt is eliminated. There isn’t a way of undoing this processs once it has been finalized.

As you probably suspected, getting a refund on previous payments is much more difficult than getting forgiveness on an existing loan. That all said, in some cases the attorney general of your state may have sued or negotiated a settlement with the school and its possible some relief is avaialbe, though not likely. I’d encourage you to reach out to the attorney general’s office and to investigate if there has been any lawsuits with the college.