Consolidation into the Direct Loan program may allow borrowers with FFELP loans to take advantage of repayment plans or forgiveness options created solely for Direct Loans. It's important to understand and carefully consider all factors.
Don't fall victim to companies that promise to fix your student loans if you give them control over your account. Don't pay to enroll in a payment plan that's available for free to all borrowers with federal student loans.
You may be eligible to temporarily postpone your student loan payments through an administrative forbearance. This option to postpone payment is available to individuals living in designated disaster regions. Federal and private education loans may qualify for this relief.
To check if your area qualifies, visit fema.gov for a list of declared disasters. Select the applicable disaster declaration and review the designated areas.
Learn about Income-Based Repayment (IBR), which may lower your payments based on income and family size. Or find out if deferment or forbearance is right for your short-term payment postponement needs, and explore loan forgiveness and consolidation.
Find out about our Interest-Only, Extended Term, and Rate Reduction programs, which may be available depending on your lender's loan terms as well as you or your cosigner's financial situation.
Delinquency occurs when you don't make your loan payments on time. Your loan is considered delinquent when payment has not been made by the day it is due.
Being delinquent on your loans may be a serious situation that might lead to serious consequences to you as the borrower or cosigner.
Delinquency can be reported to consumer reporting agencies, which may impact your credit score.
Increase in your loan balance may occur with the assessment of late fees and returned payment fees, if applicable.
Potential loss of your loan benefits/repayment incentives.
Student loans are considered in default depending on the type of loan:
Direct and FFELP – Typically when the loan reaches 270 days delinquent.
Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) – When the loan reaches 120 days delinquent.
Private Loans – Refer to your promissory note.
Defaulting on your federal or private loans may result in serious consequences to you as the borrower or cosigner.
The loan will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Education or guarantor (as applicable), who can report your default to all nationwide consumer reporting agencies and may impact your credit score.
The entire balance is immediately due and your account may be assigned to a collection agency.
Your student loan debt may increase because of late fees, capitalized interest, collection fees, and other costs associated with the collection process.
The U.S. Department of Education or guarantor (as applicable) may garnish your wages or offset your state and federal tax refunds and other payments made by the federal government to you. This means they can take your federal and state tax refunds or a portion of your disposable income.
You lose eligibility for additional federal student aid and repayment options such as Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, deferment, and forbearance.
The U.S. Department of Education or guarantor can take other legal action against you.
Immediate Full Repayment – After default, the entire loan balance will become due immediately rather than just the monthly payments that you have missed.
Additional Credit Bureau Reporting – The charge-off of your loan may be reported to the consumer reporting agencies. The charge-off and any prior delinquency may appear on your credit report for up to 7 years from when the delinquency began.
Navient Recovery Referral – Your defaulted loan may be assigned to Navient's Recovery Department in order to resolve the balance.
Collection Agency Referral – Your student loan may be referred to a collections agency. While at the agency, collections activities will take place to recover your balance in full and your loan will continue to accrue interest.
Attorney Referral – Loans not resolved may be reviewed for referral to a collection attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
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Your payment may be allocated and applied differently depending on the status of your loan and if you have multiple loans that are combined into one billing or loan group. You can also look up terms in our Payment Glossary.
You may be able to deduct interest paid on your eligible student loans on your federal tax return. When it comes to relaying information to consumer reporting agencies, we’re committed to the highest industry standards.
There are a variety of student loan benefits available to members of the armed forces. We encourage you to learn about them and contact our Military Benefits Team for assistance.
We're currently making some updates to our systems this weekend. During this time, access to your online account and our automated phone system may be temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.
It's official! We're pleased to be your new student loan servicer and are committed to providing you a first-rate customer experience. Remember, not much has changed. You'll even be able to use the same user ID and password you used at Navient to log into our website. Learn more about MOHELA and get answers to frequently asked questions.
We're glad you're here and value your trust. Take a moment to review our privacy policy to understand how we protect your information.
We encourage those with federal loans to visit StudentAid.gov for the latest information about debt relief and qualifications.
If you're a federal loan borrower, you may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Contact our public service specialists or go to StudentAid.gov to learn about PSLF and other programs - such as the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF).
Note: PSLF is not available on private student loans.