Federal student loan borrowers are re-entering repayment soon. ScholarNet points to resources to support you as you help them.
With the payment pause on federal student loans ending soon, student loan borrowers have been receiving communications from the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) as early as September. FSA has also asked servicers to reach out to borrowers.
Resources for Students
Most communications to borrowers have focused on a few key messages:
- Update your contact information, both on your loan servicer’s website and in your StudentAid.gov profile so you don’t miss important updates.
- To access FSA’s Loan Simulator or online applications, you’ll need your FSA ID account username and password. Now is a great time to retrieve your FSA ID so that you’ll be able to use those resources.
- Get information about your next payment. If you don’t know who your loan servicer is, visit your FSA dashboard. (Again, you’ll need your FSA ID username and password.)
- Consider what your circumstances will be when repayment begins, and reach out to your servicer if you need to make a change to lower your payments or request short-term relief.
- Submit requests (for example, repayment plan changes) to your servicer early to avoid processing delays and be better prepared to manage your loans once repayment ends.
A helpful article on FSA’s site you may want to share with borrowers is 6 Ways to Prepare for Student Loan Repayment to Begin Again. This provides links to helpful resources borrowers may need to take appropriate steps. To further prepare for repayment and learn more about repayment, payment plan options, deferments, and more, borrowers can reach out directly to their servicer or go to http://www.studentaid.gov/ for more information. COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid page also provides additional information and answers to common questions.
Resources for Schools
FSA knows the end of the payment pause will be heavily felt by your financial aid office, too. For that reason, they plan to schedule a partner summit for school financial aid professionals, with the topic of conversation being return to repayment. More information about the summit will be made available on the FSA partner portal. Watch for more information to follow.
As we see how the return to repayment progresses and determine ways we can help support you with this transition, we’ll provide more resources, as well. While we’re private loan processing experts, we understand that’s only part of your job. We’re here to partner with you for your overall success.