What happens to your credit when student loans are discharged?

Asked by: Ashton Williamson Jr.  |  Last update: December 8, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (63 votes)

you no longer have further obligation to repay the loan, you will receive a reimbursement of payments made voluntarily or through forced collection, and. the discharge will be reported to credit bureaus to delete any adverse credit history associated with the loan.

Will my credit score go up if my student loans are discharged?

Your discharged loan will be reported to the credit bureaus and that will be the end of it. Your score should recalculate to reflect the closed account.

What happens when your student loans are discharged?

The terms “student loan forgiveness” and “student loan discharge” are used interchangeably for a good reason: They both mean you are no longer responsible for what is left of your student loan debt.

What will happen to my credit when my student loans are forgiven?

Credit mix: Those who qualify for loan forgiveness may see their scores drop by a few points if the student loan was their only installment loan, as their credit mix (i.e., the different types of credit accounts they have) accounts for 10% of their FICO Score.

Will I get a refund if my student loans are forgiven?

The actual policy is that you should receive a refund for every payment made after the 120th payment (which should be the ``effective'' date of forgiveness), on the *current* loan. (So, if you consolidated less than 10 years/120 payments ago, you're probably out of luck for a refund.)

Will Discharged Student Loans Increase My Credit Score? - CreditGuide360.com

17 related questions found

What would happen if student loans were forgiven?

Student loan debt slows new business growth and limits consumer spending. Broad student loan debt forgiveness may help boost the national economy by making it more affordable for borrowers to participate in it.

Why am I getting a refund from student loans?

If you are being handed money from your school, you need to know where it is coming from, because in almost all cases, a refund on a student account is because of an over payment on a loan.

Why did my credit score drop after student loans were removed?

Because credit scoring models tend to favor active accounts, once a student loan account is paid and closed, you may see a drop in your credit score, due to the resulting decrease in average age of your active credit accounts. However, this drop is typically temporary.

Does debt forgiveness ruin your credit?

The short answer is yes, credit card debt forgiveness can negatively affect your credit score. However, the impact depends on various factors, including your current credit score and the specifics of your debt settlement agreement.

Do student loans get deleted from credit report?

How Long Do Student Loans Stay on Your Credit Report? Late student loan payments will remain on your credit report for seven years. If the loan goes into default as a result, however, the timer won't go back to zero. The seven year period will be based on the date of the first missed payment, not the last.

What is the difference between loan forgiveness and discharge?

That means you won't have to pay back some or all of your loan(s). The terms “forgiveness,” “cancellation,” and “discharge” mean essentially the same thing. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is the most common way people apply to have their student loans forgiven.

How will I know if my student loans are forgiven?

Your student loan servicer(s) will notify you directly after your forgiveness is processed. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date on StudentAid.gov and with your servicer(s). If you haven't yet qualified for forgiveness, you'll be able to see your exact payment counts in the future.

Why are my student loans showing paid in full?

You may notice your former servicer has cleared your loan account. For example, your loan balance may come up as “paid in full” on your former servicer's website or on your credit report. This does not mean you've received loan forgiveness. This is part of the loan transfer process.

Can student loans ruin your credit?

If you make your monthly payments on time, student loan debt won't necessarily harm your credit score. On the other hand, if you are late on payments (considered "delinquent"), in default (late on payments for 270+ days) or see your debt go to collections, this can cause your credit score to drop.

How to remove student loans from credit report without paying?

If you have accurate positive or negative information on your credit reports, you typically can't get it removed. If you have inaccurate information about your student loans, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureaus and potentially get it removed.

What happens when a student loan is written off?

A write-off means you will never have to repay the loan. But you can't get more federal student aid (loans or Pell Grants) to pay for college after a write-off. To get more federal student aid, you would need to ask to have your loan restored.

Will my credit go up after student loan forgiveness?

In some cases, it might even hurt your score. Borrowers who made student loan payments on time and who get the full amount of their loans forgiven could see a slight bump in their credit scores, according to Martin Lynch, director of education at Cambridge Credit Counseling.

What are the cons of student loan forgiveness?

  • Con 1: Student loan forgiveness is an abuse of the loan system. ...
  • Con 2: Student loan debt forgiveness would disproportionately help rich or more financially secure college graduates. ...
  • Con 3: Discharging student loan debt would be only a temporary bandage for the much larger problem of inflated college costs.

Can I still use my credit card after debt settlement?

So, while you can use your credit card accounts after consolidating your debt in most cases, it could be a bit more difficult to open and use new credit cards — and the route you take to consolidate your debt could play a role as well. Learn how the right debt relief strategy could help you now.

Why did my student loan debt disappear?

If your student loan balance is suddenly showing zero, some of the many reasons could be: Your federal student aid or private student loans were forgiven. You've completed one of the student loan forgiveness programs. You qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), or.

Is 700 a good credit score?

A 700 credit score is considered a good score on the most common credit score range, which runs from 300 to 850. How does your score compare with others? You're within the good credit score range, which runs from 690 to 719.

How long does it take for a credit score to recover after paying off student loans?

The good news is that the decline is usually temporary. As long as you are using your other credit accounts responsibly and making all your payments on time, your scores should bounce back up within a month or two.

Do you get a refund if your student loans are discharged?

Depending on the discharge type, you may also receive a refund of some or all of the payments you made on the loan, and any adverse information related to your delinquency or default on the loan (if applicable) may be deleted from your credit record.

Why did I get a student loan refund check in 2024?

Why did my college send me a check? A refund check is money that is directly deposited to you by your college. It is the excess money left over from your financial aid award after your tuition and additional fees have been paid. Your college may send you a check or the money may be deposited into your checking account.

How do I check the status of my student loan forgiveness?

If you've been making payments toward PSLF, you can view your progress in your My Aid page by following these steps:
  1. Log in to your StudentAid.gov account.
  2. From your Dashboard, navigate to “My Aid.”
  3. Select “View Details” to open your My Aid page, then scroll down to PSLF/TEPSLF Payment Progress.