What is the approval rate for student loan forgiveness?

Asked by: Mr. Jettie Howell  |  Last update: February 6, 2025
Score: 4.6/5 (34 votes)

When President Biden first took office in 2021, approval rates for PSLF were dismal, hovering in the one to two percent range. Only a few thousand borrowers had actually received student loan forgiveness under the program.

What is the acceptance rate for student loan forgiveness?

Applications are approved at roughly the same rate. 2.3% of processed applications for PSLF had been approved since the program's inception. In the program's first year, 0.32% of applications were approved. Prior to 2021, 3.3 million student loan borrowers were eligible to apply for PSLF (though only 6.9% applied).

Has student loan forgiveness been approved?

First, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) approved 6,100 borrowers for $465 million through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Second, the Department approved nearly 85,000 borrowers for $1.26 billion in relief based upon borrower defense findings.

How many people were approved for student loan forgiveness?

This relief, which is the result of significant fixes that the Administration has made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, brings the total loan forgiveness approved by the Administration to over $175 billion for more than 4.8 million Americans, which includes $74 billion for over one million ...

What is the success rate of the public loan forgiveness?

The initial success rate was about 0.5%, and now it's above 1% only a couple of years later. You might think that's still ridiculous, but it shows the exponential path to a 50% PSLF success rate that will happen over time and lead to more student loan forgiveness on borrowers' loans.

What Everyone's Getting Wrong About Student Loans

18 related questions found

Has anyone actually gotten student loan forgiveness?

As of mid-July 2023, approximately 662,000 borrowers have qualified for forgiveness under the limited PSLF waiver.

How hard is it to get approved for PSLF?

To get PSLF, you have to get a total count of 120 qualifying payments. So you'll want to make sure that you're getting closer to your goal with each payment you make. Keep in mind, your payments don't have to be consecutive.

How will I know if my student loan will be 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.

What is the denial rate for public service loan forgiveness?

The later-adopted Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program also has a strikingly high ninety-four percent plus denial rate for the over 29,000 applications for debt relief filed and processed as of that date.

How many people are not paying student loans?

The Qualtrics/Intuit Credit Karma report found 20 percent of borrowers hadn't made any payments on their loans. The percentage was even higher, at 27 percent, for borrowers who made less than $50,000 a year.

How long will it take for my student loan forgiveness to be approved?

Once we've received all of the documentation needed to determine whether you qualify for loan forgiveness, you'll be notified. A final review of your account will be done to process forgiveness, which will take at least 90 business days.

Can you be denied student loan forgiveness?

If we determine that you're not eligible for loan forgiveness at this time, you'll be notified and will be provided with the reason(s) we determined you were ineligible. You'll then be required to resume making payments on your loans.

Will I be notified if my student loan is forgiven?

You'll be notified or see a $0 balance

From this point on, your days of making monthly student loan payments are over. That is, unless, only a portion of your debt is canceled. If you still owe a remaining balance, you will still continue to owe monthly payments.

Why were so many people denied PSLF?

Most denials are for not making enough qualifying payments.

What happens when you are approved for student loan forgiveness?

If you qualify for forgiveness of the full amount of your loan(s), you won't have to make any more loan payments. If you qualify for forgiveness of only a portion of your loan(s), you're still responsible for repaying the remaining balance.

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.

Do $0 payments count toward public service loan forgiveness?

Yes. Any month when your scheduled payment under an income-driven repayment plan is $0 will count toward PSLF if you also are employed full-time by a qualifying employer during that month.

Has anyone gotten public service loan forgiveness?

“Total relief through PSLF is now $62.5 billion for 871,000 borrowers since October 2021,” according to Education Department data released last week. “Prior to the Biden-Harris Administration's fixes to PSLF, only about 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness.”

What is happening with student loan forgiveness?

The Supreme Court ruled we could not implement pandemic-related student loan debt relief, so we can't use your application from 2022. The new proposed regulations are different, and we're currently working to finalize their terms, including who may receive loan forgiveness.

At what age do student loans get written off?

After at least 20 years of student loan payments under an income-driven repayment plan — IDR forgiveness and 20-year student loan forgiveness. After 25 years if you borrowed loans for graduate school — 25-year federal loan forgiveness.

Is loan forgiveness worth it?

In summary, the public service loan forgiveness program could be an efficient way to pay off your student loans if you satisfy the requirements needed and have a decent student loan balance. If you are trying for the PSLF program, it is important to communicate with you loan servicer.

Is it too late to get student loans forgiven?

You can still apply for Student Loan Forgiveness in 2024. Despite the Supreme Court striking down Biden's initial plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans, the president has introduced other programs that have provided $167.3 billion in student loan forgiveness to over 4 million borrowers.

What qualifies you for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

If you have worked in public service (federal, state, local, tribal government or a non-profit organization) for 10 years or more (even if not consecutively), you may be eligible to have all your student debt canceled.