FAQs:

DOE Executive Order and FSA website issues

Q: What will happen if the Department of Education closes?

On March 20, 2025, the President signed an Executive Order that, among other things, directed the Secretary of Education to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States."  How and what happens next is unclear at this time as the Department of Education was created by an act of Congress and generally requires congressional action to close it.  We are continuing to monitor and will update members accordingly.

Q: Will the PSLF program go away?

The PSLF program is part of a federal law (the Higher Education Act) and can generally not be removed with an executive order. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will let our members know of any updates.

Q: Will the IDR program go away?

We are continuing to monitor the situation and will let our members know of any updates.  The  IDR plan is part of a federal law (the Higher Education Act). This generally cannot be removed with an executive order. The PAYE, ICR, and SAVE repayment plans are not part of a federal law and, as we understand it, are currently under review. We suggest maintaining your current repayment plan until there is more information available.

Q: My payment amount is too high, and I am unable to switch repayment plans at this time. What are my options? 

You may be eligible for a deferment or forbearance to temporarily postpone your payments. It is very important to note that periods of deferment or forbearance generally do not count towards your forgiveness progress. You can contact your servicer to request a deferment or forbearance and review your options.

Q: The Federal Student Aid (FSA) website seems to be working, but it is taking very long to load information. When will the website be working correctly again?

Unfortunately, the website may be having technical difficulties right now. We recommend to attempt to sign in later today. If it allows you to log in and obtain the necessary paperwork and loan information at that time, please send that to GradFin. If the website is still not working correctly or efficiently, we recommend to keep trying every day or so at different times. There may be higher volume than normal on the FSA website. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will let our members know of any updates.

Q: It is time to recertify my IDR plan. How can I do that if the Department of Education is shut down?

The servicers are starting to announce that all IDR plans, whether you’re on SAVE, IBR, ICR, or PAYE, will have their recertifications extended due to the inability to fill out the IDR application. This will take time while the servicers complete this task. There could be the possibility that your higher payment, due to not recertifying your IDR plan in time, will still be due. If you’re able to make that payment towards your respective forgiveness program, then we recommend to make the payment while the servicers are updating accounts. If you’re not able to, then a forbearance or deferment would be the next option to make sure the account is current. You may choose to either pay the higher payment for forgiveness to process or request a forbearance or deferment to pause payments. That will not count towards forgiveness. If your IDR payment has not adjusted to what it was prior to the increase, please let us know. We might have to reach out to the servicers to review the process on adjusting your account or make sure it is adjusted.

Since the IDR application is not available online, we can complete the paper application if you would prefer. The paper application can be submitted if your IDR due date is not extended. GradFin experts can walk you through the application’s questions and help you collect any necessary signatures using DocuSign. We will need any applicable proof of income before sending the document to your servicer.

Q: It’s time to complete a new PSLF application as well to backdate payments. How can I do that when the Federal Student Aid.gov website’s online application is down?

You can complete a new PSLF application via the paper submission process. You can submit the paper application now if you do not wish to wait for the website application to become available. We will need your employment information for this form. We will manually send a DocuSign email request to you and your employer which once signed we will send to Federal Student Aid.

The qualified payments are backdated from the last signed PSLF application to the new signature date.

Q: What should I be doing in the meantime?

Pay your student loans (if applicable) and keep monitoring any notifications FSA or the servicer sends you, since we cannot complete any applications or may not be able to view your account at this time. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will let our members know of any updates. You may call us at 844-GradFin (844-472-3346) Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm EST.

Q: I am eligible for forgiveness right now. How can I apply to have my loans discharged for PSLF?

Congratulations, you’re at the final step to submitting for your loans to be forgiven. Since we can’t complete the PSLF application online, we do have a paper form. We will help you fill out the form, obtain the signatures, and then send to FSA for processing.

Q: My loans aren’t on an eligible repayment plan for PSLF or IDR forgiveness. How do I get on a qualifying plan?

At this time, for PSLF, the standard 10 year non-consolidated loans will still count towards PSLF forgiveness. It is generally a higher payment amount since it is based on your loan balance and interest rate. You can make qualifying payments for PSLF while we wait for the IDR applications to be available.

For IDR forgiveness, you will need to be on an IDR plan for qualified payments, and at this time, we are waiting for the applications to become available again. Our recommendation is to continue making your monthly payment, and if you’re not able to afford that payment, you may wish to consider applying for a deferment or forbearance.

We are continuing to monitor the situation and will let our members know of any updates.

Q: I just graduated, and my loans are in grace. How can I complete the consolidation to bypass the 6-month grace period?

You have two options. You can fill out a paper consolidation application, but it’s lengthy, and you will need to know the exact loan information. You may also choose to wait and see if the application becomes available online again.

If you would like to go the paper route, please make sure you are able to sign into your servicer’s website, so we can fill out the specific loan detail information.

Q: My loans are on the SAVE IDR repayment plan, which means my loans are in forbearance. How can I switch to a different repayment plan so I can continue to make qualifying payments for my respective forgiveness program?

At this time, you are not able to fill out or submit an IDR application to request a new plan. A new IDR plan is the only eligible repayment plan for PSLF/IDR forgiveness. The forbearance will remain on the account until the applications are available on the student aid website.