Financial Aid

Student Debt Relief

Federal Student Aid and the Biden-Harris Administration have announced loan forgiveness plans of up to $20,000 for prior Pell-Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for all other loan borrowers.

To be eligible borrower’s annual income must be below $125,000 (individuals) and $250,000 (married couples/head of households). If the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t have your income data – or if you don’t know if the U.S. Department of Education has your income data, the Administration will launch a simple application in the coming weeks.

Borrowers can view their loan balances and check their Pell Grant status by logging into their Federal Student Aid account online at studentaid.gov.

The Federal Student Loan payment pause will be extended one final time and will end on December 31, 2022. Borrowers should begin making plans to restart repayment in January 2023.

Please visit studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/ for the most up-to-date information.

If you would like to be notified by the U.S. Department of Education when the application is open, please sign up at the Department of Education subscription page.

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What loans are considered for forgiveness?

All federally-held loans are considered for forgiveness. These are typically Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct Graduate PLUS, Direct Parent PLUS, and Direct Consolidated loans.

When did the loans have to be taken out for forgiveness consideration?

Any federally-held loan which was disbursed (applied to your University billing account) prior to June 30, 2022, is considered for forgiveness. Any loans for the 2022-2023 academic year will not be considered for forgiveness.

How much may be forgiven?

All borrowers will be eligible for forgiveness consideration of up to $10,000.

If a student received a Federal Pell Grant while in school, they would be eligible for forgiveness consideration up to $20,000.

What are the income restrictions?

Forgiveness consideration is only eligible to individuals who earn less than $125,000 per year or couples/heads of households who earn less than $250,000 per year.

How do you know if you have received a Federal Pell Grant?

Any student aid recipient can check their loan borrowing and recipient of the Federal Pell Grant by logging into their account on the Federal Student Aid website using their FSA ID and password.

What does the “up to” in “up to $20,000” or “up to $10,000” mean?

Your relief is capped at the amount of your outstanding debt.
For example: If you are eligible for $20,000 in debt relief but have a balance of $15,000 remaining, you will only receive $15,000 in relief.

What do I need to do in order to be considered for loan forgiveness?

If the U.S. Department of Education has your income information on file, your loans will automatically be considered.

If they do not have your income information on file, they will be launching an application in the coming weeks to provide that information. Subscribe on the U.S. Department of Education website to be notified once this application opens.

What if I’ve made payments on my loans during the payment pause?

You can get a refund for any payment (including auto-debit payments) you make during the payment pause (beginning March 13, 2020). Contact your loan servicer to request that your payment be refunded.

How do I know who my loan servicer is?

Borrowers can log into the Federal Student Aid website using their FSA ID and password to determine who their federal loan servicer is.

Will the amount forgiven be taxable?

The American Rescue Plan temporarily exempts federal student loan forgiveness from federal taxation through 2025. However, state taxation may apply, so check your specific state tax laws when preparing your state taxes.