Have you heard about the Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan? It is happening! We know there has been much discussion in the news and on social media about it, and a lot of it was speculation-but we here at the Financial Aid Office want to be sure you have accurate and timely information on the application, the process, and next-steps.

The only way to apply for the debt forgiveness program is by going to www.studentaid.gov and completing the application (direct link: https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application). This is all processed and handled by The U.S. Department of Education-at no time should you be giving any information to outside organizations nor providing any information over the telephone. Your loan servicer would never call you to ask questions.

Please be aware, you may be contacted by scammers-saying they can help you with the debt relief process, forgiveness, and cancellation. Please note: You never have to pay money for any assistance from the federal government. No information should be provided to anyone (online or otherwise) outside of www.studentaid.gov for both receiving federal student aid and this debt relief processing.

 

How much help can a former borrower receive?.

• If you had ever received federal Pell grant funds while attending college, you could potentially qualify for up to $20,000 in student loan debt-relief assistance (if all other requirements are met).
• If you did not receive the federal Pell grant while enrolled in college, you could potentially qualify for up to $10,000 in student loan debt-relief assistance.

 

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Have borrowed Direct federal loans and the loans must have been disbursed prior to June 30, 2022.
• Income requirements of $125,000 a year for a single individual, or $250,000 for married couples.

 

*If your direct federal student loans have already been paid in full, you will not be reimbursed for previous payments.

 

After You Apply:

• You’ll receive an email confirmation.

• The U.S. Department of Education will review your application.

• The U.S. Department of Education will contact you by email if they need more information.

• The U.S. Department of Education will notify you once your application is approved.
• Your loan servicer(s) will apply the debt relief automatically and notify you.

 

The deadline for the application is currently Dec. 31, 2023-HOWEVER, we highly encourage and recommend that you complete the application as soon as possible. It should only take about 5 minutes to complete, and no log-in is required. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or need any help with anything.

If you don’t want debt relief, you have until Nov. 14 to opt out. Here’s how:

If you would like to opt out of debt relief for any reason, including because you are concerned about a potential state tax liability, contact your loan servicer no later than Nov. 14 and tell them that you are not interested in receiving one-time student debt relief.  Don’t know who your loan servicer is? Log into www.studentaid.gov, click “My Aid,” and select “View loan servicer details.” You also can call us at 1-800-4-FED-AID and we will connect you with your servicer. If you have multiple federal student loan servicers, you only have to tell one of them that you don’t want debt relief.

Note: The U.S. Department of Education will never call you. They will never email you to ask for information to be sent to them via email. Do not give anyone on email or on the phone your FSA ID/password or any other identifying information. They will never ask you for it via phone, mail, or email. All applications and any follow-up (if applicable) would be done directly at www.studentaid.gov, and any emails from the U.S. Department of Education would just be informative and provide additional information.

Need help with this process or feel more comfortable completing it with a member of the Financial Aid team? We will host sessions for questions/assistance. Please keep an eye on your campus email for more information. If you need assistance, please contact us at faoffice@beloit.edu or by phone at 608-363-2663.