How To Qualify For $6 Billion Of Student Loan Forgiveness

President Joe Biden (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Here’s how to qualify for $6 billion of student loan forgiveness.

Here’s what you need to know — and what it means for your student loans.

Student Loans

This week, the Biden administration agreed to cancel $6 billion of student loans for 200,000 borrowers. This student loan cancellation is another big win for student loan borrowers. Follow these 10 steps to learn how you can qualify for this major student loan forgiveness.

How to get student loan forgiveness

This student loan forgiveness involves borrower defense to student loan repayment, which is an Obama-era rule that enables student loan borrowers to get full student loan cancellation or partial student loan cancellation. To date, excluding this latest announcement, Biden has enacted $7.9 billion of student loan cancellation for 690,000 borrowers under borrower defense to student loan repayment and school closures. Follow these 10 steps:

1. Have you applied for borrower defense to student loan repayment?

2. If Yes, determine if you attended one of these approximately 150 colleges or universities. This $6 billion of student loan forgiveness relates to a settlement agreement of a class action lawsuit regarding student loan cancellation based on borrower defense to repayment.

3. If you attended one of these schools and applied for borrower defense to repayment, then you will get full student loan cancellation of your remaining federal student loans.

4. If you applied for borrower defense to repayment but didn’t attend one of these schools, then you will receive a decision on your application from the U.S. Department of Education based on when you applied.

5. What if you applied for borrower defense to repayment but your claim was denied? If you attended one of these schools, then your claim will be reinstated and you will get student loan cancellation based on borrower defense to repayment.

6. What if you haven’t applied for student loan cancellation based on borrower defense to repayment?

7. You can apply for borrower defense to student loan repayment online.

8. It’s free to apply, and the application will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

9. To qualify for borrower defense to repayment, you must have attended a college or university that you believe misled you in violation of state law.

10. Alternatively, you can qualify for borrower defense to repayment if your college or university closed while you were enrolled or shortly after you withdrew.

Student loans: next steps

Before this major announcement, President Joe Biden canceled $25 billion of student loans. As student loan borrowers await Biden’s decision on wide-scale student loan forgiveness, they also can apply for student loan forgiveness based on borrower defense to repayment. Biden is considering $10,000 of student loan forgiveness, but progressives in Congress are lobbying the president to cancel $50,000 of student loans. While Biden could announce a decision within weeks, temporary student loan relief ends on August 31, 2022. That means federal student loan payments restart beginning on September 1, 2022. Are you prepared? Now is the time to evaluate your best options for student loan repayment. Start with these popular ways to save money on your student loans: