Shout out to our student loans for being the only ones from college who actually keep in touch! 🥰💌 But for real, we sure could use a 50-cent beer night on a random Wednesday at the campus watering hole. Just for old time’s sake. 🍻
If you’ve been waiting for the green light on a student loan approval program, unfortunately you’ll probably be waiting a while longer. ⏳ They’re working through the backlog, but it’s one big Kahuna.
Here’s Five Fast Facts on the student loan borrower backlog:
- ⏰ Waiting Game - Over 500,000 federal student loan borrowers are stuck waiting for approval on affordable repayment plans. As of late February, about 576,609 applications were pending, along with another 88,170 requests tied to loan forgiveness programs.
- 🎓 Adjustment Day - A lot of borrowers rely on income-driven repayment (IDR) plans to make their student loan payments more affordable. The plans adjust payments based on income and can forgive debt after 20 or 25 years. Still, no borrowers had their loans forgiven under these plans in February.
- 😱 Plot Twist - The good news: the backlog for repayment plans is shrinking. It’s down from nearly 1.4 million applications last summer to about 626,000 in January. The bad news: forgiveness requests are still stacking up. At this pace, it could take years (possibly close to three) to catch up.
- 🚌 Struggle Bus - The delays pile on more stress at a time when borrowers are already struggling. Around 9 million people were in default as of late 2025. Nearly half say loan payments are making it harder to afford everyday needs.
- 👋 Forgive & Forget - The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program offers a path to loan relief for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years. A newer buyback option lets borrowers catch up on missed months to reach forgiveness sooner. With over 42 million Americans carrying $1.6 trillion in student debt, these programs are more important than ever.
🔥Bottom line: Looking to put your dusty degree to good use? You might be tempted to fire up your laptop and crank out a new resume, but not so fast! In today’s world, resumes as we know it are so 2000-and-late. Head over to this article for our hot take on what employers are looking for instead.
Close to paying off your student loans?
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