As the first person in my family to graduate from college, I know how confusing it can be to navigate loans,
applications, and FAFSA. Especially as information is changing rapidly around loan repayments since the pauses
that
were
instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be hard to keep up.
I'm pulling together important resources and the most up-to-date information here to
make
sure you have everything
you
need to get financial support and understand how to navigate your finances after school. If you have trouble with
any of
these resources or navigating your federal student aid, contact my office in Lakewood at 303-274-7944 or submit an
inquiry by clicking here.
Recent News:
The Biden Administration announced in March, 2024 the cancellation of nearly $6 billion in federal student debt for thousands of public service workers. The 78,000 eligible public service workers include teachers, nurses and firefighters. Click here to learn more.
The Biden Administration has announced a three-part plan to help 153,000 working and middle-class federal
student loan
borrowers transition back to regular payment as pandemic-related support expires. This plan includes loan
forgiveness of
up to $20,000 for many people. Click here to see
if you qualify and for more info.
The Department of Education has launched a series of webinars to help students and their families better
understand
changes to the FAFSA and general questions about federal financial aid. Learn more and find the next dates by
clicking
here.
There have been updates to income-determined payment plans for your loans. To apply for an Income-Driven
Repayment Plan
or to learn more about the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, click here.
Check out Pro Tips for the 2024-25 FAFSA Form by clicking here.
For any issues with the new FAFSA Form in 2024-25, you can click
here for updates and resolutions.
What I'm Doing for Students and Borrowers in Congress
GETTING ANSWERS ON LOAN REPAYMENTS:
I sent a letter with my colleagues on the Future Forum Caucus to the Department of Education following the
announcement
that interest and student loan repayments would both resume in fall of 2023. We asked the Department of
Education
a host
of questions to ensure our federal student loan borrowers had an easier transition to resuming payments. We
got a
response from the Department of Education in February, 2024 which you can access by clicking here.
ADDRESSING A FAFSA GLITCH:
A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is now available to all college
applicants for
the 2024-2025 school year. Following the rollout I, alongside my colleagues, sent a letter to the Department
of
Education highlighting my concerns with a “glitch” in the new FAFSA that impacts our immigrant community.
All U.S.
citizen students are eligible for federal financial aid, regardless of their parents' immigration status. If a
student
is a citizen, but their parents are legal permanent residents or undocumented, the student is still required
to
submit
both the student and parent portions of the application. However, the new system is returning an error message
when
parents who do not have SSNs try to submit their portion of the application. Following our letter alerting
them to
the
glitch, the Department of Education announced a workaround to the issue, which you can learn more about by clicking here.
UPDATE: As of March 12th, 2024, the Department of Education announced that they have addressed this technical issue and parents without an SSN may now start the form for a student.
Resources for Current/Prospective Students
The Basics: Getting Started
Free information is readily available from:
High school counselors
College and career school financial aid offices (where you plan to attend)
Ready for your college journey? Let's look at what will happen in your senior year. Note: This timeline is
designed for
students heading to college in the fall, but you may be on a different schedule. Check with your schools and
any
special
programs you're applying to. Deadlines will vary.
Student aid and where it comes from
The first mistake many students and families make is assuming they can't afford college. Don't be discouraged
by
the
sticker price of college until you know how much financial aid may be available to you. Financial aid can
significantly
reduce the cost of college, but it can be tricky to estimate how much student aid you will get. Two factors
are
generally used to determine who gets student aid and how much they get: need and merit.
"Merit-based" aid is given to students who do something exceptionally well (like music, athletics, or
academics) or to
students who plan to have a career in an area that will benefit the community or the country (like teaching,
science,
math, and engineering).
"Need-based" aid is given to students who demonstrate a lack of financial resources to pay for college.
Some student aid programs use a combination of need and merit to determine eligibility.
It all starts with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). With this one application, you can
apply
for
financial aid at multiple colleges and from multiple funding sources (federal, state, institutional and
private
providers of assistance).
Federal Student Aid
Provides nearly 70% of student aid under Loans, Grants and Federal Work-Study Programs.
Available to all need-based applicants; some loans and competitive scholarships for non need-based.
Free information from the United States Department of Education:
Work-Study Programs allow you to earn money while in school:
It provides part-time employment while you are enrolled in school.
It's available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students with financial need.
It's available to full-time or part-time students.
It's administered by schools participating in the Federal Work-Study Program. Check with your
school's
financial aid
office to find out if your school participates.
For questions not covered by the Department of Education website, call the Federal Student Aid Information
Center at
1-800-433-3243.
States offer residents a variety of scholarships, loans, and tuition exemptions.
Consider prepaid tuition and college savings ("Section 529") plans: College Savings Plans Network.
Colleges and universities provide some 20% of aid, most need-based. Check specific university
websites and
the institution's financial aid office
when you apply for admission.
Your state government and individual colleges may also use the FAFSA to award financial aid. There is lots
of
money
available, more than most students think. The FAFSA takes you step by step through the questions you'll need
to
answer.
It was recently redesigned to be simpler and faster.
The Department of Education rolled out a new FAFSA application on December 30th, 2023. The new FAFSA or the
2024-2025
FAFSA has several key changes but the overarching goal will be to streamline the process for families
seeking
federal
financial aid. If you have issues with the new FAFSA form, please contact the Department of Educations' Ombudsman.
Here are some helpful
resources
as you complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
How Does the FAFSA Work?
The FAFSA asks questions about your family and collects information about what you and your parents earn.
Why
does the
FAFSA need this information?
The federal government aims to give money to students who need it most. Many colleges also use information
on the
FAFSA
to estimate your family's ability to pay for college and how much aid they may need to offer you.
Is the FAFSA for You?
Almost certainly! Filling out the FAFSA opens the door to almost all financial aid — including help from
the
federal
government, state government, the colleges' own funds, and many private scholarships. If you are an
undocumented
student
and or student who has received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), you can't receive federal aid
and
you
won't fill out the FAFSA, but there are funds available
from
many other sources (state aid, college or career/trade
school financial aid, or private scholarships).
Helpful FAFSA resources:
Check out Pro Tips for the 2024-25 FAFSA Form by click here
The Department of Education has launched a series of webinars to help students and their families better
understand
changes to the FAFSA and general questions about federal financial aid. Learn more and find the next dates
by click here
For any issues with the new FAFSA Form in 2024-25, you can click
here for updates and resolutions.
You can also reference this helpful
resource for assistance with your 2024-2025 FAFSA.
Resources for Former Students/Borrowers
After college, the federal government has ways to help you repay your loans. Eligibility depends upon the
type of
loan,
when it was made, and whether it's in default.
In March 2020, a COVID-19 pandemic-related pause for many federal student loan borrowers was implemented for
payments,
interest, and collections. The U.S. Department of Education's relief for student loans has now ended. The 0%
interest
rate ended Sept. 1, 2023, and payments restarted in October of 2023.
Repaying your student loans can be confusing and as many payments have been paused for three years, I want to
help
ensure a smooth transition for borrowers in our district.
Loan Repayment Plans:
Borrowers can pick a repayment plan based on their monthly payment on their income or that gives them a
fixed
monthly
payment. The types of repayment plans include:
Repayment plans based on your income are a strong choice to lower your monthly payments. For example, the
newest
income-driven repayment plan, the Saving on
a
Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, offers payments which are no more than 10%
of your discretionary income.
The lower your income—or the larger your family size—the less you'll pay each month.
The Fresh Start Program is a one-time, temporary program that offers borrowers a path out of default and restores their access to federal
student aid. Borrowers who access this program will be able to end collections on defaulted loans, remove default from
credit reports, and enroll in a repayment plan, including IDR plans.
If you don't pick a repayment plan, your loan servicer will place you on the Standard Repayment Plan (a
10-year
fixed
payment repayment plan). This plan might result in a higher monthly payment for you.
You can compare repayment plans here through the Department of Education Loan Simulator to find out which plans you're eligible
for.
Preparing for Repayment
Borrowers should make sure that they have an active and updated StudentAid.gov
account and updated contact information
on their loan
servicer's website.
Borrowers can reference StudentAid.gov to see what kinds of
federal
student loans they have, how much they
owe, and what
the status of their loan is. This will be available on your StudentAid.gov Dashboard.
Borrowers can also call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) for information about who their loan servicer
is
or
they can
find this information here.
Borrowers should check to see if they are eligible to have some or all of their loans canceled.
If You're a Nurse, Doctor, or Other Medical Professional
If You Have a Disability
If you repay your loans under an IDR Plan and have been in repayment for 20 or 25 years
Review important concepts, tips, and recommendations for repaying your student loans at Repaying Student Loans 101.
Applying For Income-Driven Repayment Plans:
Borrowers can apply for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan by clicking here.
To see a customizable walk-through of the application process for IDR, click here: LINK
If you were on the REPAYE Plan, you've been automatically enrolled in the SAVE Plan. There is no need
to
reapply or
request to change your plan. Learn how to check which
plan
you're on.
As borrowers enroll in an IDR plan, you'll have the option to grant the Department secure access to your
IRS
tax
information to make the application process faster and easier.
This will also streamline annual enrollment in IDR: Borrowers who grant the Department secure access
to
your IRA tax
information will be automatically recertified for an IDR plan each year without recertification.
Borrowers can expect enrollment to take several weeks for their application to be processed. Borrowers can
send in a
paper application if needed.
For more information about managing your student loans and potential relief options, see the Department of
Education's
website for borrowers, studentaid.gov.
Health care professionals working in designated practice areas or regions of the state may qualify for additional loan
repayment options, including primary care providers working in designated health professional shortage areas.
You may be eligible to receive repayment of qualified student loans if you practice in a Health Professional Shortage Area, delivering primary health care services, in a public or nonprofit clinic. The practice must accept public insurance
and offer discounted services to low-income, uninsured patients on a sliding fee scale.
Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment
Colorado residents with current RN licensure who serve as faculty members at qualifying schools or nursing may qualify
for loan repayment. You can find more information about the Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program by clicking here.
Rural Essential Access Provider (REAP) Loan Repayment Program
Rural health care providers at qualifying health care service sites in rural and frontier counties of Colorado may
qualify for loan repayment.
For more information on the REAP program, click here To confirm if your workplace qualifies as an approved site, click here here.
State Dental Loan Repayment Program
Some general and pediatric dentists and dental hygienists in public, nonprofit, or private dental practices that see
Medicaid, CHP+, and/or uninsured patients may qualify for student loan repayment. For more information here.
Interested in public service?
Federal assistance programs seek to encourage people to work in geographic areas or professions where there's
a
particular need (such as doctors in underserved areas); encourage underrepresented groups to enter a
particular
profession; and provide aid in exchange for services provided (such as military service).
AmeriCorps Education
Award
Volunteers who complete one year of service receive an education award for current higher
education expenses or to repay
student loans.
Indian Health Service
Scholarships for American Indian/Alaskan Native health profession students and loan repayment for persons
working in IHS
facilities.
