PSLF

[lilypad1126]

My consolidation went through a few weeks ago and I got notice they received my PSLF application on 11/30. I'm missing one employer (short term job, only 7 months) but with my other employers I meet the 120 payments. I should probably follow up with that employer, but we parted on bad terms (b/c of them) so I'm a little hesitant.

I know 11/30 was like 10 days ago, but I keep checking my FedLoan acct to see if anything has been updated, haha. What I'm really hoping for at this point is that if I'm going to qualify, that they accept/grant my PSLF application prior to my next payment being due (which according to them is early March).

[gretchenindisguise]

Nov 23, 2021 23:23:15 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Nov 23, 2021 23:15:44 GMT -5 Mushe said:

bex1973 that’s awesome! How long ago did you submit? I’m so anxious for forward motion!

Here's my current timeline:
10/something... I snail mailed my pslf application
10/28 FedLoan states my loans are transferring.
10/29 FedLoan states they received my pslf application.
11/13 Mohela emails and states my loan transfer has started.
11/22 FedLoan gave me results that said I needed to fix an ecf and give me 60 days to do it
11/23 FedLoan states pslf employment approved and loans will be transferred back to FedLoans (I have 4 employers, one didn't have wet ink signature)
11/23 I submitted new ECF with wet ink signature

Quoting myself

12/13 - this morning during my ritual check I learned loans were gone from Mohela on their way back to FedLoans. Received a letter ij the mail today dated 12/3 that loans would be transferred back.

So some movement! And now more waiting, lol.

[bex1973]

gretchenindisguise, that's awesome! Now I'm going to log in to Mohela and check!

I was going to try to set up a FedLoans account this weekend but it slipped my mind because we were busy hosting family - I really need to do that!

[bex1973]

Mohela shows zero balance!!!! Hooray for movement!!!!! I'm going to set up that account tonight!

[kimmyo73]

Dec 14, 2021 8:56:55 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Mohela shows zero balance!!!! Hooray for movement!!!!! I'm going to set up that account tonight!

You can't see it but I'm happy dancing for you.

[bex1973]

Dec 14, 2021 9:05:38 GMT -5 kimmyo73 said:

Dec 14, 2021 8:56:55 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Mohela shows zero balance!!!! Hooray for movement!!!!! I'm going to set up that account tonight!

You can't see it but I'm happy dancing for you.

Thanks!! I am as well!!!

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 14, 2021 8:56:55 GMT -5 bex1973 said:

Mohela shows zero balance!!!! Hooray for movement!!!!! I'm going to set up that account tonight!

Yay!!!

[Mushe]

Exciting progress! I keep logging on to Mohela and FedLoan a few times a day, like that will help 😆

[lucky3]

Me too! I immediately checked my Mohela after reading here and it still shows a balance. My letter was date letter 12/3 so my fingers are crossed the transfer is soon!

[carriebear822]

Lurker here - Due to the waiver, we submitted the PSLF for my husband. He already had Direct Loans (1 subsidized/ 1 unsubsidized) since 8/2004 so we didn't need to consolidate, but he was in the wrong payment plan and his servicer was EdFinancial. He has been with a qualifying employer since 2006, but because of the wrong payment plan, he thought he would just die with his student loans. Here is a breakdown of his timeline thus far.

10/18/2021 - Submitted PSLF to FedLoan
11/10/2021 - Letter saying loan application was received (FedLoan)
11/12/2021 - Letter saying employment was approved (FedLoan)
11/29/2021 - Letter stating that loans were being transferred to FedLoan from EdFinancial
11/30/2021 - able to create Fedloan account, but couldn't any account balance information
11/30/2021 - $0.00 account balance at EdFinancial
12/14/2021 - Welcome letter from Fedloan and when logged in, able to see loans and was able to see payments towards PSLF (Covid forbearance payments)

None of the letters state any timeline about payment counts or when it might be forgiven.

I hope this helps a little bit.

[bex1973]

I was able to create an account! But there isn't anything there that I can see womp womp. Waiting game continues!

[kimmyo73]

My Navient account shows a zero balance. I don't yet have a payment due with FedLoan so I get a $431 reprieve this month for Christmas. WOOT!

Consolidation complete.

Next step is getting employers certified.

[pumpkin]

Yay for movement for everyone! It’s giving me hope since I have yet to hear a peep about my application.

[lilypad1126]

As of this morning, my new direct consolidation loan has been approved for an income driven repayment plan. I have no idea if it's the RIGHT plan, but hopefully under this waiver it doesn't matter. And, while they are reporting that they've received my PSLF application, there's been no movement on that. It's only been 2 weeks since they received it, so I think it's just a matter of being patient for awhile as things work their way through the system.

Regardless, I get super excited every time I get a new email/letter from them, haha. AND, I won't have to make a December or January payment (and depending on timing, maybe not one in february either). So I'll take the couple month reprieve.

[carrotsmakemefat]

Submitting my request as soon as I have my verification from employer !!!

[gretchenindisguise]

Payment pause extended until May 2022. www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-extends-student-loan-pause-through-may-1-2022

Hopefully most of us in this group are done by then and have officially already made our last payment! Now we just have to wait for the processing of applications to get to us.

[wildrice]

Dec 22, 2021 14:38:59 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Payment pause extended until May 2022. www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-extends-student-loan-pause-through-may-1-2022

Hopefully most of us in this group are done by then and have officially already made our last payment! Now we just have to wait for the processing of applications to get to us.

I am hopeful! STILL no more progress on mine. I am wondering if I need to call again after the holidays...

I am glad to see this anyway. My H and I were joking that instead of doing total student loan forgiveness, Biden will just keep pushing off the repayment indefinitely. So essentially forgiving the requirement that people actually pay on them. I would be thrilled. We're about to start aggressively paying down H's 107k balance so the longer it can avoid accruing interest, the better.

[HoneySpider]

My loans finished consolidating and so far I've submitted 2 of my 3 employers (the one I'm waiting on does not surprise me at all). About how long does it take for them to verify the employer and tell you how many payments you have? My payment history is choppy since I did some deferments while getting my doctorate and also had 2 different forbearances for economic hardship so I really don't know where I'm at and am anxious to find out.

[puppyluv]

I submitted my form on Nov 16th and never got a letter stating they received my form so I called yesterday to be sure they had my records. After a 2 hour hold, I finally got through and confirmed they did receive my forms. The rep said all the signatures looked good and it could take up to 120 days for action to be taken So just waiting for a while now.

[bex1973]

Still waiting here as well. I was able to create an account on Fed Loans but still see nothing there other than copies of the letters I got via snail mail. I think my loans are just stuck in limbo between the 2 servicers and from what I've read that process can take a bit. The repayment date push back brings a nice sense of relief that maybe I'll never have to make another payment!

[lilypad1126]

bex1973, I felt like I was stuck in limbo, too, when I was consolidating. That process felt like it took forever!

I'm glad to hear of the extended pause on repayments. Because I had FFEL loans until about 2 weeks ago, I paid on them all through the pandemic. I'm happily taking advantage of the paused payments now and hopefully everything will be process and my balance forgiven before May.

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 22, 2021 14:50:58 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

My loans finished consolidating and so far I've submitted 2 of my 3 employers (the one I'm waiting on does not surprise me at all). About how long does it take for them to verify the employer and tell you how many payments you have? My payment history is choppy since I did some deferments while getting my doctorate and also had 2 different forbearances for economic hardship so I really don't know where I'm at and am anxious to find out.

A few weeks for them to acknowledge receipt, then 3-6 more weeks until they tell you if they accepted it, and then months before your payment counts are updated.

[HoneySpider]

Dec 22, 2021 15:36:17 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Dec 22, 2021 14:50:58 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

My loans finished consolidating and so far I've submitted 2 of my 3 employers (the one I'm waiting on does not surprise me at all). About how long does it take for them to verify the employer and tell you how many payments you have? My payment history is choppy since I did some deferments while getting my doctorate and also had 2 different forbearances for economic hardship so I really don't know where I'm at and am anxious to find out.

A few weeks for them to acknowledge receipt, then 3-6 more weeks until they tell you if they accepted it, and then months before your payment counts are updated.

Yikes! Thanks for the info. They acknowledged them fairly quickly (within a few days) but good to know there are 2 more steps...guess I just figured they would accept and let you know the count around the same time.

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 22, 2021 15:53:21 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Dec 22, 2021 15:36:17 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

A few weeks for them to acknowledge receipt, then 3-6 more weeks until they tell you if they accepted it, and then months before your payment counts are updated.

Yikes! Thanks for the info. They acknowledged them fairly quickly (within a few days) but good to know there are 2 more steps...guess I just figured they would accept and let you know the count around the same time.

I wish it would be faster!

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 22, 2021 16:24:52 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Dec 22, 2021 16:09:57 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

I wish it would be faster!

Ok, I have a question. My H did the application, it was just like 2 pages, got his employers signature and faxed it. He set up an account via the PSLF website. What do we need to do now? I feel like neither of us really understand the process. He got an email that his account with PSLF is verified, but nothing about the application.

Yes - that's the correct form! Sounds like he's on the right path and is now just in the waiting period.

The only thing I would check is to see if his loans are all "direct" loans and if not to consolidate them. To check what types of loans you can go to studentaid.gov - click loan history and it'll state what type of loans they are. If they say "direct" you're good to go. 

You're not with FedLoan right? The process should be: 1) apply 2) FedLoan verifies/approves your employment certification form 3) FedLoan submits to have your loans transferred to them 4) they transfer (can take 60 days) 5) FedLoan approves/denies your PSLF application 

The steps may change a bit with the waiver and how it's all being applied, but that's roughly what you should expect.

[carriebear822]

Dec 22, 2021 16:24:52 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Dec 22, 2021 16:09:57 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

I wish it would be faster!

Ok, I have a question. My H did the application, it was just like 2 pages, got his employers signature and faxed it. He set up an account via the PSLF website. What do we need to do now? I feel like neither of us really understand the process. He got an email that his account with PSLF is verified, but nothing about the application.

When my H did his application, it was like 7 pages long (in Oct 2021). We had to send it to Fedloan Servicing, but he wasn't able to create an account until mid November with Fedloan. Fedloan is the only servicer processing PSLF application.

I don't know that there is a PSLF website that isn't tied to Fedloan Servicing.

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 22, 2021 17:01:02 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Ok, back with more questions, he is unable to create an account at Fedloan, any idea why that would be?

Because they're slow as molasses and inundated with thousands of applications right now. They probably haven't set it up and/or set it up correctly. Give it a few weeks and fingers crossed it'll work out.

I got a note that my ECF was approved on 11/23 and my loans would transfer (back...but that's another story) to fedloan. On 12/13 they disappeared from Mohela. On 12/21 my loan provider updated on the fsa website. As of today - they're still mia in the cloud. 

[bex1973]

Dec 22, 2021 17:09:42 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Dec 22, 2021 17:04:46 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Because they're slow as molasses and inundated with thousands of applications right now. They probably haven't set it up and/or set it up correctly. Give it a few weeks and fingers crossed it'll work out.

I got a note that my ECF was approved on 11/23 and my loans would transfer (back...but that's another story) to fedloan. On 12/13 they disappeared from Mohela. On 12/21 my loan provider updated on the fsa website. As of today - they're still mia in the cloud. 

OHH, ok, so once the review his application, they will move to fedloan and then he can create an account with fedloan? Thank you! Sorry, I feel like we should understand better!

That's what I did. I had gotten 2 letters via snail mail - 1 saying app was recieved and 1 saying my employer was qualified. When my loans disappeared for Mohela then I created the FedLoans account - I may have been able to do it before that but I didn't try until that point. Like gretchenindisguise mine are still floating in cybersapce somewhere.  It's really just a waiting game at this point - which makes this latest extension even more welcome.

[bex1973]

And mofongo, to be honest I'm not sure anyone really understands the process. For me it feels like this is too easy LOL

[gretchenindisguise]

It's a seemingly simple process riddled by bureaucratic red tape around many corners. And for years there was no way through the red tape for many of us. This waiver was/is an attempt to fix some of the nonsense and make it easier.

The luckiest ones seem to be those who consolidated numerous loans in Oct/Nov and have already been forgiven.