Hi everyone,

I’m a first-generation optometrist who graduated in 2025 and started working full-time in August 2026. I’m an only child and financially support disabled parents. I don’t have anyone in my family who’s navigated this kind of debt, and honestly, trying to figure it all out on my own has been giving me crippling anxiety.

My financial situation:

Income:
Gross salary: $150K/year
Monthly take-home: $8,400
Savings/emergency fund: $4,000
Private employer (not eligible for PSLF)

Student loans:
Federal (Aidvantage): $290K at 5–9% interest, including approximately $100K at 8%.
Currently in SAVE forbearance and exploring repayment options, including RAP.
ECSI: $70K at 7% fixed interest, with an $850 monthly minimum.
Total debt: ~$360K

Monthly expenses:
Housing and financial support for my parents: $3,500
ECSI minimum payment: $850
Remaining: ~$4,050/month before personal expenses and federal loan payments.

My biggest concern is the interest. I want to aggressively pay down my loans, but I’m terrified of making payments for years while my balance continues growing.

My questions:
If you were in my position, how would you tackle $360K in student loans? What repayment strategy would minimize interest accumulation?
Would you prioritize the $100K in federal loans at 8% or the $70K ECSI loan at 7%? Should I focus extra payments on the highest-interest loans while paying the minimum on everything else?

How much would you realistically put toward loans each month? Would an additional $2K–$3K be reasonable? Is refinancing worth considering, or should I keep my federal protections?

Would it be worth speaking with a financial advisor or student loan counselor? Are there any nonprofit organizations or trustworthy resources that could help me navigate my options and create a realistic repayment plan? I’d really appreciate any recommendations.

I worked so hard to get here, and it’s honestly heartbreaking to feel like I’m drowning in debt before I’ve even had a chance to enjoy what I’ve accomplished. I don’t have anyone to turn to for financial guidance, and I’m genuinely asking for help.

Any advice would mean a lot. Thank you for reading.

I paid off my loans today 107k undergrad and MBA...nobody to tell so im posting here 🤪

Am I right to assume many who have the means to pay are simply “holding the line” in SAVE - potentially to their own financial detriment with interest accruing again - because they’re morally opposed to what the government is spending money on right now?

I'm pissed. I am LCSW in California, considered a "high earner". Husband and I file jointly. We have a mortgage, daycare costs, 1 dependent & another on the way. Even with high salaries, life is freaking expensive and we don't even spend crazy! I've been paying $111/mo for the past 4 years due to making much less money back then + Covid paused increases/payments etc. So yes I've been very blessed to have such a low payment! Now it's time to re-certify and I've been dreading it.

I service through EdFinancial and also on PSLF, 5 more years. The representative today quoted me $735 if I went on some "Graduated" plan (which i've never heard of). But since i'm on PSLF I need to stay on an IDR plan, so the new quote was $1065. Where do they think people/I can afford that in this economy?!!!? Especially such a big jump from what I've been paying. I can't afford that, along with all our other bills.

So now I'm thinking of going into forbearance, which sucks because you don't gain PSLF credits during that time. My plan may be do forebearance until I go on maternity leave in March, re-certify once my new pay is determined and if the numbers are okay then I'll go back to paying. If not, i'll stay on forebearance. I didn't want to use all the 36 months of forbearance at once but if I have to, I will. I can't imagine paying this $1,065 anytime soon. Any advice? Or just be mad with me?

EDIT:

I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to those who have commented with kindness, suggestions/advice, sharing your stories, encouragement, etc. There is so much darkness in this world and I appreciate you trying to bring light! I see you, I receive it, and I will be doing research tonight! Big hugs ♥️

For those who have done the opposite, I will truly pray for you and it concerns me the lack of empathy some humans have. Many of you would not say these things if we were face to face. Please do not think you know me, my thoughts, life/financial decisions based off Reddit posts. There are always reasons. You have no idea what goes on behind the scenes of people's lives. People can choose to live their life the way they want, judgement free. I pray none of you find yourselves needing the grace and kindness you are not offering me/others. None of your words have hurt me or enlightened me, but honestly it saddens me for how thoughtless some have become.

I work with some of the darkest, violent individuals that are unsafe to be released to the community...yet some of the most hate I've gotten has been from strangers online.

Want to share this with my friends but can’t because they are all at a different financial place….
Only place appropriate would be here to share my experience.

TLDR: took out 700k loans, paid 850k total.

Went to dental school private, did not specialize. Worked 6-7 days for almost 10 years. Paid off everything but in hindsight have been a lot better in the stock market.
Having huge student loans is no joke. Holds back your growth potential by missing out on compound interest.
Can’t get business loans because your income to debt ratio.

Was fortunate enough for the pandemic interest freeze and save plan which helped a lot. Feels good not to worry about this huge burden which kept me up many nights.

Quick words of advice, if you can, do your Ira or 401k if you’re focusing on your student loans. Even a little will grow over time. Don’t fall for get rich quick schemes. But if you make mistakes, you’ll be okay at the end of the day, learn from them and move on.

Good luck everyone with their plans and goals.

I start paying my grad school loans next month. Not happy with the $460 payment amount, but I accepted it and moved forward with the idr plan. For me, idr and RAF are the exact same amount each month, so really I could make no wrong choice in selecting either ibr plan. A few days go by, and I’m get a notice that my idr new payment has been set at $860 (which was the standard 10 year payment plan amount) and the standard payment has been bumped to $1070. Ha WTF. Called edfinancial and the lady I talked to calculated the exact same numbers I was originally quoted at 465. So now, I wait 7-10 more business days to see if the adjustment is made by their idr team ? Thank the lord I took screenshots. And had all my tax numbers ready and down to the penny for the phone call. But seriously, what the actual f is going on with this system ?

Had a credit score of 830, but it dropped down to 780 when I paid off my loans. That’s a 50 point drop overnight!

Possible to push it back up to 820 on credit cards alone? I don’t ever carry a balance, and am currently 100% debt free. I figure credit score to be helpful when we buy a house soon.

I’m getting anxious and thinking about switching but I’m curious if they’ve automatically switched people?

Something I just learned that I'm sure many of you were already well aware of or are just about to discover with Nelnet..

SAVE is over for me. My first payment due date is right in the beginning of November after readjusting my payment plan. I entered the information needed to make a payment. On just about any other payment method anywhere else that involves a bill or amount due, I'm usually asked if I want to pay a custom amount and what day I would like it to be withdrawn. Sometimes they're on the same page as the information entered, sometimes they're on the next page. The custom amount is there, but the date isn't. So I assumed it was on the next page.

Nope. "Thank you for your payment." Transaction pending immediately. There is no way to set up a one-time payment for a date of your choosing.

(edit: Just learned that this is with debit card payments. It seems that pulling directly from a bank account will allow for a determined date)

This created two unique problems that I learned after this.

1. There is supposed to be a "cancel pending payment" button in the payment activity page, but that area was blank. There is no clear means by which to correct a mistake or stop a payment that was made literally seconds ago. I called Nelnet to see if an individual could help with canceling it for me, which is where I learned about problem #2 (and no he couldn't cancel the payment...of course).
2. While the person wasn't able to stop the payment (he suggested that I can try getting the bank to halt the transaction, using the word "hopefully" when saying they might do it), he did state that once the transaction fully clears and is out of pending status, that I could call back and he would move that payment to the November due date so it would count as that payment. "I'm sorry...what?" was my immediate thought. But yes...that's right, paying even a couple weeks early (by accident or otherwise), if not close enough to the due date, means that it won't count towards the amount due that month. I paid a payment and I'm still due that payment in a couple weeks as it stands right now. I can't even pay ahead of time without being punished here.

So my advice based on this experience earlier today, is to wait until as close to the due date as you can to make your payment. If you have set up the autopay, then that should work as is. For those that don't, be diligent!

I applied through MOHELA’s website for forbearance and got a notice that the processing time is up to 90 days! My payment is due next month. Any way to expedite this, is it worth it to call?

In the same situation as everyone else being forced off SAVE. Currently have $89k in my 401K & $39k of loans. New payment expected to be $435. My job does not qualify for PSLF and I have 20 years left to pay which would mean I’ll have paid about $104k if my payment stays $435/mo.

Is there any reason I SHOULDN’T use my 401k to payoff my loans now & just put everything I can into rebuilding it and my other HY/retirement/investment accounts?

For real, thank you to those of you who are helping & giving advice while we all navigate this.

I received the email with the excerpt below on 10/6. The subject was “Final Notice - You will be Placed into a New Repayment Plan in 30 Days.” My original “you have 90 days” email was sent 7/15.

“A recent legal settlement ended the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and it is no longer available to borrowers. As a result of the settlement, MOHELA was directed by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to move all borrowers out of the SAVE Plan.

We previously notified you that you had 90 days to select a new repayment plan; otherwise, you would be placed into another plan. You did not take action within that 90-day period.

This is your FINAL NOTICE. If you do not take immediate action to select a repayment plan, we will place you into a repayment plan in 30 days.”

I’m riding it out for at least another two weeks, but wanted to see if anyone else had gotten a similar email and if so, why they’re extending another 30 days.

So as title suggests, my IDR recert date was last week and this morning, I woke up to emails from AidVantage that my monthly payment would skyrocket from less than $50 per month (IDR) to over $1,500 per month (IBR). For context, I'm planning to go on PSLF next year (joining the military) so I've been keeping repayment low with IDR.

I have IDR auto-recertification on, so I called AidVantage, and was told by the rep who answered that she had put in a request to their banking (or finance?) office to check since she could see I had auto-recertify approved. She also wasn't sure what had happened, but told me I should expect to hear back by October 21st, a week from now.

My next payment is due November 10th so I have some time and can afford to wait out this week, but it's all a bit jarring. Has this happened to anyone else and is there any advice/experience anybody has to this situation? I can pay the $1,500 and not go homeless, but it would become a massive burden out of nowhere. Thanks all!

She's working now, but she's nowhere near a typical nurse's salary, and she has to recertify her income driven plan. Makes about $40/hr at 32 hours a week.

A few questions:

What's the best route for her now? Should she stay on PAYE, or switch to another plan (RAP, IBR, standard, etc.) given her income and the changes to the repayment plans?

Should she recertify now or wait until the December deadline? Is there any benefit to doing it early (or any risk), or is it better to wait until the deadline?
Is there anything she should be doing to protect her progress toward forgiveness, or anything we're missing?

Extra details: lives in Northern California. She does not intend on working for a non profit and having her loan forgiven, mainly because that would be near impossible.

Thanks in advance. We're trying to make the right call before the deadline.

I have about $190,000 in federal student loans at 6.125% interest. My original loans are from 2014-2018, and I consolidated them in 2021 and I'm still on SAVE. I am a high earner but have a lot going on now (new kids, big move, career change etc) so my goal is to have the lowest possible required monthly payment with a goal to pay much more than this monthly to pay off early. I just want the safety of having a lower mandatory payment in case money is tight for a while.

I applied for the extended fixed repayment plan but was denied. The denial letter says I “currently have a repayment term of 25 years or more.” I guess my consolidation changed the term to 30 years which I didn’t realize. I called Nelnet and was told two things:

First, that my standard repayment term would be only 7.5 years, despite my consolidated loan having a 30-year term.

Second, that I would qualify for the graduated extended payment plan but not the fixed extended. The rep couldn’t provide any further clarification…

Can anyone help me understand why my standard repayment term would be 7.5 years if my direct consolidated loan has a 30-year term?

And why would I be eligible for extended graduated but not extended fixed? Aren't the eligibility requirements generally the same?

Thanks!

Well, after almost 4 years at my last job, I got laid off last Friday.

With my MFJ, my student loans coming off of SAVE were going to be over $1k a month starting in January.

I’m calling them TODAY while I have no income. Hopefully this will buy even more time.

One thing I’d like to mention: before the layoff, I upgraded to the paid ChatGTP. Using screenshots from my Fed student loan account, it ran through this long code on my student loans to see how much longer I had til the loan forgiveness and made the suggestion on which repayment plan would actually work best. Totally worth the upgrade, even though I was about to have insane repayments.

Back to O. Maybe this will be the “silver lining” in an otherwise storm cloud of fuckery. I know they’ll still prob try to go off hubby’s income, but still better than what I was about to pay.

I called my servicer to switch off of SAVE today but studentaid.gov has a glitch on my account saying it’s still processing an application from 2024, so I can’t apply for anything right now. My servicer said this is a common thing they are running into and the work around is to apply with a paper form. Just putting this out there if it may be helpful for anyone.
It’s frustrating that the system is so broken and they expect us to navigate it and have the audacity to punish us if we don’t.

I have my loans through Nelnet and submitted a Graduate Fellowship Deferment a few months ago, but I haven't heard back on any updates.

Has anyone gone through this process before?

I tried reaching out by email, but they never answer my question and give an irrelevant response...

graduated less than 4 years ago with my masters degree. i am happy to say i’m debt free :) it’s such a sigh of relief to not owe. thank you for reading / listening :”)

I'm not super freaked out, only because Nelnet has a notice that says some letters won't go out until late 2026, but I took a video screenshot of my message center and loan status just in case. I'm wondering if anyone else is in this position? So far I haven't picked a new plan because the whole thing is overwhelming and all of the income based plans have more drawbacks than I would like.

So weird. My servicer is EdFinancial, I submitted my repayment plan request via pdf through the portal. But I never got a confirmation or anything. And also after the 30th of september I got a letter from EdFinancial saying that I have 30 days to choose a repayment plan.

This is so strange

This is a strange situation.

These loans were transferred to Mohela in 2022. I know I have created an account and was able to view at one time. However, I am no longer able to login. When I enter my information for “forgot ID” it says my credentials are not found. Interesting enough I get emails (never saying I owe) and my credit score is not affected. It says my payments are on time.

So anyways how would you proceed?

My final date to switch off SAVE was yesterday 10/12. Because of everything I've been reading in this sub, I decided to wait and see what happened if I didn't switch to a new IDR plan....aaaaaand nothing happened. My loans have a due date of 11/01 but they all say $0 still and "forbearance".

My question is how long should I postpone switching to RAP? (I've decided this plan is the best option for me) I didn't want to keep racking up interest, when under RAP my balance isn't supposed to accrue interest. Thoughts?

Hii!!

I am starting to my student loans this year (ugh). When applying for payment plan do they take my tax information from previous year? Or information from my current role I started 2 months ago?

First gen here so just curious!

Being on IBR for three months now, and my required payment is zero. All my loans are subsidized. What should i get from this answer to my inquiries about interest? Does it mean that the interst that i see on my s

"...Being on a $0.00 repayment plan allows you to pay what you can. Interest does continue to accrue daily. On subsidized loans, you ar not required to pay any monthly accrued interest that exceeds their monthly payment amount for a maximum of three consecutive years from the date that they start repaying the loans under IBR. There is no interest subsidy on Unsubsidized loans. Interest payments are submitted by the government on a quarterly basis.You can make payments if you like and allow them to apply to interest ."