The federal student loan system is a mess right now.
“Unprecedented uncertainty,” says Beth Akers, a higher education researcher at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
“Total disarray,” says Michele Zampini with the left-leaning Institute for College Access and Success.
The Education Department is being cut in half. Here’s what’s being lost
They’re talking about the fact that 8 million federal student loan borrowers are waiting for the courts to decide if their repayment plan is legal at the same time another 9 million are late on their payments and may be plunging toward default. All while the federal office that oversees student loans has been cut in half, and may be moving to a different federal agency.
NPR has spent the past few weeks catching up with student loan experts and asking the Trump administration for clarity on some of borrowers’ biggest questions.
Here are six takeaways from our effort to clear up some of their confusion.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/31/nx-s1-5343770/trump-student-loan-forgiveness