The burden of student debt can be felt even if you are not making your payments on time. Sometimes it occurs in between employment, and other times it occurs when unforeseen medical expenditures or rent increases. Additionally, the six-month grace period can go by in what seems like six blinks if you recently finished school. Your best course of action, however, is to get in touch as soon as possible, be straightforward, and have a plan to learn rather than panic when that first payment seems insurmountable.
Your loan servicer is the first person you should get in touch with, not a friend or relative who is “good with money.” They are in charge of handling your federal student loan, processing your payments, and maintaining a log of your past repayments. They are positioned to assist you in changing the way payback appears and feels, not merely to collect. Waiting too long can cause a tolerable problem to get out of control. However, taking early action is a really good way to safeguard your credit and mental capacity.
When it comes to federal loans, your servicer can help you navigate income-driven repayment plans, which are choices that link your monthly payments to your real income. Without placing you in default, those plans might drastically reduce your payment—sometimes to zero—if you’re just starting out and don’t make much yet. It is policy; it is not charity. Additionally, it exists for precisely the circumstance you can be in right now.
After losing her first job after graduating from college, a friend of mine called her servicer. She was taken aback by how direct the conversation was. She was expecting criticism. She received a plan instead. In less than twenty minutes, she was put on a new repayment plan that took into account her present income, including unemployment insurance. The strain on her chest subsided. She was not drowning, but she was also not off the hook.
| Situation | Who to Contact |
|---|---|
| Trouble with federal student loan payment | Loan servicer |
| Trouble with private student loan payment | Private lender |
| Need general financial guidance | School financial aid office |
| Facing default or delinquency | Loan servicer and financial counselor |
| Need temporary relief | Loan servicer (forbearance/IDR/deferment) |
The procedure is a little bit different if your loans are private. A federal servicer won’t be involved. Contact your loan provider directly instead, whether it’s Sallie Mae or another private organization. While many of them provide modified payment plans or forbearance, they may not have government-backed programs. Asking won’t tell you, and there’s no payment involved.
Stories that are remarkably similar keep coming up. Graduates put off getting in touch with anyone because they are embarrassed or confused, skip a payment, and become even more trapped. However, you can change that downward spiral into a stable staircase by getting in touch with your servicer as soon as possible. You might even find choices like forbearance (which pauses payments with interest) or temporary deferral (which pauses payments during hardship). These aren’t ideal, but they’re especially helpful in bad times.
The financial aid office at your school is another option that’s frequently disregarded. They won’t take care of your payments directly, but they can still provide advice. They can direct you to government resources or assist you grasp technical jargon or paperwork. Additionally, if your servicer isn’t providing you with clear answers, a second pair of knowledgeable eyes might be quite helpful.
In addition to your lender and servicer, think about seeing a nonprofit credit counselor. In addition to providing budgeting tools, debt repayment techniques, and occasionally even direct engagement with lenders, these groups are astonishingly successful in assisting individuals in assessing their entire financial picture—beyond loans. They are very adaptable allies, but they are not magicians.
Once default occurs, it starts a series of events. It may result in pay garnishment, withholding of tax refunds, harm to your credit score, and restricted future eligibility for housing or financial assistance. And you can prevent all of it. Not easily—but undoubtedly avoidable, particularly if you make that initial phone call.
Although these payback systems may appear impersonal in their form, actual individuals work behind the scenes. Don’t judge; they’re trained to help. Additionally, they frequently offer very clear and solution-focused counsel. That clarity may be grounding, whether they provide you consolidation advice, assist you with applying for forgiveness of your public service loans, or clarify the distinction between deferment and forbearance.
Policy developments over the last ten years have increased debtors’ alternatives, particularly through targeted forgiveness programs and IDR schemes. You can create a sustainable payback schedule that advances rather than detracts from your life and career by utilizing these resources.
I talked to a borrower who was recently married, juggling two sources of income, and wasn’t sure if she should file taxes jointly or separately because it might affect her IDR payment. Her servicer assisted her in simulating the payments under both scenarios in addition to explaining the ramifications. That degree of focus, especially in a federal institution, felt shockingly human.
Many borrowers enter adulthood with debt and aspirations in the same rucksack after graduating. When carried strategically, that burden grows lighter, but it doesn’t go away overnight. It’s not only about resolving a payment issue when you call your loan servicer. It’s about moving closer to control.
Borrower engagement will become increasingly more crucial as discussions regarding student debt continue in the upcoming years. Not because they make more money, but because they take action sooner, people who seek out, ask questions, and consider every morally and legally acceptable option frequently find themselves in a better financial situation.
So don’t wait if you’re having trouble. Your school, nonprofit counselors, your lender, and your servicer are not remote organizations. One call at a time, they are people, systems, and resources created to support your success.
