Anyone else feel like Fresh Start on student loans was a mistake?

I feel like I got played. They said there was a chance for forgiveness, but all that happened was my loans got shuffled between shady companies. One of them shut down for corruption, and now MOHELA, my current one, isn’t even allowed to handle the loans properly because of their own mess.

I got that email about forgiveness, but that went nowhere thanks to judges blocking it.

They said if forgiveness didn’t happen, payments would still be lower because of SAVE, but that’s about to disappear.

They promised PSLF would finally work right, but now it’s basically worthless again.

I feel like I’ll be stuck with crazy high payments again as soon as Trump makes a decision, and there won’t be a way out. I worked hard to fix my credit, and I don’t want to fall back into a hole.

I should’ve just left it in default. Feels like I got tricked.

At least now they can’t hit you with 24% collection fees and take 15% of your paycheck. Plus, you’re eligible for forgiveness under IDR plans.

For some people, it did work out. If they were on track for PSLF and got extra credit from the one-time adjustment, it was worth it. Fresh Start got their loans back on track.

If your question is about Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), you might want to check the dedicated section of this forum. You’ll probably get better advice there.

(If PSLF isn’t your main concern, feel free to ignore this.)

What happened to your credit score after Fresh Start?

Good points from everyone. I’ll think about this before making any decisions. Loans and taxes don’t just disappear, but some people have had success with forgiveness. Thanks for the discussion.

I actually got my loans forgiven… but now I’m paying them back again! Feels like a joke.

Quick question: If someone had undergrad federal loans, paid for 10 years, then defaulted for 4 years, did Fresh Start, and stayed in good standing for another 10 years, do they have 10 or 20 years of payment credit for IBR?

Asking for a family member who’s confused about their next steps after admin forbearance ends.

How can you regret getting a fresh start? You weren’t going to escape paying anyway.

That said, yeah, the whole thing with consolidation, SAVE, payment adjustments, and forgiveness has been a mess. But I don’t think they can walk everything back. It would be a legal disaster. We’re all stuck in this, just have to wait and see what happens.

@Tal
Why so sure forgiveness will never happen? Politics shift all the time. People outside this forum are already refusing to pay. Something will have to give eventually. Maybe not full forgiveness, but never say never.

@Bela
He’s saying it’s dumb to regret Fresh Start. It wiped out collection fees, stopped wage garnishment, and let people pick a manageable payment plan.

OP thinks default meant no payments, but default just means getting hit with extra fines and losing control over how you pay.

@Bela
You misunderstood. Nobody’s saying he was dumb for believing in forgiveness. But if you were in default in 2020, Fresh Start put you in a way better position. Staying in default would’ve been the worst choice, especially for your credit score. Even if payments get rough again, defaulting takes time.

@Tal
Honestly, we almost got away with not paying.

This was just a stunt to win votes. They should’ve just lowered interest rates to 2% and called it a day.

Bay said:
This was just a stunt to win votes. They should’ve just lowered interest rates to 2% and called it a day.

If you mean the current administration did this to get votes, I don’t agree. Republicans killed SAVE. Someone has to pay for the tax cuts they handed to the rich, and it looks like student loan borrowers are footing the bill.