How do I go about asking for deferment?

[Cepbush106]

I just got my first bill for student loan payments to be repaid starting in January... I have about $17,000 in student loans right now and I am barely graduating.... (had my son during my senior year and was diagnosed with epilepsy right after so I barely finished my senior year but didn't apply for graduation so I don't get to graduate until this spring because it takes them 2 quarters to process applications)

 

I plan on going back to school next year to get my master's in special education where after 5 years of working in a title 1 school I can get just about all of them forgiven... SO as you can imagine I don't want to pay them right now if I can get them paid for me

 

I haven't been able to find anything on how to go about getting deferment until I go back to school probably next fall (or winter)...

 

I know some of you student loan geniuses will know

 

-Erin

[LynnInMN]

Call your lender.

[Nana83]

Call AND send something in writing. I have fresh 30 day lates on my reports, because the bastards ignored my calls and voice mail messages seeking deferrment.

[LynnInMN]

Most lenders websites have the deferment forms available for download. Some will not do a deferement over the phone and will tell you to do the paperwork.

[Cynic]

The only type of deferment that can be done over the phone, to the best of my knowledge, is an in-school deferment, and that can only be done if the lendor already has certification of enrollment from the school via the national student clearinghouse. In this scenarior the lendor can also place the loans in deferment without the borrower requesting it.

 

A forbearence, on the other hand, can be done verbally, over the phone, at lendor descretion. Except in certain situations (bankruptcy, notification of death, military mobilization, and some others), a forbearence requires borrower approval and written notice of the terms of the forbearence must be sent to the borrower.

 

Some lendors may allow you to apply for a deferment and e-sign your application online, and many have deferment forms you can print on their websites. Because your deferment eligibility is based on when your loans were disbursed, in addition to meeting the other deferment conditions, it is a good idea to call your lendor and ask them for help in seeing what kind of deferments you may qualify for, and what supporting documentation is needed (if any) before applying.

 

Some common deferments:

 

-Economic Hardship (only loans disbursed after a certain date, 36 months max, must meet 1 of 6 specific conditions involving income, public assistance, federal student loan debt burden, and peace corpse. Basically if you are in the peacecorps, recieving public assistance, earning less than $1100 gross per month, or have federal student loan payments that are more than 20% of your monthly income you likely qualify. If your student loan has a repayment term longer than 10 years you would need to calculate what your payments would be on a 10-year term.)

 

-Unemployment (All loans qualify for this deferment, depending on when your loan was disbursed the maximum is either 24 or 36 months. You need to be either collecting unemployment benefits or seeking employment and registered with an employment agency to qualify.)

 

-School (depending on when your loans was disbursed you need to be either full-time or half-time to qualify. This deferment covers the dates you are actually enrolled in an eligible Title IV school. The school needs to certify your enrollment.)

 

Summer Bridge (Covers official breaks between terms, but only if you were enrolled at a status that qualified you for school deferment the previous term, and notify your lendor you intend to re-enroll for the next term. This does not cover any semester you "take off" or don't enroll due to the classes you need not being available, it only covers official school breaks like summer, and the holiday period between teh fall and spring semester. Only loans disbursed after a certain date qualify.)

 

--There are a multitude of other deferments, especially for older loans. Many of them are situation-specific, like "Teacher-Shortage, "Working Mother" (98% of all working motrhers don't qualify for this one, if your loans are recent or you make $1 per hour more than minimum wage you don't), and many others.

 

Lynn said it best: call your lendor.