Student Loans

Federal Student Loans

The vast majority of student loans are federal student loans, with terms and conditions set by the federal government. Unfortunately, the system has failed many of the low-income students and students of color who rely on it to access postsecondary education, with many burdened by unaffordable and often ballooning debt. NCLC works to reform the federal student loan system and help borrowers access relief.

Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project

Over the years there have been a number of changes to the federal student loans offered to borrowers, and only some loans qualify for certain benefits and programs. NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project can help you figure out what type of federal loan you have.

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Student Loan Toolkit

May 20, 2024

The Student Loan Toolkit explains the basics of the student loan system, how to assess your own student loan situation, and your options for managing your student loan debt.

Read More about: Student Loan Toolkit
February 15, 2024
January 24, 2024

Recent

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Comment to Department of Education re: Intent to Establish Rulemaking Committee on IDR and PSLF

May 5, 2025

House Republicans Propose Major Cuts to Student Loan and Pell Grant Programs 

April 30, 2025

Letter to Members of Congress to Protect Protections and Relief Programs for Student Loan Borrower

April 8, 2025

Proposals to Alter Student Loan Repayment Would Worsen Crisis of Older Adults Struggling with Student Debt

April 7, 2025

Repay or Die Trying: Proposal to Eliminate Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans Threatens to Swell Ranks of Older Adults Struggling with Student Debt

April 4, 2025

Congress Must Preserve Protections for Student Loan Borrowers Whose Schools Closed or Defrauded Them

April 3, 2025

Borrower Defense: What Will Happen to Students in Debt Because They Were Scammed by Their School if the 2022 Rule is Rescinded?

March 31, 2025

Left Out to Dry: Proposals to Streamline Student Loan Repayment Eliminate Affordable Pathways for Parent Borrowers

March 31, 2025

Shutting Down the Department of Education Threatens Students and Working Families Who Rely on Federal Student Aid

March 20, 2025

Comments & Letters

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Comment to Department of Education re: Intent to Establish Rulemaking Committee on IDR and PSLF

May 5, 2025

Letter to Members of Congress to Protect Protections and Relief Programs for Student Loan Borrower

April 8, 2025

Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Protect Pell Grants from Cuts

February 26, 2025

Coalition Letter to Congress Opposing Diverting Resources from Education to Other Areas in Reconciliation

February 19, 2025

Opposition to HR 6951, the College Cost Reduction Act

December 2, 2024

Legal Aid Comments on Proposed Rules on Financial Hardship-based Student Debt Relief

December 2, 2024

Group Letter to Sec. Cardona Requesting Extension of Borrower Protections in Light of SAVE Litigation

August 29, 2024

Legal Aid Comments on Proposed Student Debt Relief Rule

May 17, 2024

Letter to Department of Education Calling for Clarity on Non-Taxability of Disability Discharges Through 2025

May 7, 2024

Reports

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Student Loan Toolkit

May 20, 2024

New Federal Student Loan Servicing Contracts, New Promises: Will it Make a Difference for Borrowers?

February 15, 2024

Examining the States’ Role in Protecting Online College Students from Predatory Practices

January 24, 2024

Collection At All Costs: Examining the Intersection of Mass Incarceration and the Student Debt Crisis

July 12, 2022

Report: Road to Relief – Supporting Federal Student Loan Borrowers During the Covid-19 Crisis and Beyond

November 17, 2020

Gainful Employment: A Civil Rights Perspective

October 1, 2019

Report: Inequitable Judgments – Examining Race and Federal Student Loan Collection Lawsuits

April 16, 2019

Pushed into Poverty: How Student Loan Collections Threaten the Financial Security of Older Americans 

May 9, 2017

Pounding Student Loan Borrowers: The Heavy Cost of the Government’s Partnership with Debt Collection Agencies

September 17, 2014

Issue Briefs

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Repay or Die Trying: Proposal to Eliminate Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans Threatens to Swell Ranks of Older Adults Struggling with Student Debt

April 4, 2025

Borrower Defense: What Will Happen to Students in Debt Because They Were Scammed by Their School if the 2022 Rule is Rescinded?

March 31, 2025

Left Out to Dry: Proposals to Streamline Student Loan Repayment Eliminate Affordable Pathways for Parent Borrowers

March 31, 2025

Debt Without a Degree: Preserving Protections for Students When Schools Close

March 17, 2025

2025 Consumer Protection Federal Priorities

October 21, 2024

The Growing Impact of Student Loan Debt on Older Adults

September 19, 2024

New Process to Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy

February 15, 2024

Delivering Distress to Borrowers in Default

October 11, 2023

Chapter Summary on Helping Older Borrowers Navigate the Changing Federal Student Loan System

March 31, 2023

Testimony

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Testimony of NCLC Attorney John Rao at the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on “Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals” 

July 25, 2019

Testimony of Joanna Darcus regarding “An Examination of State Efforts to Oversee the $1.5 Trillion Student Loan Servicing Market”

June 11, 2019

Press Releases & News

View All for Press Releases & News
House Republicans Propose Major Cuts to Student Loan and Pell Grant Programs 

April 30, 2025

Proposals to Alter Student Loan Repayment Would Worsen Crisis of Older Adults Struggling with Student Debt

April 7, 2025

Congress Must Preserve Protections for Student Loan Borrowers Whose Schools Closed or Defrauded Them

April 3, 2025

Shutting Down the Department of Education Threatens Students and Working Families Who Rely on Federal Student Aid

March 20, 2025

Department of Education Outlines Stronger Protections for Student Loan Borrowers in Default

January 16, 2025

NCLC Statement in Response to Department of Education Loan Relief For Additional Students Harmed By Their School

January 16, 2025

CNBC: Here’s how an 86-year-old grandmother got her nearly $32,000 private student loan debt forgiven

November 2, 2024

New Rules Provide Relief to Student Loan Borrowers Facing Long-Term Financial Hardship

October 25, 2024

3.5 Million Older Americans Have Over $125 Billion in Student Loans

September 19, 2024

From the NCLC Digital Library

Student Loan Law

NCLC’s Student Loan Law treatise details all the latest rights of student loan debtors, including loan forgiveness for the schools’ deceptive practices, financial hardship and other loan deferments, and more. The treatise covers multiple types of student loans, including private student loans.

Read Chapter One

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