PSLF Update — April 2021

There have been a lot of changes the past six months.

The face of student loan forgiveness. (Image Credit: telegraph.co.uk)

It’s been a whirlwind year for the PSLF program, from student loan payments being paused to updated application forms. Here are the highlights:

• The separate PSLF and TEPSLF were combined into a single form..
• DOE upgraded their PSLF Help Tool.
• The pause on student loans means “free money” for PSLF borrowers
• The effect of (possible) mass forgiveness on the PSLF program

Let’s dive right in.

(Note 1: For explanations of the data and corresponding calculations, please see the original article about parsing the PSLF reports.)

Approval Rate

After taking a little dip this summer, adjusted approval rates have jumped back up into the mid-teens again. I’ll address the nose-dive in November in a minute, but I want to center your attention on the increasing approval rates.

We are now no longer in the dog days of PSLF. There is a definite upward trend, even when using the unadjusted data.

This upward trend is only going to keep rising.

PSLF started with the graduating class of 2007, with the earliest forgiveness available in fall of 2017…