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The U.S. Department of Education announced that more than 10 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms for the 2026-27 academic year have been completed and processed this application cycle.That represents a 17% increase over the number of applications completed at this point during the previous year and a 487% jump compared to two years ago, when the Biden Administration’s botched rollout of a redesigned FAFSA form left millions of families waiting months for processing.The Department credited the improvement to what it called "the earliest FAFSA launch in history".

Across the country, colleges are discovering that their enrollment rolls are full of students who don’t actually exist. They’re called “ghost students”—fabricated or stolen identities used by scammers to enroll in college courses, trigger federal financial aid disbursements, and then vanish with the money.The fraud has grown so large that the U.S. Department of Education says it prevented more than $1 billion in attempted student aid theft in 2025 alone. And the problem is getting worse.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will move out of its longtime headquarters in Washington, D.C., downsizing to a smaller building. The agency will relocate to a smaller federal office one block away, a move that underscores how much the department has shrunk under the Trump administration’s push to dismantle it.The LBJ building, which sits at 400 Maryland Avenue SW, is now approximately 70% vacant following a reduction in force that cut nearly half of the department’s workforce.The move is targeted for August 2026.

The Department of Education is going to begin contacting the more than 7 million borrowers enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE student loan repayment plan, directing them to choose a new repayment plan. The first emails are reminders, followed by formal notices.Starting July 1, loan servicers will issue formal 90-day notices requiring borrowers to switch or be automatically placed on the standard repayment plan. That means the effective end date of the SAVE forbearance will likely be September 30, 2026.The Washington Post first reported that the Education Department would begin emailing SAVE borrowers on Friday to encourage them to apply for a different repayment plan. Those emails will be followed by formal notices from loan servicers giving borrowers 90 days to choose a new plan or be automatically moved into the standard repayment plan — the most expensive option available, according to three people familiar with the matter.The Associated Press confirmed the timeline, reporting that the formal 90-day notices from loan servicers will begin on July 1. Borrowers will be contacted in waves, with a new group receiving notice every two weeks. Those enrolled in SAVE the longest will be the first to hear from their servicers.This aligns with The College Investor's previous SAVE Timeline Predictions of fall 2026.

College applications present students with a challenging and time-consuming project — perhaps the largest they have faced in their lives. As a parent, you can help your child manage the process, but you can also hurt their chances if you make the wrong moves.Here’s a collection of college admissions secrets that can help you craft the ideal college list, get your child into schools they love, and choose one that you’ll be able to afford.

The main difference between a prepaid tuition plan and 529 plan is that prepaid tuition plans allow you to lock in tuition credits at today's prices.Prepaid tuition plans and 529 college savings plans are specialized savings accounts used for future college costs. Prepaid tuition plans act like defined benefit plans, while 529 plans act like defined contribution plans.There are other significant similarities and differences between them. Get the details for each to figure out which plan makes more sense for your college needs.

A federal appeals court heard arguments on Friday over whether the Education Department can further delay a court-approved settlement that promises loan discharges, payment refunds, and credit report corrections to more than 200,000 student loan borrowers who say they were defrauded by their colleges.The case, Sweet v. McMahon, has been working through the courts since 2019 (as a result, the case has changed names a few times: Sweet v. DeVos and Sweet v. Cardona). The settlement, valued at up to $12 billion, set firm deadlines for the Department to process borrower defense to repayment applications. The Department has missed those deadlines and asked for extensions multiple times. So far, those requests have been denied.During Friday’s hearing before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw offered a blunt assessment: “The time for negotiating is over. You missed your deadline.”The court is now considering the Department’s motion to stay the settlement while it appeals.

The Department of Education and the U.S. Treasury Department announced a new interagency agreement on March 19, 2026, that will shift operational control of defaulted federal student loan collections from Education to Treasury. This comes as nearly 7.7 million student loan borrowers holding $180 billion in student loans are in default.The move, which the administration has branded the “Federal Student Assistance Partnership,” marks a big step forward in dismantling the Education Department in what officials described as the equivalent of the “fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States.”Under the agreement, Treasury will immediately take over collecting on defaulted student loan debt, using private collection agencies to help borrowers in default enroll in rehabilitation programs or return to good standing. Treasury will also absorb the operations of FSA’s Default Resolution Group, which manages the Default Management and Collections System (DMCS). In future phases, Treasury would expand to managing non-defaulted loans and potentially other FSA functions, including FAFSA administration.It's important to realize that Treasury already played a large role in collections, but this is now administrative control of the bigger program.

Hundreds of thousands of college students are enrolled in degree and certificate programs that, under new federal law, may soon be cut off from federal student loans. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, requires colleges to prove their programs actually improve graduates’ earning power, and those that don't risk losing access to federal student loan programs.The framework, informally called “Do No Harm,” sets a new standard: if a program’s graduates earn less than comparable workers who never attended college at all, the program can no longer receive federal loan funding.The Department of Education has already released preliminary data on nearly 50,000 programs, and the results reveal a clear pattern of which fields are at risk — including some where a college credential is legally required to work in the profession at all.Remember: It's not just about the degree (like B.S. Business). It's about the program and school (such as University of Vermont, Bachelor's of Science in Plant Sciences). It's individual programs and degrees granted by individual colleges that are at risk.

Federal Student Aid released its latest quarterly data update, and the numbers paint a stark picture: 7.7 million borrowers with $180 billion in outstanding federal student loans are now in default as of December 2025.The quarter ending in December marked the first time many borrower accounts could the threshold for default following the end of the pandemic-era payment pause and the subsequent on-ramp protection period.While the number is large, FSA noted that it mirrors the default count from December 2019, when 7.7 million recipients with approximately $168 billion in federal student loans were in default. The $12 billion increase in default balances reflects the growth in the overall portfolio during the intervening years.However, the Department of Education has still continued to pause some collections efforts in light of all the major student loan changes happening.

The tax deadline is almost here! Here are some last minute tax reminders if you're still working on filing your taxes.Although it might not be the most enjoyable financial task, it's a necessary obligation that we each undertake every year. And if you use great tax software, filing taxes doesn’t take as much time as you may dread.But tax filing time isn’t only about filing returns. There are things you can do today to help you save money on your tax bill, and help you save time on filing.Here are the best last-minute tax tips to consider this season.

The Department of Education’s income-driven repayment application backlog has dropped to its lowest point on record, according to a new court filing submitted March 16 (PDF File).But that progress is overshadowed by a continued delays on IDR loan forgiveness and a growing queue of public servants waiting for PSLF buyback decisions.The data comes from the latest status report filed in American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Department of Education, a federal lawsuit spearheaded by the teacher's union that requires the Department to provide monthly updates on its loan servicing operations.

Tax refunds are running more than 10% larger this filing season, the IRS reported, with the average individual refund reaching $3,742. That's up from $3,382 at roughly the same point in 2025.The increase is being driven in part by new deductions signed into law by President Donald Trump that are appearing on returns for the first time.The IRS released its cumulative filing season statistics through Feb. 27, 2026, comparing them to the same period in 2025. The data covers roughly 51.5 million individual returns received out of approximately 164 million expected before the April 15 deadline.

The federal government quietly stopped independently checking whether student loan servicers are keeping accurate borrower records (and stopped monitoring the quality of calls with borrowers) in February 2025. More than a year later, it still has not resumed those reviews, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office.The findings come at a precarious moment for the nearly 43 million Americans with federal student loans. Major repayment plan changes are underway, millions of borrowers are in or approaching default, and the very oversight designed to catch servicer errors has gone dark.For an administration that is allegedly focused on reducing waste and fraud, it's concerning that government contractors overseeing a trillion dollar portfolio of loans impacting 43 million Americans are not being closely monitored or held accountable.

The SAVE student loan repayment plan is dead — and a federal appeals court just made that official.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on March 9, 2026 (PDF File) that a lower court wrongly dismissed the Republican states’ lawsuit against the plan, directing the district court to enter a December 2025 settlement agreement that permanently bans the Biden-era income-driven repayment program. The request to force the joint settlement was one of the alternatives presented in the GOP appeal to the 8th Circuit Court.Here's what borrowers need to know.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley accused the U.S. Department of Education of obstructing congressional oversight of federal student loan servicers. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon (PDF File), the senators wrote that the department “appears to have progressed to active obstruction” of lawmakers’ efforts to obtain servicer performance data.The dispute centers on basic service metrics: how long borrowers wait on hold, how often calls are dropped, how quickly written inquiries are answered, and how satisfied borrowers report being.For families navigating student loan repayment (especially with all the changes), those details can mean the difference between staying current and slipping into delinquency.With more than 42 million Americans holding federal student loans totaling over $1.81 trillion, even slight declines in servicing quality can ripple across household budgets.

A new federal court filing (PDF File) shows that borrowers seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) credit through the buyback process could face waits approaching three years under current processing speeds.The latest status report from the U.S. Department of Education reveals that 86,520 PSLF Buyback applications were still pending as of January 31, 2026. During January, only 2,430 buyback applications were decided.At that pace (and assuming no new applications were submitted) clearing the existing backlog alone would take roughly 35 months. In reality, new requests continue to arrive each month and processing times have varied month-to-month - meaning the wait time could be longer.For public service workers who have already reached or are near 120 qualifying payments, the numbers suggest a long period of uncertainty.

A new report from the Pew Research Center offers one of the most detailed looks at how educational attainment differs across religious groups in America.The findings come from Pew’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, a survey of 36,908 U.S. adults. Because of its large sample size, researchers were able to analyze not only broad religious categories, but also specific denominations within Protestantism and other traditions.The headline finding: Hindus and Jews stand apart by a wide margin.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed the central lawsuit challenging the Biden-era SAVE student loan repayment plan — not because the court endorsed it, but because there is no longer a dispute to decide.The ruling clarifies the legal posture of the case but does not immediately end the administrative forbearance for the roughly 7 million borrowers enrolled in SAVE.The decision (PDF FIle), issued by Judge John A. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, ends the case State of Missouri v. Trump without prejudice and rejects a joint request from the parties to vacate the SAVE rule outright.The judge notes "that clarity must come from the Department of Education, and not from this Court, which is no longer empowered to weigh the merits of a case that is now moot."

The U.S. Department of Education has announced two new interagency agreements, handing off selected responsibilities to the Departments of State and Health and Human Services. The stated goal: break up federal education bureaucracy, improve efficiency, and return education to the states.As someone who believes deeply in higher education (and in the value of federal student aid programs that expand opportunity), I also believe in an efficient government where tax dollars are spent purposefully to achieve specific goals. That’s why these interagency agreements deserve a closer look.Shifting programs from one federal agency to another does not necessarily make government smaller. It makes it more complex. And if we’re not careful, it may reduce accountability while ignoring the structural reforms that education policy actually needs.

Borrowers who were a part of a years-long legal battle over student loan servicing practices are now seeing tangible results: compensation checks arriving in their mailboxes.According to the CFPB’s website, a third-party administrator began issuing payments on or about February 13, 2026, from a $100 million fund tied to a 2024 enforcement settlement with Navient, one of the nation’s largest former federal student loan servicers. The case accused the company of steering borrowers into repeated forbearances (temporary pauses on payments) even when they qualified for more affordable income-driven repayment plans.For affected borrowers, some of whom report receiving checks in the thousands of dollars, the payments represent long-awaited financial relief.

When voters think of student loan forgiveness, they often picture executive actions and legal battles. Under President Biden, student loan debt relief efforts dominated headlines, particularly after the Supreme Court struck down his broad cancellation proposal.But what you may not realize: The Trump administration could be on track to oversee one of the largest dollar amounts of student loan forgiveness in U.S. history, largely because of repayment programs already written into law.This projection is not about a new sweeping forgiveness plan. Instead, it reflects the mechanics of existing federal student loan programs (some dating back decades) that are now reaching maturity.

The Trump administration is once again weighing whether to sell off parts of the federal government’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to private investors — a move that could reshape the nation’s higher education finance system and affect more than 45 million borrowers.According to reports, senior officials at the Education Department and Treasury Department have been exploring how to offload “high-performing” federal loans to the private market. The discussions, which have allegedly involved finance industry executives and potential buyers, reflect the administration’s broader goal of shrinking the government’s role in student lending and reviving private-sector competition.This comes after reports earlier this year that Trump wanted the Small Business Administration to take over the student loan portfolio.The administration is looking at whether privatization could help reduce administrative costs and improve portfolio performance. However, the move could borrower protections, including income-driven repayment options, loan forgiveness programs, and the government’s unique ability to offer flexible hardship relief.This isn’t the first time the idea has surfaced. The Department of Education chapter in the Project 2025 document proposes reviving the old Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program to “privatize all lending programs, including subsidized, unsubsidized, and PLUS loans (both Grad and Parent).”So what exactly would it mean if federal student loans were sold to private lenders and could it really happen this time? Let’s unpack the latest proposals, political motivations, and potential consequences for borrowers.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, arguing that the university has unlawfully withheld admissions records needed for a federal civil rights compliance review.The complaint (PDF File), filed February 13, 2026, in federal court in Massachusetts, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to compel Harvard to provide applicant-level admissions data and internal communications related to race and diversity policies . The government is not seeking monetary damages or revocation of federal funds.At the center of the dispute is compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in programs receiving federal financial assistance.

Student loan borrowers in the SAVE forbearance may be getting some relief. Borrowers are reporting that when they login to their online accounts there is a new message: “Your Account Balance was Adjusted.”The notices, now appearing in some borrowers' portals, state that loan servicers recently conducted a review and made changes based on SAVE administrative forbearance and a 0% interest period. For many, the message comes after nearly a year of confusion and concern over balances that appeared to grow despite federal guidance that interest was paused.Yet even as the notices roll out, some borrowers say the corrections have not fully appeared in their accounts.

Headlines warning that Social Security is “running out” have sparked fresh anxiety among younger investors. Some stories highlight a potential $460 monthly benefit cut. Others suggest the system may collapse entirely.The reality is more complex.According to the 2025 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (PDF File), the program is facing a structural shortfall. But that does not mean Social Security is disappearing. And for workers in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, the most important questions are different from the ones driving today’s headlines.Here’s what actually matters.

When you’re unemployed, it’s hard enough getting out of bed in the morning, let alone searching for a job. Add to that the stress of dealing with your student loans and it’s a wonder you can get out of bed at all. Student loan debt and unemployment is not a fun combination.We wish we could snap our fingers and make your student loans disappear when you can’t pay them (and even when you can). Instead, we’ll have to settle by giving you some advice on how to deal with them while you’re unemployed.Before we go into it, the first thing you should do when unemployed is apply for unemployment benefits, if you’re eligible. Any income is a step in the right direction when you have bills you need to pay. Look up your state’s unemployment requirements to see if you’re eligible and how much you can get.After that, you need to make sure your budget is in order and you're still handling your student loan debt.Here's our advice that will hopefully get you on the right path so you can focus on your job search.

Front-loading of financial aid like grants and scholarships is a form of bait-and-switch, where a college gives a better financial aid offer to freshmen than to sophomores, juniors and seniors.When a college practices front-loading of financial aid, the average grant per recipient decreases after the first year and/or the percentage of students receiving grants decreases.This means students get smaller grants and/or fewer students get grants. Even if a college keeps the grants unchanged, the net price will increase as college costs increase.Front-loading of grants causes the mix of grants vs. loans to become less favorable after the freshman year. The family’s share of college costs increases significantly for upperclassmen, even if their ability to pay for college remains unchanged.

Almost 50% of students borrow student loans for community college.It's no secret that the cost of going to college and debt from student loans have significantly increased over the past several decades. Although wages have also gone up, the cost of higher education has increased more than inflation. The average cost of tuition for a four-year private college is $43,775 and $28,238 for public. And what's even scarier is that the most expensive colleges cost over $60,000 per year!Many potential college students explore community college because it offers cheaper tuition than traditional four-year colleges. In 2024, the average tuition for public community colleges is approximately $5,184 per year for in-state students and $8,806 for out-of-state students. So while going to a community college is more affordable than other forms of higher education, you still may need to explore student loans for community college to cover the cost.