In August 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced student loan forgiveness plans of up to $20,000 for prior Pell-Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for all other loan borrowers. To be eligible, your annual income must be below $125,000 (for individuals) or $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households).
The debt relief applies only to loan balances you had before June 30, 2022. Borrowers can view their loan balances, and check their Pell Grant status by logging into their Federal Student Aid account online at studentaid.gov.
Lakeland Community College will not be involved in your application for loan forgiveness and Lakeland will not have information on your application or its status. You will receive communication on your application from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to the email you use on your application.
Please visit studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement for the most up-to-date information.
On April 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced an initiative called "Fresh Start" to help eligible borrowers in default.
This federal initiative is an opportunity for those students currently in default on their Federal student loans to get another chance to receive Federal aid and complete their education. The goals of this initiative are to increase the long-term prepayment success of borrowers with defaulted federal student loans and provide substantial benefits to borrowers over the coming months (up to one year after the payment pause ends). Please reference this fact sheet for your questions [pdf].
Benefits of Fresh Start for Eligible Loans:
- Access to Federal Student Aid
- Stopped Collections
- Eligibility for Other Government Loans
- Restored Ability to Rehabilitate Loans
- Access to Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
- Access to Short-term Relief (Forbearance and Deferment)
- Access to Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans
Eligible Loans:
- Defaulted William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans
- Defaulted Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans
- Defaulted Perkins Loans held by ED
Beginning Aug. 17, 2022, Lakeland Community College will manually review those with defaulted Federal loans on any newly uploaded Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and notify the student if we need any documents from them including a signed Fresh Start Acknowledgement form. Students that have defaulted Federal loans and whose FAFSA was processed by Lakeland prior to Aug. 17 can contact Lakeland's Financial Aid Office to request a review.
For the most up-to-date information on the Fresh Start Initiative, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.
