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I'm sitting down to work on my Income-Based Repayment recertification for my student loans. I decided to live-tweet the process.
I've been told and seen people defend the annual recertification requirement, saying it’s "easy," just log in, spend a quick few minutes, and done. I want to talk about what "easy" has looked like for me.
I’ve been in the IBR program since January 2012. I graduated in May 2010. I didn’t know IBR existed until 18 months after I graduated.
I have a lot of debt. I mean A LOT of debt. I was in school for nearly 15 years (working on a BA, MA, and PhD) and took out the maximum in government loans that I could.
I paid in-state tuition at a public university. I received Pell Grants and just over $10,000 / year in loans. They didn’t cover my expenses, so I also worked.
When I graduated, I was hoping Public Service Loan Forgiven would relieve my loans after 10 years. Nobody told me I had to be on the IBR plan to qualify. So, those first 18 payments didn’t count.
And I didn’t know at the time that the Department of Education would reject over 99% of the applications for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Anxiety and shame about debt is part of the reason folks have difficulty getting on the right plan, and it’s part of the reason the IBR recertification is hard for many.
We aren’t supposed to talk about debt, and we aren’t supposed to need help. My mother had to file for bankruptcy several times when I was growing up. She was shamed. She still has trouble asking for help.
Every year, I struggle with the IBR recertification. The notice has been sitting in my backpack for weeks, always at the top of my to-do list but not done.
Last week, I talked about this very thing with @saragoldrickrab and the educators in our #digped #RealCollege course. All week, the notice sat undone in my bag.
I’m sitting down to work on IBR recertification now. Actually, I’m tweeting about sitting down to work on recertification. And I fully suspect I will not be able to complete the process today for one reason or another.
The IBR recertification process has been a shifting goal post, each time requiring particular kinds of documentation. Several times, I’ve failed to complete it on time (because my taxes hadn’t been “accepted” yet by the IRS).
Several times, my loans have reverted to a standard 10-year repayment plan, an absurd monthly payment which was automatically deducted.
The deadline for me to submit recertification is tomorrow. I could have done it earlier. I didn’t. I’m not supposed to need help with this.
First thing: Login at studentloans.gov fails, a notice pops up on the screen, and I get an e-mail, "this e-mail is to alert you that your FSA ID is locked."
Before anything else, I also noticed that a payment was due. For months, automatic payments have not been working for me, no matter how many times I've set them up, so I've had to make payments manually.
Okay, taking a break now to pick up my daughter from preschool. But I think I’ve got mine done [fingers crossed]. Now we just have to rinse and repeat with my husband’s.
And done. 3 hours and 15 minutes later (with a short break). It's easier than it feels. But it isn't "easy."
