How to Get a Forbearance on a Direct Loan

If you went to college on loans, it's quite possible one of those loans is government-issue Direct Loan. If you have such a loan and can't pay it right now, either because you're in a volunteer program, on an internship or experiencing what is liberally described as "financial hardship" you can get a forbearance. Here are some ways to get a Direct Loan forbearance easily and quickly to keep yourself in good standing, credit-wise, when you can't afford to make payments.

The first thing to do is visit the Direct Loan webpage connected to the Ed.Gov website. Just search the term 'Direct Loan' and you'll have no trouble finding it. Here you just need to click the link that says Direct Loan Servicing, and you're on your way to the right specific page. If you like, you can read more about your loans before you go.

On the Direct Loan Servicing page, you will be presented with a happy new color scheme and another host of options. You want to opt for the "Your Account" option, the first link offered. Again, if you have other issues you want to investigate, you might want to surf around the other options.

Hitting Your Account will take you to a sign-on page, naturally. If you don't have a PIN, then you will have to apply for one Applying for a pin isn't tough. You simply fill out a form online and a PIN link is sent to you. Then you have to follow the link to a site where you submit the same basic information - name, social security number, etc. - and the pin is yours.

If you have a Direct Loan PIN already, just follow the prompts which also ask you for date of birth, two letters in your last name and social security number and plug in the PIN, too, as requested. This will take you to an account page where you can review great information like how much you still owe the Feds.

On the left bar of this page, you will see a forbearance link. You'll want to click that - surprising, I know. This will send you to a page asking if you have Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or higher - which you will need. Man, those Adobe people have some racket going, don't they? Who runs that company, Bill Gates? Geeze.

Anyhow, click through if you have Adobe and get to the list of Forbearances allowed - Americorps, internship, loan-debt burden (your payment is more than 20% of your monthly income...) or general (this is where that "temporary financial hardship" part fits.). After you select the forbearance that applies to your situation, you will either be able to download mail able forms to complete, or, in the case of general forbearance, you may simply complete the forms online. In either case, your work is almost done- just fill in the appropriate information(in the case of general forbearance, youjust put in your personal information and check a few boxes, basically...), then send to the appropriate people as noted on the forms, and enjoy the temporary lifting of your Direct Loan Burden.

Just don't forget about the capitalized interest. Getting a loan forbearance doesn't always mean the interest stops accruing. A general forbearance, for instance, definitely doesn't mean interest stops accruing. It will be added to your bill, thereby increasing your total due amount. This is probably not a surprise to anyone who has gotten a loan forbearance before, but it's worth noting. So check the terms of your forbearance.