 TITLE: What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness? CONTENT: What to Do if You're Denied Public Service Loan Forgiveness\n-----------------------------------------------------------\nIf FedLoan Servicing determines you're not eligible for loan forgiveness, you'll get a notification explaining why your application was denied, and you'll have to resume making loan payments. As of June 2020, over half of applicants to the program were rejected because they hadn't made 120 qualifying payments. If that's your situation, you may be eligible for temporary loan forgiveness while you continue making qualified payments to reach the 120 mark.\nIf your PSLF application is denied, there are a few alternatives:\n**Find the right repayment method.** Lowering your monthly payments can reduce the bite your student loans take out of your budget. The federal government offers four income-driven repayment plans that can shrink your monthly payments to as little as 10% of your discretionary income. Although stretching your loan term to 20 or 25 years means you'll pay more in interest over the life of the loan, you may want to explore this option if you're struggling to make your payments. Consult your loan servicer to see if you qualify for income-based repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) or Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans and determine which plan will work best for you.\n**Investigate other student loan forgiveness programs.** Each of the four income-driven repayment plans above offers loan forgiveness after 20 to 25 years. Unlike with PSLF, the amount forgiven will be treated as income in the year it's forgiven and will be taxed.\n**Consider refinancing your loans.** Refinancing your federal student loans at a lower interest rate can reduce both your monthly payments and the total interest you'll pay. Refinancing is done through a private lender, which pays off your student loans and issues you a new loan for that amount. You can refinance one loan or consolidate multiple loans into one and make it easier to keep track of your payments. Keep in mind that when you refinance your federal loan with a private lender, you'll lose access to federal loan protections such as deferment, loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.\nYou'll generally need a FICO® Score☉ of 670 or above, a low debt-to-income ratio and a steady income to refinance student loans. Before you apply for a loan, get a copy of your credit report and check your credit score to see where you stand. If your score isn't quite where you want it to be, improving it before you apply for a loan can help improve your odds of qualifying.\n**Look into consolidating your loans.** If you have several federal student loans, you might benefit from consolidating your loans. Consolidation combines several federal student loans into one federal student loan with one monthly payment. This won't reduce your interest rate—your new loan will have a fixed interest rate that's a weighted average of the rates for your previous loans, rounded up to the next one-eighth of 1%. In addition, any outstanding interest gets added to your balance, so you'll accrue interest on a larger loan amount. Some income-driven repayment plans require consolidating your loans. You might also want to consolidate loans to simplify your payments and avoid missing due dates. END