Get matched with vetted scholarships and enter our
I’m a high school student I’m a college or graduate student
100% Free. No Spam.
Start typing in the text field above
Load More
Advertiser disclosure

Student-centric advice and objective recommendations

Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. Our goal is to help you navigate the very big decisions related to higher ed with objective information and expert advice. Each piece of content on the site is original, based on extensive research, and reviewed by multiple editors, including a subject matter expert. This ensures that all of our content is up-to-date, useful, accurate, and thorough.

Our reviews and recommendations are based on extensive research, testing, and feedback. We may receive commission from links on our website, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. You can find a complete list of our partners here.

Department of Education suspends student loan payments throughout COVID-19 outbreak

By Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Full Bio

Learn about our editorial policies

Updated: February 27th, 2024
Department of Education suspends student loan payments throughout COVID-19 outbreak

NOTE: STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS RESUMED IN 2023. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONSULT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WEBSITE

On March 13th, President Trump announced that student loan interest would be waived during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to support people who were struggling financially at this time (you can see our original article here). At the time, there were minimal details about how this would be operationalized by the Department of Education. On March 20th, President Trump provided some more guidance on this and clarified that federal student loan payments would be suspended at this time.

How to suspend your student loan payments?

To suspend your federal student loans, you can go to your online federal student loan portal and request a forbearance. You can also call, but putting in the request online should be quicker. President Trump stated that the suspension would be for 60 days, but could be potentially longer if necessary.

What about private student loans or loans held by my college or university?

The Trump administration policy only applies to federal student loans. If you have borrowed private student loans or other types of loans, you should get in touch with the lender to see if they are able to offer assistance.

For everything you need to know about finding student loans, check out Scholarships360’s Ultimate Student Loan Guide!

3 reasons to join scholarships360

  • Automatic entry to our $10,000 No-Essay Scholarship
  • Personalized matching to thousands of vetted scholarships
  • Quick apply for scholarships exclusive to our platform

By the way...Scholarships360 is 100% free!

Join For Free