The Student Loan Survival Guide

RAP, IBR, PSLF, Default and Private Loans After the 2025 Law: What to Do Step by Step, With Call Scripts, a Decision Tree and a 30-Day Plan

Know exactly which student loan plan fits you under the new 2026 rules, and what to say when you call your servicer.

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What you get

RAP decoded: the full AGI bracket table, interest waiver and $50 principal match with worked examples
Which plans you can still use, and the July 1, 2026 trap for new loans and consolidation
A clear checklist for former SAVE borrowers
Parent PLUS, Grad PLUS and the new 2026 borrowing limits explained
PSLF in 2026: the employer rule court fight and a routine to protect your count
Garnishment, tax refund offset and rehabilitation vs. consolidation, step by step
Seven word-for-word servicer call scripts and two letter templates
A 10-question decision tree and a 30-day action plan

Federal student loans changed more in 2025 and 2026 than in the previous decade. A new law created the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), ended Grad PLUS for new borrowers, capped Parent PLUS, and put PAYE and ICR on a countdown to July 2028. A court settlement ended SAVE. Collections on defaulted loans restarted, paused, and are moving to the Treasury. If you feel lost, this book gives you a clear, dated, step-by-step path.

You will learn exactly how RAP calculates your bill (with the full AGI bracket table and worked examples), when IBR is cheaper, and what former SAVE borrowers should do now. You will see how the July 1, 2026 cutoff can quietly take plans away if you borrow or consolidate again, what Parent PLUS borrowers can still do, and how to protect your PSLF count after the courts struck down the 2025 employer rule.

If you are behind or in default, you get a plain-English map of wage garnishment, tax refund offset and Social Security offset limits, plus a side-by-side comparison of rehabilitation and consolidation and how each affects your credit and your future plan options. Private loans and refinancing get an honest trade-off analysis, and a full chapter covers the tax side: forgiveness taxes, married filing separately, and legal ways to lower AGI.

Finish with a 10-question decision tree, seven word-for-word servicer call scripts, two letter templates, a scam-spotting guide, a list of official sources, and a 30-day action plan. Every rule is dated and points you to StudentAid.gov to confirm. Educational guide, not legal, tax or financial advice.

What's inside

Read This First: What Changed, What Didn't, and How to Use This Book
The 2025 Law in Plain English: Every Date From July 2025 to July 2028
Your 20-Minute Loan Inventory: Know Exactly What You Owe and Who Holds It
RAP Decoded: How the New Repayment Assistance Plan Sets Your Bill
IBR, PAYE, ICR and the Standard Plans: Who Can Still Use What
After SAVE: What Former SAVE Borrowers Should Do Right Now
Parent PLUS, Grad PLUS and the New Borrowing Limits
Public Service Loan Forgiveness in 2026: Rules, the Employer Fight, and How to Protect Your Count
Can't Pay This Month? Deferment, Forbearance and the 2027 Changes
Default and Collections: Garnishment, Tax Refund Seizure and What Is Really Happening
Getting Out of Default: Rehabilitation vs. Consolidation, Step by Step
Private Student Loans and Refinancing: When It Helps and When It Costs You
The Hidden Math: Taxes, Marriage and the Forgiveness Tax Bill
Scams, Fake Forgiveness and Phone Traps: How to Spot Them in Seconds
Call Scripts, Letters and the Official Contacts You Need
Your Decision Tree and 30-Day Action Plan

Read a sample

If you have federal student loans, the rules you learned two years ago are mostly gone. A 2025 law rewrote repayment plans, borrowing limits, deferment and default rules. A court settlement ended the SAVE plan. Collections on defaulted loans restarted, paused, and are being handed to the Treasury Department. If you feel lost, that is a reasonable reaction to a system that changed this much this fast. This book gives you a clear path. It tells you what the rules are as of October 2026, which ones apply to you, and exactly what to do next, including what to say when you call your servicer. The 2025 law is usually called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Signed July 4, 2025, it is Public Law 119-21. In 2026 the Education Department began calling the same law the "Working Families Tax Cuts Act" in its announcements. Same law, two names. If a letter mentions either one, it means the changes in this book.