Listen in as student debt experts and Board Member Drs. Tony Bartels and Rebecca Mears in this next installment of our Student Debt Series. In this episode we’re covering three major topics: 1) Updates and how they impact new grads and not to new grads 2) PAYE and ICR phase outs 3) Bonus mention for a new proposal to cancel up to $20k. Now is the time to learn what you need to know going into the summer.

As always, we want to hear from YOU. Please share your thoughts by sending an email or joining the conversation.  

GUEST BIOS:

Dr. Rebecca Mears

Rebecca Mears, DVM is from Lexington, KY, and a graduate of University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Rebecca started her career as an equine general practitioner and is an active AAEP member, currently serving as a member of the AAEP DEI Committee. Her interest in student debt education began with keeping her own education costs lower and grew from there. This was supported by her involvement in the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA), which she now gives back to as a National Advisor. In her time away from veterinary medicine, she can be found obsessing over plants and hosting impromptu dance parties. She is passionate about giving back to the profession and improving the lives of veterinarians, pre-vet and vet students. 

LINKS AND INFORMATION:

• VIN Foundation Student Debt Center: https://vinfoundation.org/studentdebtcenter

VIN Foundation Blog, Related Student Debt Blog posts: 

• Identifying Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) using VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool: https://vinfoundation.org/fed-student-loan-consolidation-faqs-questions-answers-considerations/

Personalized student loan Help from VIN and VIN Foundation: https://vinfoundation.org/veterinary-student-loan-debt-help/ 

Infographic ONE-TIME FORGIVENESS COUNT ADJUSTMENT:

One-Time Forgiveness Count Adjustment Video Case Study, 1999 DVM may save more than $65,000 in student loan costs:

Income-Driven Repayment Plan Discretionary income calculations, WikiDebt: https://www.vin.com/studentdebtcenter/default.aspx?pid=14352&catId=74141&id=7249857 

Repay Wiser:

Borrow Better: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/borrow-better-veterinary-school-loan-debt/ 

New Grad Student Loan Repayment Playbook: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/veterinary-new-grad-student-loan-repayment-playbook/ 

Federal Student Aid Data, Consolidation, and Repayment Applications: https://studentaid.gov/

SAVE Repayment Plan Offers Lower Monthly Loan Payments

New Proposed Regulations Would Transform Income-Driven Repayment by Cutting Undergraduate Loan Payments in Half and Preventing Unpaid Interest Accumulation: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-proposed-regulations-would-transform-income-driven-repayment-cutting-undergraduate-loan-payments-half-and-preventing-unpaid-interest-accumulation 

Payment Count Adjustments Toward Income-Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Programs:

https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment

Department of Education press release (Nov 2022):  https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-continues-fight-student-debt-relief-millions-borrowers-extends-student-loan-repayment-pause 

Department of Education press release (April 2022): https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-actions-fix-longstanding-failures-student-loan-programs 

One-time Forgiveness Count Adjustment  https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment

Federal Student Loan Servicers: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Have a veterinary story you want to share? https://share.hsforms.com/1e6QkQvg2RI-wpDv59Byqkwcos60

Stay up to date with VIN Foundation updates: https://vinfoundation.org/updates/

Email VIN Foundation: [email protected]

Get updates to stay tuned for the VIN Foundation webinars on student debt. 

You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!