College Students

If your dorm is your primary residence, contact your college housing and financial aid offices to find out your options for remaining on campus.
Colleges are making concessions for students with extenuating circumstances, such as those who are low-income, homeless or are international students from countries with travel restrictions.

The U.S. Department of Education offers subsidized loans to students with financial need. The federal government pays your interest on these loans while you’re enrolled in school at least half-time, during the six-month grace period after you leave school or fall below half-time enrollment, and during deferment periods in the future.

Loan and Pell Grant limits are waived. For those who don’t complete college this semester, the CARES Act calls for colleges to waive lifetime limits on certain aid, including Pell Grants. That means any federal direct loan or Pell Grant money you used for school this semester won’t count toward your lifetime limit for either aid type.

You can request more financial aid. Even if you have already filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, you can appeal your award. This is useful if your family’s finances have changed due to events like job loss or medical expenses.

To update the FAFSA, sign in to the FAFSA website and click on “Make FAFSA Correction.” Enter your FSA ID, make changes and submit. You can make changes up until the FAFSA deadline — June 30 after the school year you need aid. So if you need more aid to help out with expenses this school year, you have until June 30, 2020, to do it. To update your FAFSA for 2020-21 you have until June 30, 2021.

Payments are currently suspended, without interest, for federal student loan borrowers until September 30. The six-month suspension was announced in mid-March as part of a measure included in the coronavirus relief package. This policy applies only to federal loans, not to private student loans.
Borrowers can still make payments toward the principal during this period of suspended payments, called a forbearance. Contact your servicer if you have further questions.