Women with student loans are more likely to be overwhelmed as repayment plans keep changing. These tips can help
Key takeaways
- The uncertainty surrounding several popular student income-driven repayment (IDR) plans under the new administration could disproportionately hurt women with student loan debt, according to experts.
- Women increasingly outnumber men on college campuses; they leave with higher student loan balances on average, and when they graduate, they tend to earn less than their male counterparts.
- Bankrate’s research finds that a significantly higher share of women than men have felt uneasy about managing their student loan debt over the last year.
Of the millions of Americans with student loans, one group stands out as especially vulnerable to the shifting political winds as the Trump administration assumes control of critical repayment programs: women.
Women make up the biggest share of the college population, they carry more student loan debt on average, and when they graduate, they tend to get paid at a lower rate than their male counterparts. Bankrate’s latest survey on student loan debt also found that women were especially worried about sinking their funds in a college education, with nearly a third of them believing they’ll never be able to pay off their student loans.
”There’s still a glass ceiling,” said Nicole Smith, chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. “Even when women get better educated or higher-paying jobs, it’s much more likely that they’re in a subdivision of the field that pays less than their male counterparts.”
Trump, who was highly critical of his predecessor’s efforts to lower the burden of student loan debts, so far has not detailed how he might change course. Nevertheless, many borrowers already are feeling the pinch.
The Education Department’s most recent move – temporarily closing an online application for several student income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and loan consolidations in response to legal challenges – left millions of Americans with fewer options to repay their loans, according to student loan experts.
Navigating student loan debt in the Trump era will require borrowers to be even more vigilant about their repayment options and keep good records of their student loan debt, experts said.
“Taking payment affordability away or reducing it impacts people’s budgets today. This even more so negatively affects women because they are one of the largest student loan borrower classes.”
— Meagan McGuire CFP and Co-founder of SLP Wealth
Women carry more student loan debt than men
Since the 1980s, the percentage of women attending college has been steadily climbing, while it’s been dropping for men, according to a 2022 analysis by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis. Women also continue their education past a bachelor’s degree at a higher rate.
A Georgetown University study found that while a college education can boost a woman’s earning potential, they often have to obtain more advanced degrees to make the same money as men with less education. But that can come at a cost: As many women take steps to close the pay gap through higher education, they’re digging themselves a deeper financial hole than men.
According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), women hold roughly two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion in outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. Data from the Department of Education shows that women owe nearly $3,000, or 10 percent, more student debt than men on average. Female borrowers have an average federal student loan balance of nearly $32,000, while male borrowers carry close to $28,800 on average in student loan debt.
Women are more likely to struggle with student debt
Student loan experts say the issues facing women who take on student loan debt primarily arise during the repayment period.
The burden of unequal debt is compounded for women when they enter the workforce and face the gender pay gap, particularly women of color. Because they earn less, this debt takes up a larger portion of women’s earnings and takes longer to pay off. An analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that the gap in debt between men and women grows over time, increasing by 3.5 percent every year. Men pay down their debt at a rate of 11 percent compared with a rate of 8 percent for women, according to the analysis. It also found that Black women, who experience both gender and racial wage disparities, tend to pay off their debt more slowly than white women and Black men.
Furthermore, women may defer paying their debt for longer periods than men to prioritize other major life events that eat into their earnings, like having kids or caring for aging parents. In the United States, women make up almost 60 percent of unpaid caregivers, according to 2023 survey by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on improving the health care industry.
“Women have more debt on average. They have more periods of time where they may not be earning pay due to life circumstances, and when they are working, they face adversity due to the pay gap.” — Robert Farrington, a student loan expert and founder of The College Investor.
Women have more debt on average. They have more periods of time where they may not be earning pay due to life circumstances, and when they are working, they face adversity due to the pay gap.
— Robert Farrington Student Loan Expert and Founder of The College Investor
Bankrate’s research finds that a significantly higher share of women than men have felt uneasy about managing their student loan debt over the last year. The survey, which was conducted in May 2024, found more women than men with student loan debt believe they’ll never pay it off (29 percent vs. 18 percent).
They were much more likely to report having trouble affording their monthly payments on their federal student loans, compared to men with student loan debt (29 percent vs. 17 percent).
Additionally, 37 percent of women with student loan debt didn’t know if they qualified for student loan forgiveness, compared to 23 percent of men with student loan debt. Nearly half of women with student loan debt (45 percent) in the survey said they expected to fully repay all their loans themselves when they borrowed money for their education. In comparison, only 33 percent of men felt the same way.
Laurel Taylor, CEO of Candidly, a platform for managing student loan debt, said she’s noticed higher levels of frustration and worry among female borrowers in her company’s data.
Candidly studied their users between September 2023 and September 2024 and found that the majority expressed fear, frustration and worry about their student loan debt upon entering their coaching program. Nearly 80 percent of Candidly’s users are women or people of color.
“The real harm with all the back and forth with the federal programs – and whether there’s forgiveness and there’s no forgiveness – is to the borrowers because they don’t know how to manage their lives,” Taylor said.
3 tips for women with student loan debt
While there’s plenty of uncertainty, staying informed and prepared can make the biggest difference in decreasing stress and building financial confidence. Here are steps you can take to best manage your student loan debt during this uncertain time.
1. Keep a record of your loans
Borrowers should always keep a record of their loans, from monthly statements to income-driven payment certification forms, according to student loan experts.
The best resource right now is StudentAid.gov. You can log in, see your loans and repayment options, and there’s a repayment calculator to see what plans make the most sense. Even if your loans are currently on pause on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, Farrington said that “shouldn’t stop anyone from understanding their options.”
Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration has hinted at possibly dismantling the Department of Education. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger said in a recent interview that borrowers should put together a “go” bag in case the unexpected happens with the Department of Education.
“I think of this as let’s get a ‘go’ bag for your natural disasters that’s around beefing up all the information you need from the Department of Education website,” Schlesinger said in the CBS interview. “Without critical information, you may not be able to prove that you have been paying for all time.
Schlesinger specifically recommends borrowers go to the Studentaid.gov website and take screenshots of their dashboards, as well as download and save raw data files of their student loan debt. Make sure the files and screenshots include:
- Status of current and past loans
- Payment history
- Interest rates
- Payment terms
“These are critical actions to take to protect yourself,” she said in the interview. “Again, we don’t think anything’s going to happen, but if that website went down for an intermediate period, we want you to be prepared.”
2. Stay informed on updates related to income-driven repayment plans
For borrowers struggling to make payments, student loan experts typically suggest applying for an income-driven program with the lowest monthly payment. However, the online portal for IDR and loan consolidation applications is currently unavailable, and it’s unclear whether borrowers are still able to apply with a paper application.
The Washington Post reported that the Department of Education has stopped accepting and processing applications for all income-driven repayment plans. The department’s website confirms that “borrowers can still submit a paper loan consolidation application.”
With so much uncertainty around IDR programs, experts recommend borrowers to do the following:
- Reach out to loan service providers directly with any specific questions about your loans and repayment options
- Enroll in communication alerts with your loan servicer
- Check your contact information for accuracy
Payments have been paused for borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan due to ongoing litigation. The temporary forbearance period could last until fall 2025.
Former President Joe Biden announced the SAVE plan last summer as a new income-driven repayment option for borrowers. The plan allowed for payments based on 10 percent of a borrower’s income that’s 225 percent above the federal poverty line, up from the 150 percent that’s typical for other income-driven repayment plans.
“Remember if any changes do happen, they won’t be instant,” Farrington said. “They will have dates and rollouts. Loan servicers won’t have all the information immediately. While it’s stressful to have uncertainty, any actual changes won’t happen for months or years.”
If you’re enrolled in SAVE, staying in the temporary SAVE forbearance can be a smart financial move.
Farrington said you can use this time to improve your financial well-being, such as paying off other debts or building an emergency fund. It’s important to plan for the best option for when payments do resume. Understand your repayment options and loan forgiveness options by researching them at StudentAid.gov or speaking with your loan servicer.
“When repayment does resume, you can then make an informed decision about your loans. Until that happens, it’s likely best to wait it out,” Farrington said. “Eventually, loan payments will resume on SAVE as well, and you’ll need to start addressing your loans.”
3. See if you qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is still a viable loan forgiveness option for borrowers, even as income-driven repayment (IDR) applications remain frozen due to legal challenges. Farrington encourages borrowers to investigate whether they qualify for the program and, if they do, to submit the required annual form. The PSLF form remains available online, as well as the department’s PSLF help tool.
“We are working to process PSLF forms as we continue the transition to an upgraded borrower experience,” according to a statement on the Education Department’s website. “You’ll receive an email notification once your form has been processed.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday directing the Education Department to exclude certain borrowers from PSLF. The executive order states that “individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose” will not be eligible for the program.
The PSLF program forgives remaining student loan balances for borrowers in the Direct Loan program after 120 qualifying monthly payments under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. This can be a particularly beneficial repayment program for women who tend to be the majority in some public service fields, such as teaching and health care. The PSLF program requires that borrowers work full-time for a qualifying employer.
The only income-driven repayment plan that can still process forgiveness under the temporary freeze is the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. Farrington said the PSLF program could save borrowers thousands on their student loans if they qualify.
“The key is getting organized and understanding your options both today and the near future,” Farrington said. “Borrowers should ignore the politics and focus on what’s available to them today.”
You may also like
