I’m aware that the government will pay any unpaid subsidized interest for the first three years of repayment under IBR. However, when I make payments, portions of the payment are automatically applied to the interest on both the Unsubsidized and Subsidized loans.

I just looked at my most recent billing statement. On the back, it has a box for “special payment instructions” and has a box - “Apply to group as specified below.”

Should one specify that the entire payment should go towards the unsubsidized portion of the loan, at least in the first three years, since the government is obligated to pay unpaid interest on the subsidized loan?

*** Tentative answer… one must pay minimum monthly balance on Unsub and Sub loans. Allocating more to Unsub portion may help if paying more than the monthly minimum balances due in the first three years.