i am trying to consolidate into direct loans and was told during the online application that i don’t qualify for IBR bc i am not in partial hardship.  this is likely bc my wife makes a nice salary.  however, she also has 200K in med school loans.  the result is definite hardship.  however, the application does not seem to allow me to indicate her loans anywhere, and i was under the impression that spousal loans were now being taken into account for forgiveness.  but how can i be eligible for forgiveness if i can’t qualify for IBR?

two other quick questions, assuming i am still able to proceed:

(1) should federal stafford loans that are now listed on my sallie mae account as consolidation loans (sub and unsub) be categorized as stafford loans or fed consolidation loans on the direct loans application? both are options on the drop down loan type menu.

(2) are “law loans” ineligible for direct consolidation?

thanks, heather.  your webinars are awesome.

Thanks, dude. Glad you like the webinars.

The online consolidation process is mysterious and annoying.  It’s not the consolidation that needs to account for your wife’s loans, it’s the repayment plan selection.  Let me ask someone with more processing experience to weigh in on this one real quick.

As for “law loans,” those sound like private loans that would not be eligible for consolidation, IBR, or PSLF.  Double check with the lender to be sure.

The paper IBR selection forms are compiled here: https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/PDFFrames.jsp?PDF=othf_intgr_IBR8_pack.pdf

They indicate that you need to list all the loans that will be factored into the PFH calculation on a separate sheet of paper.  That may well be the best way for you to ensure that Ed is looking at all your loans and all your wife’s loans when assessing your eligibility for IBR.

Be sure you two are considering the tax filing status stuff, too, since you might (or might not) be better off filing separate tax returns.