If you have recently graduated or left school, your loans are likely in a status known as a grace period. This is a period of time where the Department of Education has said you don’t have to make any payments on your loans, and usually lasts anywhere between 6-9 months. After this period passes, you will be able to begin making payments and your loan servicer will contact you via email or mail just before your first payment is due.
If you already have employment lined up which will qualify you for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you may prefer to begin making payments immediately to expedite your forgiveness timeline (as you must make 120 payments on your loans for PSLF). Unfortunately, the law that governs the Direct Loan Program does not allow borrowers to waive the grace period on their loans. Since you must be in a repayment period in order to accrue PSLF credit, any payments you make on a loan during the grace period do not count toward PSLF.
However, there is a special loophole if you want to immediately begin making qualifying payments on your federal student loans! To do so, you must consolidate your loans, which would prompt you to enter repayment right away. The consolidation process is pretty simple, so if this is something you'd like to pursue then please let us know. We are happy to assist with the next steps.