College students have increasingly turned to federal student loans to cover their rising college costs.
Of the more than $1.75 trillion in student loans that are currently outstanding in the U.S., over $1.6 trillion has been taken out by federal student loan borrowers.
Working efficiently with your student loan servicer is key. If your federal loan servicing was handled by Navient, Aidvantage will be taking over. We’ll explore why things are changing and what you need to do to ensure a smooth transition.
Why Is Aidvantage Taking Over For Navient?
Until recently, Navient was one of the largest loan servicers for federal student loans. But Back in 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Navient. The suit claimed that Navient failed student loan borrowers at just about every step in the repayment process. Following the CFPB's announcement, a total of 39 state attorney generals ended up filing similar suits against Navient.
A settlement on the state suits was reached in January 2022. It included $1.7 billion in private student loan cancellation for 66,000 borrowers and $95 million in restitution for over 350,000 borrowers who were steered to a long-term forbearance option by Navient. If you were one of these borrowers, you should receive information about your refund in the coming months.
While Navient agreed to the settlement, they denied any wrongdoing and complained all throughout the suits that they had been unfairly targeted by regulators. Hence, Navient's relationship with the Department of Education had progressively soured over the past few years. And, in September 2021, the company announced that it wanted to leave the federal student loan servicing business.
The Education Department was happy to oblige Navient's request and began to work with them on an exit plan. Aidvantage was a key part of that plan. If Navient serviced your federal student loans, Aidvantage is your new servicer and should have already contacted you to notify you about the change.
Who Is Aidvantage?
Aidvantage is the federal loan servicing unit of Maximus Education. All of the Department of Education loans previously serviced by Navient have been transferred to Aidvantage.
You may have seen the names Aidvantage and Maximus Education used interchangeably in the media. But Aidvantage is the name that you'll see on any loan servicing communications you receive, even if Maximus is the name you’ve seen more often in the news.
Importantly, private student loans held by Navient will not be transferred to Aidvantage.
When To Contact Aidvantage
If your loans are transferred to Aidvantage, it's good to get everything set up as soon as possible. Take action to set up your payment preferences and make any necessary changes right away.
At the latest, you should make sure everything is ready to go by May 1, 2022. That’s when the payment pause is currently set to end and federal student loan repayments will resume.
How To Contact Aidvantage Customer Service
You can reach Aidvantage through the following options.
Toll-free number: 1-800-722-1300. This line is open Monday from 8 AM to 11 PM, Tuesday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM, and Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM. All times are in Eastern Standard Time.
If you are an international caller, you can call 317-806-0580.
General mailing address:
Aidvantage - U.S. Department of Education Loan Servicing
P.O. Box 9635
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9635
Loan payments address:
Aidvantage - U.S. Department of Education Loan Servicing
P.O. Box 4450
Portland, OR 97208-4450
You can also email the company through the Help Center within your account.
Looking For Help Beyond Aidvantage?
As you make the transition to Aidvantage, consider your income-driven repayment options. An IDR plan could help to alleviate the pressure on your budget as student loan payments resume later this year. Or if you have a strong income and credit score and you want to pay off your loans as quickly as possible, you may want to consider student loan refinancing.
Note that you'll lose a variety of benefits if you refinance your federal loans with a private lender, including the ability to join an IDR plan or federal forgiveness programs. But if you're able to qualify for a low enough APR, you may be willing to give up these options in exchange for the money you'll save in interest.
If you aren't sure which student loan repayment strategy would work best for your situation, setting up an appointment with a student loan advisor could be a good first move. Student Loan Planner and StudentLoanAdvice.com by White Coat Investor both have expert advisors that can help you craft a custom student loan plan.
Final Thoughts
There are high hopes in the student loan industry that Aidvantage will provide more fair and helpful service than Navient ever did. But only time will tell what kind of servicer Aidvantage turns out to be.
If you ultimately feel dissatisfied with the service that you receive from Aidvantage (or any other federal loan servicer) know that you can file a complaint with the CFPB here or with the Department of Education here.
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
