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Loan Deferments

A deferment is a period of time during which your loan holder (the institution loaning you the money) or servicer (the agency servicing your loan for the Department of Education) postpones your regular loan payments. You’ll need to work with the appropriate agency to apply for deferment. You should keep making payments on your loan until the deferment is in place.

If your loan is provided as part of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) program, visit the StudentAid.gov website for details, including a list of circumstances that may make you eligible for a deferment. You can also log into the My Federal Student Aid portal to see your personalized summary of all your FSA loans and loan services.

Keep in mind, interest continues to accrue during the deferment period of an unsubsidized loan and PLUS loan. Students have the option to continue making payments on the interest and/or principal while their loan is in deferment. Interest does not generally accrue during the deferment period of a subsidized loan.

In-School Deferment for Half- or Full-Time Students

You may be able to defer payments on your prior FSA student loans if you are attending at least half time in an academic semester format. To enroll in semester format, you must establish an FSA academic year. This step is necessary because we have course offerings every month, and students are not enrolled in a semester format unless they submit this form.

  • Log onto the AMU or APU ecampus to complete your request for an academic year within the FINANCE CENTER located under the Federal Student Aid (FSA) menu.
    • If you plan to use Federal Student Aid (FSA), select “My FSA Academic Year.”
    • If you only plan to defer prior loans and not use FSA, select “Deferment of Loans.”
  • You can also establish an academic year through the registration process. Within the registration flow, you will be prompted with questions to determine if you intend to apply for Federal Student Aid or process a deferment on any prior federal student aid loans you have received.
  • Register for all courses you intend to take in the semester. You must be enrolled at least half-time for “In-School” deferment purposes (a minimum of 6 credits each semester as an undergraduate student or 3 credits as a graduate student).
  • Your enrollment data will be submitted directly to the National Student Clearinghouse on the 16th of each month that you are enrolled in classes. There is no need to take action to get your in-school deferment, as long as you are enrolled in eligible, credit-hour courses.
  • If you have received a paper loan deferment form from your lender, please scan and email the form to [email protected] or fax to 304-724-3802 for processing.

If you have questions regarding the FSA or Deferment Academic Year form, email us at [email protected].

If you need to check on the status of your loan deferment, please contact the National Student Clearinghouse. Otherwise, you should contact your lender or loan servicer for additional assistance regarding deferment.

Military Deployments

If you are an active-duty service member scheduled for deployment, contact the financial aid team if you have payment deferment questions by emailing [email protected] or calling 855-731-9218 (Mon – Fri 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET). 

You can find more information on federal student loan benefits available to members of the U.S. Armed Forces at StudentAid.Gov.

Additional Resources

In addition to the Federal Student Aid website, you can learn more by watching the informational videos on our Financial Aid TV page.