Technologies

460,000 Student Loan Borrowers Seeking Lower Payments Will Be Denied. What to Do If You’re One of Them

Most applicants were eligible for SAVE, which has been struck down. Here’s how to apply for other repayment plans.

Nearly half a million federal student loan borrowers who applied for lower monthly payments will be denied by the Department of Education.

Based on internal documents obtained by Politico, the department is rejecting 460,000 student loan borrowers who selected the lowest payment option based on their income. For most applicants, that was the Saving for a Valuable Education repayment plan.

SAVE was struck down by a federal court in February, so how were people still applying for the plan? It’s likely the Education Department is still processing applications submitted before the Trump administration removed the SAVE plan as an option on Feb. 21, 2025, said student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz.

As of June 30, the department reported 1.5 million pending applications for borrowers who are seeking Income-Driven Repayment plans. It processed 186,731 applications in June.

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Processing delays are the latest hurdle for borrowers trying to navigate student loan repayment. Millions of SAVE borrowers’ loans are currently in a general forbearance, with payments expected to remain on hold until mid-2026. However, the Department of Education announced this month that those loans will start accruing interest again on Aug. 1, so borrowers may be feeling pressured to choose another repayment program.

If you’ve applied for a repayment plan, here’s what you need to know about the status of your application and when you could start repayments.

Read more: SAVE Student Loan Borrowers Have Less Than 2 Weeks Before Interest Restarts. Here’s What to Do

How can you find out the status of your loan and repayment plan request?

If you applied for a new repayment plan and are denied, your loan processor should notify you when your application has been processed. You can also check the status of your plan request by logging into your StudentAid.gov account and going to the «My Activity» page. Your application should be listed as «In Review», «Action Required» or «Completed or Closed.»

Although the Federal Student Aid site says processing typically takes about 30 days, it notes you should expect delays due to the high volume of requests.

What happens if I’m rejected for a repayment plan?

If you applied for an income-driven repayment plan and were rejected, you may be placed in a standard 10-year repayment plan if you don’t choose another repayment plan, Kantrowitz said. «That’s typically what happens when a borrower is no longer eligible for an income-driven repayment plan.»

However, you can apply for another repayment plan at this time. The other repayment plans are also in a bit of a transition period since the Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed. Existing borrowers can still sign up for the Income-Based Repayment plan. Two other income-driven repayment plans, income-contingent and PAYE, are still options on the federal student loan site, but will be phased out.

Existing borrowers will also have the option to enroll in the Repayment Assistance Plan, a new plan that was passed in the bill, but this option won’t be available until next year.

«The best option for most borrowers who were in the SAVE repayment plan is IBR, since IBR still qualifies for forgiveness, while ICR and PAYE do not,» Kantrowitz said. «[Previous] payments made under SAVE, ICR, PAYE, REPAYE and IBR count toward IBR forgiveness.»

If you’re a SAVE borrower who applies for a new repayment plan and it’s held up by processing delays, your loans should remain in good standing while you’re waiting. However, interest will start accruing next month, so you may consider making interest-only payments while waiting for your application to process.

Technologies

Tubi App Goes Live in ChatGPT to Give You TV and Movie Recommendations

Like the ultra-customized feel of a Tubi rec? The streamer aims to make it even more personalized.

Tubi, the free streaming platform known for its vast library of cult classics and indie movies, has added an app to ChatGPT. You can now use the chatbot to find content recommendations for TV shows and movies on Tubi, the streamer announced on Tuesday.

You may already have your own search strategy when using Tubi, but the addition of the native app within ChatGPT allows you to strike up a conversation and ask for uber-specific, personalized title suggestions. If you see a film or show that captures your interest, you have the option to click «Watch on Tubi» to stream it on a mobile device or the web. In the mood for scary movies about yetis? Use @Tubi for your prompt in the chatbot and request something like, «horror movies with aggressive yetis» and expect to see a selection of titles that fit your wish list.

«Streaming should feel effortless, and as chatbots and AI agents are becoming a common way people navigate the internet, Tubi is expanding its discovery experience to meet viewers in the moment they’re expressing intent in their own words,» Mike Bidgoli, Tubi’s chief of product and technology, said in a statement.

ChatGPT opened its app store this past December. It currently includes apps for Apple Music, Zillow, Spotify and Canva, offering the ability to connect your accounts to search, design or ask for recommendations. Back in 2023, Tubi created its own AI-powered tool called Rabbit AI for mobile users to help audiences find content to watch. The company later shuttered the feature, which used Open AI’s Chat GPT-4. With today’s launch, it’s the first video streaming service to add an app within ChatGPT.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

PlayStation Plus Subscribers Can Play Tomb Raider and More All April Long

Subscribers can also explore a Soulslike game that just got a big update.

PlayStation Plus, which is Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, offers a large, constantly expanding library of games. Subscribers can choose from the Essential, Extra and Premium tiers, each with unique perks and benefits. Starting at $10 a month, the plans give subscribers access to games and rewards, and each month, all subscribers can play a handful of new games at no additional charge. And some people on Reddit are pretty excited for a few of the games Sony is offering subscribers throughout April.

One user wrote how they are «buzzing» for the remastered Tom Raider games, while another user is willing to replay the Soulslike game Lords of the Fallen. «April fools’ joke? Because they’re actually good,» a third user wrote.

If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can play these games now until May 4.

Lords of the Fallen

If you played Elden Ring and thought, «I wish this game had even more grimdark elements to it, like Bloodborne,» Lords of the Fallen might be for you. Choose one of nine classes to play as while you traverse the lands of the living and the dead in order to overthrow the demon god Adyr. You’ll fight all manner of monstrosities along the way, like a colossal humanoid with an arm protruding from its mouth or a giant carrion crow that wears a human skull.

HexWorks, the gaming studio behind Lords of the Fallen, also released a patch for the game on April 3. The patch is intended to make co-op sessions feel more rewarding for hosts and guests, so you and your friends should have even more fun in this game.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered

Experience these classic Tomb Raider games from the 90s all over again — or for the first time — with the remastered trilogy. You’ll explore jungles, solve puzzles in the desert and tackle mercenaries and monsters along the way. While you can enjoy the boosted graphics of the remastered edition, you can also enable low-poly mode to experience these games as you would have almost 30 years ago.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream

A system called Galaxia has been added to Alfheim Online, allowing players to relive the past. But the system has spun out of control, displacing players throughout time. To set things right, you’ll have to work with friends and foes alike in this co-op raid battle game. But if you want to go solo, you can play story mode as characters from across space and time confront the anomaly in the VR world.

For more on PlayStation Plus, here’s what to know about the service. You can also check out other games on PlayStation Plus and games on Xbox Game Pass.

Technologies

Get Organized for Just $28 With This 6-in-1 Baseus Charging Station Deal

Ditch the cluttered cables and upgrade to this sleek USB power strip while it’s on sale for a record-low price.

For just $28, this six-in-one Baseus charging station can help you keep your desk organized. That’s 20% off and the all-time lowest price we’ve seen for this 120-watt USB power strip. We don’t expect this limited-time deal to last for long, however, so you’ll want to get your order in sooner rather than later.

You can use this charging station for just about all of your devices, including phones, tablets, headphones and laptops. It’s equipped with four USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, so you can charge up to six devices at once. It also boasts a 65-watt single-port output, enough to fully recharge a MacBook Air in less than 2 hours. And at just 323 grams, it’s light enough to take on the go, making it a great buy for frequent travelers.

Why this deal matters

This sleek Baseus charging station can connect to up to six devices at once, and is still small enough that you can take it on the go. Plus, this is the all-time lowest price we’ve seen, making it a pretty great value.