89,720 PSLF Buyback Applications Are Pending — But Many Borrowers Won’t Need Them
From The College Investor Audio Show by The College Investor
May 2, 2026 · 5 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the backlog of PSLF Buyback applications and the likelihood of many being denied as borrowers may complete their loan forgiveness through standard means.
The PSLF Buyback backlog grew to 89,720 pending applications in March, according to the latest court-ordered status report (PDF File) filed today. The Department of Education decided just 3,280 applications during the month. At that pace, borrowers at the back of the queue face a wait of over two years. But here’s the part that isn’t getting enough attention: a significant portion of these applications will likely be denied or closed — not because borrowers don’t qualify, but because they’ll finish PSLF the normal way before their buyback application is ever processed.
Topics covered
- PSLF Buyback
- student loans
- education policy
- borrower applications
- Department of Education
- loan forgiveness
Keywords
- PSLF
- Buyback applications
- student loans
- Department of Education
- loan forgiveness
- backlog
- borrowers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Department of Education
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