This guide covers federal and private student loans from the first repayment decision through discharge or forgiveness years later. Part 1 explains the loan types and why identifying them correctly governs everything else. Parts 2 and 3 cover repayment plans, capitalization, and the recertification failures that cost borrowers the most money. Part 4 covers forgiveness programs and the counting problems that defeat them. Parts 5 through 7 cover default, the three collection tools that operate without a court, and the two routes back out. Part 8 covers the administrative discharges. Part 9 covers bankruptcy honestly. Parts 10 through 12 cover parent borrowers and cosigners, servicer errors and escalation, and the private loan analysis that runs on entirely different rules.