Student loan forbearance temporarily stops or lowers student loan payments. Because of its costs, only use forbearance if you have short-term issues and no other choice.

The qualifications for getting a $5,000 personal loan are much the same as any other sum. Consider standard requirements such as a good credit score and a low debt-to-income, or DTI, ratio.

Private student loans aren’t eligible for most forgiveness programs. However, there may be other sources of private student loan help—see your options.