Dr. Tony Bartels on the latest student loan news as we start 2026

Listen in with student debt expert Dr. Tony Bartels in this next installment of our Student Debt Series covering the latest news and information on student loans. In this episode we have seven major topics we’re addressing:

Removal of the IBR (Income Based Repayment) Partial Financial Hardship test

SAVE ending soon?

WikiDebt: What is your IDR (Income Driven Repayment) profile?

Good time to review student loan options

Preparing for more changes this year

How to get help

As always, we want to hear from YOU. Please share your thoughts by sending an email or joining the conversation.

GUEST BIO:

Dr. Tony BartelsTony Bartels, DVM, MBA graduated in 2012 from the Colorado State University combined MBA/DVM program and is a VIN Foundation Board Member and Student Debt Expert, and an employee of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). He and his wife, a small-animal internal medicine specialist practicing in Denver, have more than $400,000 in veterinary-school debt that they manage using federal income-driven repayment plans. By necessity (and now obsession), his professional activities include researching and speaking on veterinary-student debt, providing guidance to colleagues on loan-repayment strategies and contributing to VIN Foundation resources. Beyond debt, his professional interests include small- and exotic-animal practice. When he’s not staring holes into his colleagues’ student-loan data, Tony enjoys fly fishing, ice hockey, camping and exploring Colorado with his wife, Audra, daughter, Lucy, and their two rescued canines, Addi and Maggie.

LINKS AND INFORMATION:

Check your current student loan servicers and other loan details -- VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool: http://www.vinfoundation.org/mystudentloans