Prioritize your student loan repayment. Federal student loans fall into default after nine months to a year of missing payments. Private student loans, however, may fall into default after missing just one payment. If you find yourself unable to make a payment to your federal student loan, you may want to temporarily skip the more flexible federal student loan bill and pay your private student loan to avoid defaulting.
Contact the student loan companies that service your defaulted student loans. This is the most important step to take for a defaulted student loan. Student loan companies will most likely work with you and negotiate a payment plan that is affordable for you. Ask the student loan company if it offers income-based repayment, which would allow you to pay your loan in proportion to how much you earn.
If you believe that your financial difficulties are only temporary, ask for a student loan deferment. This will allow you to get back on your feet by stopping your student loan payments for a set period of time ranging from three months to a year. This will change your defaulted student loan to the status of "deferred." Keep in mind that your student loans continue to accrue interest, even in deferment. Also, you can only defer your student loans a limited number of times in your lifetime.
Look for student loan forgiveness opportunities. Depending on your field of study and your career, there are many ways to get student loan forgiveness. The most widely applicable of these is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offered through Equal Justice Works (see Resources, below, for a link). This program allows you to offer your skills in a public service field for a set number of hours per week. If you fulfill the program's requirements, when your service is complete, your entire federal student loan is forgiven. These services range from military service to social work. If you are an attorney, you may be able to obtain federal student loan forgiveness by offering pro bono services.