Deferment and forbearance both pause your required student loan payments temporarily, which makes them sound interchangeable — but the legal footing behind each one, and what happens to your interest in the meantime, is genuinely different. * Deferment is the stronger option where it applies: it's an entitlement, meaning your loan servicer has to grant it if you meet the qualifying criteria — common triggers include returning to school, unemployment, or economic hardship. For subsidized federal loans specifically, the government may continue covering the interest during deferment, the same way it does while you're originally in school. * Forbearance works differently on both fronts. It's largely discretionary — your servicer can grant it, but in many cases isn't required to, which means approval can depend more on your specific circumstances and how you frame the request. More importantly, interest always keeps accruing during forbearance, on every loan type, subsidized or not — there's no version of forbearance where the government covers the interest for you. * The application process reflects that difference in formality too: deferment generally requires a written request with supporting documentation, and importantly, its protection applies retroactively to when your qualifying circumstance began, not just from the date you submitted the request. Forbearance is typically less formal — many requests can be made over the phone — though forbearance based specifically on financial hardship still requires documentation to back it up. * Whichever one applies to your situation, the request goes to your loan servicer directly, using whichever specific form matches your circumstance from their published list of deferment or forbearance options.