Student loans are a major burden for many people. Fortunately, there are now several loan forgiveness programs that can help you get rid of your student debt and start saving money.
Can You Get Student Loan Forgiveness
Take advantage of the student loan forgiveness programs that are now in place.
- Take advantage of the student loan forgiveness programs that are now in place.
- Understand how your loans fit into each program.
- Find out if you qualify for any of these programs and apply for them if you do.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program is available to graduates who work for a non-profit organization.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program is available to graduates who work for a non-profit organization. PSLF also applies to graduates working at a 501(c)(3) organization, a government agency or public service organization.
Through the PSLF program, your federal loan balance will be forgiven after you have made 10 years of qualifying payments while employed by a non-profit.
If you are a recent graduate or current student, you may be eligible to have your federal student loans forgiven through the PSLF program. The PSLF is a federal program that allows students who work for non-profit organizations or government agencies to have their remaining balance of their Direct Loans and FFELP loans forgiven after they have made 10 years of qualifying payments while employed by a non-profit.
To qualify for this type of forgiveness, you must meet all the following requirements:
- Be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan (IDR) such as Income Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), or Income Contingent Repayment (ICR).
- Have been making payments under an IDR plan for at least 10 years (120 consecutive months) prior to forgiveness being granted.
The AmeriCorps Education Award can help repay your loans or pay for future education expenses.
If you serve in a program run by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), it may offer to repay your student loans. You can also use the AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for future education expenses or receive a refund of up to $4,725 if you already owe money on your loans when you begin service.
If you’re accepted into CNCS’s AmeriCorps program, this award will be paid directly to your school loan servicer—the company that manages your federal student loans—as part of your monthly paycheck.
To participate in AmeriCorps, you must be a U.S. citizen or national, at least 17 years of age, and not in default on any student loans.
To participate in AmeriCorps, you must be a U.S. citizen or national, at least 17 years of age, and not in default on any student loans.
You must be able to fulfill the terms of your service commitment (at least one year) before you can apply for loan forgiveness. In addition to being eligible for this program, you also need to have borrowed from the Federal Perkins Loan Program or the Health Professions Student Loan Program (HPSL).
If you meet these requirements, there are two different types of student loan forgiveness available to you: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
With AmeriCorps, you may earn up to $5,920 per year to help pay off your student loans.
If you meet the following requirements and are a U.S. citizen or national, you may qualify for AmeriCorps:
- You must be at least 17 years old by the start date of your program.
- You must not be in default on any student loans.
- You must pass both a background check and a drug test, which will include a drug screen (saliva). If you have been convicted of certain crimes, such as murder or rape, you may not be eligible for AmeriCorps funding even if you meet all other requirements. Certain misdemeanors also disqualify applicants from receiving AmeriCorps funds unless they were committed more than 10 years ago and/or were expunged from their record through court order or pardon (for example, possession of marijuana).
The Student Loan Forgiveness for Teachers program does not expire until Oct 1, 2027 and allows teachers to have their student loans forgiven for $17,500 on each of the first and second year of teaching and $5,000 each subsequent year up to five years.
The Student Loan Forgiveness for Teachers program does not expire until Oct 1, 2027 and allows teachers to have their student loans forgiven for $17,500 on each of the first and second year of teaching and $5,000 each subsequent year up to five years. In order to qualify for this program, you must be a teacher working at a low-income school. You also need to teach special education or math or science. If you meet these requirements, then your lender will pay off your student debt as long as it is federal student loans.
If you work as a teacher at a low-income school through the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLFP), teach special education or serve as a math or science teacher, you may be eligible to receive forgiveness on up to $17,500 in federal student loans you took out as an undergraduate.
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLFP) is a federal program that provides up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness for eligible teachers at low-income schools.
The program was created in 1998 to encourage more graduates to become teachers and provide them with the financial support needed to pay off their student loans. It’s open to both undergraduate and graduate students who teach full-time at an elementary or secondary school that serves low-income families (defined as 200 percent of the poverty line or less).
To qualify for this particular type of loan forgiveness, you must work as a full-time teacher for five consecutive years in an eligible school during either kindergarten through 12th grade or at an eligible non-profit organization providing tutoring services directly related to improving academic achievement or literacy skills. You must also have been enrolled as a dependent student on time when you took out your loans—that means you should have been under 24 years old when you graduated from high school or college—and those loans were taken out between 1998 and 2011.
Closing
If you are planning on seeking forgiveness for your student loans, it is important that you take the necessary steps to be eligible. If you think that these programs may apply to you, contact a professional who can help determine if they do or not so that they can assist with the process of obtaining one.