It’s OK, Student Loans. You’re Forgiven.
In July, Reisa Resource blogged about loan forgiveness. Here’s a recap: Depending on your chosen career path after college, you might be able to get some of your federal student loans cancelled, or in financial parlance, “forgiven.” Here are some specific ways in which you can shave a few thousand dollars off your college debt:
Volunteer. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) give their volunteers a considerable break on their student loans. Considerable effort is also required on your part, though, as these organizations require a time commitment of one or two years to achieve eligibility for loan cancellation.
Serve your country. Members of the Army National Guard can receive up to $10,000 towards their student loans through the Student Loan Repayment Program.
Teach. If you have a Perkins loan and are teaching in a school located in a low-income community, you can have a percentage of your loan forgiven through the National Defense Education Act. You are eligible to have 15% of your loan cancelled for the first and second years of employment, 20% for the third and fourth years, and 30% for the fifth year. (You don’t have to be a math teacher to figure out that it all adds to up to the 100% cancellation of your Perkins loan.)
There are other ways of having your loans forgiven, particularly if your work involves underserved communities. It never hurts to ask a financial aid officer about your options.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 2:27 pm and is filed under College Loans, Education Savings Plans, Financial Aid Office. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Another major field where all or most of your loans will be forgiven is the health industry. From nursing to medicine to dentistry, most states have service programs that will forgive student loans (usually at a rate of one year service for each year of loans). Check for loan forgiveness programs available from your state.