Loan Forgiveness Information
We would like to tell
you that there are literally hundreds of different
types of
student
loan forgiveness programs. To get more information
get
in touch with the HR department of your company, as
they would have details about the industry specific forgiveness
programs.
Information can also be had from the local volunteer
organizations
in your area.
1. Teachers student loan forgiveness:
This program is targeted towards teachers who have been in service for
more than five consecutive years. Under this program, the teachers can
qualify for repayment of their student loans in the range of $5,000.00
to $17,500.00. Teachers, who have an outstanding balance of their direct
loan or FFEL, are eligible for a $5,000.00 repayment of their
student loans.
The forgiveness program gets even more interesting for teachers who
are
in the field of mathematics and science and are teaching in eligible
secondary schools, as theyre entitled to complete $17,500.00
forgiveness. This program is targeted towards encouraging teachers to
take up such roles, because theres always scarcity of staff in such
schools which have special educational needs.
2. Charitable volunteers forgiveness
program:
Spreading kindness and goodwill can also be rewarding in terms of
forgiveness of student loans. The favor of charitable volunteering is
returned by forgiveness of a certain percentage of the student loan.
Students who serve in the Peace Corps, American corps and VISTA are
entitled to claim forgiveness of their student loans.
• Volunteers in service to America (VISTA): the
volunteers
are rewarded with $4,725 of student loan forgiveness
on completion
of 1,700 hours of service. VISTA is dedicated to
eliminating
illiteracy, hunger and poverty.
• Peace Corps: fifteen percent of the qualified student loans are
forgiven for each year of service provided by the volunteers, up to
a
total of 70 percent of their starting balance.
• American corps: Americorps, as it is commonly known, is a division of
the Peace Corps which works only within the United States of America
and the volunteers are eligible for $4,725 worth
of student loan
forgiveness after they have completed one year of voluntary work.
3. Head start staff forgiveness program:
This program has been specifically designed to promote education for
children coming from lower income families. The volunteers who
participate in the head start program are generously rewarded with
forgiveness in their student loans.
This program is supported by the
state government, which will repay fifteen percent of the student loan
every year, till the time the total loan balance is paid in full. Under
the head start program, children from low income families are taught
skills which are needed for entering kindergarten.
4. Forgiveness program for nurses and
medical technicians:
For medical professionals, working in fields where there is a dearth of
quality medical professionals, several student loan forgiveness programs are on the
offer.
Up to 60 percent of the outstanding student loan balance can be paid
for under the Nursing Education loan Repayment Program. The eligibility
requirements for this program are that the professional should have
worked for more than two years in critical shortage facilities.
Qualified individuals can also avail of the overly generous National
Health Services Corps student
loan forgiveness program, which can repay even up to $35,000 of
the remaining balance for every year of service.
5. Student loan forgiveness for law
enforcement officials:
On protecting and serving the community, the government will extend its
support in reducing your burden of Perkins student loan. Serving as a
full time law enforcement or correctional officer can entitle you to a
complete cancellation of the Perkins student loan. For you to become
eligible, your school will have to determine the following:
• The employing agency should be publicly funded such as local, state
or Federal agency and the agency should be working in the field of
prevention, control and reduction of crime or in the field of enforcing
criminal law.
• The ranking also counts, so you need to be a sworn officer or person
whose main responsibility is directly related to the agencys primary
mission.
6. Forgiveness programs for Family services
and similar
other services:
These programs are meant both for family services and nonprofit child
agency employees, making them eligible for 100 percent forgiveness of
their student loans, provided they are working at eligible centers.
The
idea is to promote highly educated child care professionals to take up
such jobs and provide long-term services. The basic requirement is that
the borrower should have a bachelors degree in the field of early
childhood education. And the eligible centers are those which are
attended by more than 70 percent of the families who are earning below
85 percent of the median household income.
7. Forgiveness programs for intervention
service providers
for the disabled:
Full repayment of Perkins student loan is possible for people who
provide full time service to children with physical, emotional,
communicative or similar other types of disabilities.
The eligible
programs are those which conform to the guidelines of the Individuals
with Disabilities Act, irrespective of whether the care program is being
conducted in an in-house setting or at a facility. To know more about
this forgiveness program get in touch with your Perkins loan provider.
8. Forgiveness for armed forces:
There is a wide range of money saving benefits and student loan forgiveness programs for
those who are serving in the military. The student loan borrowers, who
have served with the armed forces from September, 2001 to June, 2006 can
claim forgiveness for up to $2,500.00 worth of student loans.
The offer
gets even more enticing for those serving the National Guard, as
repayment to the tune of $10,000.00 worth of student loans is also
available for qualifying individuals.
9. Public Service Loan Forgiveness:
This program
discharges any
remaining debt after 10 years of full-time employment in public
service. The borrower must have made 120 payments as part of the
Direct Loan program in order to obtain this benefit. Only payments
made on or after October 1, 2007 count toward the required 120 monthly
payments. (Borrowers may consolidate into Direct Lending in order to
qualify for this loan forgiveness program starting July 1, 2008.)
