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Will the current recession kill off student loan forgiveness programs? Check out this story on NPR.org to find out the risks these programs are facing now....
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Student Loan Forgiveness
How To Get Your College Student Loans Forgiven, Excused Or Cancelled Student loan forgiveness programs allow for student loans to be cancelled or discharged. The secrets to getting student loans are simple: do your homework.
The related information can also be found on the Federal Student Aid website. There are detailed specifics of how a student loan can be cancelled or, as it's more commonly referred to, "forgiven," if a college degree leads to or complements a job in the teaching profession. You must be thorough in your search. Going through college, believing that your loans will be forgiven, only to find out that you didn't qualify for one reason or another, could cause you substantial financial stress when it's time to start repaying student loans.
There are a number of specific guidelines to be aware of as you search for the right loan forgiveness program that will suit your individual needs.
One of your best ways to find student loan forgiveness programs is by your own diligent research on the Internet.
To find the right college loan programs suited to you, narrow your Internet search to the specific jobs you have studied for or that you intend to study for while earning your college degree.
As you will find from your in-depth research on the subject, loan forgiveness is available ... but the rules sometimes limit eligibility.
Save time and energy. It is very important for you to remember only to focus on finding student loan forgiveness programs that are available for college graduates from your state. It makes no sense wasting time learning all the varied details and eligibility requirements of a loan forgiveness program, only to find that you don't qualify due to residency, age restrictions, or some other
rule.
By following this route, you can ultimately use your degree to help pay down your student loan debts! Your student loan balances will dwindle and you will gain valuable experience in your field of study. And, you will be helping people who need it most. College loan forgiveness qualifications will indeed vary from state to state, and from major to major. You'd be wise to seek out help from your school's employment assistance office for helping tracking down student loan repayment programs.
Remember: the best time to seek out student loan forgiveness is BEFORE you've gone to college! Trying to take advantage of programs aimed at getting people to study certain subjects to fill needs in particular fields of employment are often the reason for such programs. However, often, students who have graduated from college and are having problems finding a job will many times return to school to get an advanced degree or a degree in an entirely different field of study -- such as engineers getting a teaching degree to become a teacher. Then, this list of helpful college loan forgiveness programs will lead you in the right direction.
Once you find that you qualify for the right programs, you can be rewarded with student loan debt relief by going to work after college offering your skills by: The downside? Student loans that have been forgiven are usually considered taxable income by the IRS. Consult with your personal tax advisor to determine how getting forgiveness on your student loan might affect you come tax time.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness/Teacher Loan Cancellation Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)/Federal Direct Loan Teacher Loan Forgiveness. The Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Eligible applicants can receive loan forgiveness for up to a combined total of $5,000 of subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Federal Direct Loans. The TLF Program is only available if you: The best part if you have been in teaching for some time, is this: Highly qualified teachers, as defined by the "No Child Left Behind Act," can qualify for an increased level of $17,500 in TLF if they have been a full-time teacher for five years. This would allow teachers to pursue advanced teaching degrees. For more detailed information about the eligibility requirements for teacher loan forgiveness, please visit the following website: http://studentaid.ed.gov Click here for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application. Federal Perkins Loan Teacher Loan Cancellation In order to be eligible for Federal Perkins Loan teaching cancellation, you must be teaching full-time at a low-income school, as determined by your State's education agency. The low-income designation is based on statistics gathered about the population of each elementary and secondary school in your State.
Teachers can have their student loans cancelled or, as it's more commonly referred to, "forgiven," if their degree takes them into a career in the teaching profession. There are exacting guidelines to be followed, for sure, but if a person does qualify for this federally sponsored program, up to $17,500 of their student loan balance might be cancelled or forgiven. It's important to understand that the purpose of the program is directly tied to the goal of encouraging people to become and remain teachers, and to reward those who choose to work in low-income schools by excusing their student loan debt. The following information is found on the Federal Student Aid website: http://www.fsahelp.ed.gov/cancellation.html Here is a listing of teacher shortages by geographic area: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf Here is a compilation report of government programs in PDF format: http://www.senate.gov/~hutchison/RL32516.pdf The domestic arm of the Peace Corps offers up to $7400 in living stipends and about $4725 in education awards to be awarded upon completion of a year's worth of successful service. The AmeriCorps Program allows participants to earn education awards— including money to repay student loans—in return for national service. For more information, contact the Corporation for National Service, which administers the AmeriCorps Program: Web site: http://www.americorps.org Nurses often qualify for another type of repayment assistance (again, not a discharge) through the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP) to registered nurses in exchange for service in eligible facilities located in areas experiencing a shortage of nurses. All NELRP participants must enter into a contract agreeing to provide full-time employment in an approved eligible health facility (EHF) for 2 or 3 years. In return, the NELRP will pay 60 percent of the participant’s total qualifying loan balance for 2 years or 85 percent of the participant’s total qualifying loan balance for 3 years. For more information, call NELRP, toll-free, at 1-866-813-3753. College graduates can volunteer their time with private, non-profit groups that help eradicate hunger, homelessness, poverty and illiteracy. You could receive $4725 in exchange for providing 1,700 hours of VISTA service. For full details, call 1-800-942-2677 or 1-202-606-5000. If you volunteer to serve in the Peace Corps and help people around the world, there is a program the Peace Corps offers its volunteers who have outstanding Perkins Loans, a 15% cancellation on the debt owed for each year of their first two-year service term and a 20% loan cancellation for their third and fourth years of service. Volunteers ultimately can receive up to a 70% cancellation on their Perkins loans. The Peace Corps website offers more details: www.peacecorps.org/volunteer/college/loans.html Studying medicine or law can mean incurring thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of additional dollars of debt. Some law schools provide loan forgiveness to those students who serve in the public interest and or work for non-profit organizations. The National Association for Public Interest Law has an extensive site that provides the nitty gritty on the qualifications and conditions you must meet in order to receive the cancellations. Visit www.napil.org to learn all the details. An increasing number of federal agencies are now offering loan repayment programs to attract and retain talented individuals. Up to $10,000 of student loan payments can be made by the employees federal agency, up to a maximum of $60,000 per person. This has proven to be so popular, that the GAO is reviewing the program, perhaps to put limitations on it. A recent article in the Federal Times newspaper reported that use of this program in up over 30% between 2005 and 2006. Read more here: "A GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM AND OTHER STUDENT PROGRAMS" For more information about specific student loan discharge options or questions, you can contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center at 1-800-848-0979 if you have a Direct Loan. Contact the lender or agency that holds your loan if you have a FFEL. If you borrowed using a Federal Perkins Loan, contact that particular school which made the loan.
For more information, click over to read our student loan forgiveness guide for more informative tips on how to eliminate your college student loan debt. Further, read this post about the new Teach Grant program by the federal government. Here's news to look forward to... Those with federal student loans may be in for some relief soon. The Income-Based Repayment plan, part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, goes into effect on July 1, 2009. The program caps most borrowers' monthly payments at less than 10% of their gross income for 25 years. The remaining debt will be forgiven. Find more information on the Teach Grant program here: "Teach Grant information". Moreover, under the program called "Public Service Loan Forgiveness," you will be able to make income-based repayments and have your student loan debt discharged after 10 years. Read this story on how college graduates are beginning to band together to demand action from Congress on overhauling student loan financing programs: "Asking for Student Loan Forgiveness". We want to know how you are coping with your student loans. Share your own student loan forgiveness story here at FindHow2.com.
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