Student loan forgiveness programs allow ways for student loans to be cancelled or discharged. The following information can also be found on the Federal Student Aid website.

Here 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.

There are a number of specific guidelines to be aware of as you search for the right loan forgiveness program that can suit your needs.

One of your best ways to find student loan forgiveness programs is the Internet. To find the right college loan programs suited to you, narrow your search to the specific jobs you have studied for. Also, it is very important for you to remember only to focus on finding loan forgiveness programs that are available for college graduates from your state. It makes no sense learning all the varied details and eligibility requirements of a loan program, only to find that you don't qualify for student loan forgiveness there.

Student 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.

Student loan forgiveness programs allow you to go to work offering your skills by:

• performing volunteer work
• teaching in certain school districts or within certain areas,
• providing legal and medical services
• serving in the military armed forces
• working in a critical federal government job

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.

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:

• did not have an outstanding balance on an FFEL or Direct Loan on October 1, 1998, or on the date you obtained an FFEL or Direct Loan after October 1, 1998;
• teach full-time at least five consecutive, complete school years as a full-time teacher in an elementary or secondary school designated as a low-income school;
• are not in default on the loan for which you are requesting forgiveness; have not received a benefit for the same teaching service through the AmeriCorps Program; completed one of your five years of qualifying teaching service after the 1997-1998 academic year; and
• took the loan for which you are requesting forgiveness before the end of your fifth year of qualifying teaching.

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.

Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers:

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

Americorps Student Loan Repayment

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 -- qualifying for student loan forgiveness:

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.
Web site: http://www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/loanrepay.htm

Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Forgiveness:

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.

Loans Forgiven For Peace Corps Volunteers:

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

Military Service: The military has introduced programs to help armed forces personnel repay their student loans. Members can take advantage of special loan forgiveness opportunities not generally available to others with student loans. The Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Goast Guard all offer select people enlisting in the military special loan repayment programs.
One instance is Student Loan Relief for active duty military personnel. In August 2003 , President Bush signed the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act (HEROES), legislation which allows the U.S. Secretary of Education to excuse military personnel from their federal student loan obligations while they are on active duty. See military student loan forgiveness programs for more information on this and other links to helpful web sites and student loan programs.

Legal/Medical Student Loan Forgiveness:

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.

Federal Government Employment:

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"
Federal employees can apply for up to $60,000 (spread out over 6 years at $10,000 a year) from participating agencies toward the payment of higher education. This program requires you to make a 3 year commitment to the agency/department that provided the repayment. You can download federal student loan forgiveness guidelines in PDF format at: www.makingthedifference.org

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.