Student Loan Forgiveness

Monday, November 24, 2008

AmeriCorps

The federal government will cancel all or part of an educational loan under certain conditions. This benefit is available provided the borrower has not defaulted on his or her loan. Student loan cancellation is also called loan forgiveness.

Education loans may be cancelled when a borrower undertakes volunteer work.

When a borrower works for AmeriCorps for a period of 12 months, he or she is entitled to receive a stipend of up to $7,400 plus $4,725 toward repayment of education loans.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Obama - Student Loan Forgiveness for tech degrees

...Obama has talked about student loan forgiveness for those willing to work in communities of need. This program could be extended to those pursuing science, math and technology degrees. Degrees in the sciences can be costly and loan forgiveness could allow a more level playing field for all to enter these important career tracks.

We need our president to expand the imaginations of young people to include science, math and technology or we risk losing our standing economically in the competitive global marketplace.
(Source: www.democratandchronicle.com)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

To qualify for up to $5,000 loan forgiveness under this program you must not have had an outstanding balance on a FFEL or Direct Loan program loan as of October 1, 1998. To qualify for the increased amount of loan forgiveness up to $17,500 available for certain mathematics, science, and special education teachers, you must not have had an outstanding balance on a FFEL or Direct Loan program loan as of October 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a FFEL or Direct Loan program loan after October 1, 1998.

Although a summary of the new requirements is provided below, for complete information about this program, contact the holder of your loan.

To qualify, you must have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete academic years in an elementary or secondary school that has been designated as a "low-income" school by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additionally:

* At least one of the five qualifying years of teaching must have occurred after the 1997-98 academic year.
* The loan must have been made before the end of the fifth year of qualifying teaching.
* The elementary or secondary school must be public or private nonprofit.
* A defaulted loan cannot be cancelled for teacher service unless you've made satisfactory repayment arrangements with the holder of the loan.

(Source: studentaid.ed.gov)

Student Loan Forgiveness Program

The Congressional Research Service has a nice reference document called Student Loan Forgiveness Program. This is a handy little document to read through during these troubled economic times.