Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programs

Have you been teaching Special Education full-time in a low income Title I school for at least five consecutive years and owe student loans?? If you answered yes, then you'll want to read on to find out how I got $17,500 written off of my loan balance! 

If you were highly qualified in the area that you taught in, your employment was full-time, your five years were consecutive, your account is not in default, and you accrued your loan balance after October 1, 1998, then there is a good chance you may be eligible too.  

I was found eligible and had $17,500 taken off of my loan! I've read about many teachers that have not received the forgiveness and question as to whether anyone gets it. But it happened to me! I got it! It seems one of the biggest reasons for rejection is that employment was not consecutive. So if you've taken a break in employment, you will most likely not be eligible, because the program is designed to "keep" teachers in the field. If you meet all of the requirements above, then you need to apply!

If you feel you meet the requirements and may be eligible, you can download the application and eligibility requirements here. Applying is super easy! Just complete the first two pages of the application, have your principal sign it, and mail it to your loan holder. This is whoever you send your payments to each month.  

After ten years of continuous service, Public Service Loan Forgiveness is another option that will write off the entire remaining balance! Have you heard of it? I am about to close out my 10th year of teaching, so I was super excited to finally be able to apply for the PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Program.

However, after doing my homework recently on the PSLF Program, I found that this program might be a little too good to be true...at least for me! Not only does it require 10 years of service, it requires 10 years of qualifying payments. So in order to qualify, you have to have made 120 payments on your eligible loan(s) after October 1, 2007. So because it takes 10 years to qualify, no one has ever received this forgiveness yet, with the first candidates becoming eligible in October of this year (2017).  

If you meet these requirements, then good for you! You may be eligible in October to have all of your loans forgiven. You can read more about the PSLF Program and eligibility requirements here. 

Although I won't be eligible for the PSLF any time soon, I am thankful for the five year loan forgiveness program I was granted and want to make sure that other teachers are aware of these programs and take advantage of them! 

Did you know about these programs or have you applied for any teacher loan forgiveness programs?