College Loan Forgiveness
As you consider how to pay for your college education, investigate whether
any of these loan forgiveness programs apply to your career of interest.
- Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program — Certain teachers qualify
for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness under this program on Federal
Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and Direct loans. For more information
regarding qualifications, go to
http://www.studentaid.ed.gov.
- Federal Health Care Worker Loan Forgiveness Programs — The U.S. Department
of Public Health and Human Services administers several loan programs
for undergraduate students, and in some circumstances, will forgive
loans. Visit nhsc.hrsa.gov
for more information.
- 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 Oct.
1, 2007 count toward the required 120 monthly payments. (Borrowers
may consolidate their loans into the Direct lending program in order
to qualify for this loan forgiveness program.) Contact your lender
for more information.
- Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program (Montana only) — The Montana
legislature has authorized a Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program
for K-12 educators and licensed professionals. The program provides
for the direct repayment of educational loans. The total loan repayment
assistance may not exceed $3,000 per year for up to four years. The
number of students accepted is limited and contingent upon legislative
appropriations. Qualified applicants will be ranked based on a scoring
system that takes into account the effected schools and academic areas.
To qualify for loan assistance, an educator must be:
- A full-time educator holding a valid educator license, or a licensed
professional providing services to students in a school district,
an education cooperative, the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind,
the Montana Youth Challenge Program or a state youth correctional
facility.
- Teaching in an impacted school. These schools tend to be rural
and isolated, have a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged
students, and/or have greater challenges in closing the achievement
gap.
- Teaching in an impacted academic area. These areas are Music,
Mathematics, Special Education, Science, Speech/Language Pathologist,
World Languages, School Counselor, Library/Media, and Business.
- Applications and instructions are available online at http://www.mgslp.org/ and must
be received at the Montana Guaranteed Student Loan Program,
2500 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601.
Questions regarding the program and application process may be directed
to Montana Guaranteed Student Loan Program at (800) 537-7508.