For those who have federal student loans issued by the Department of Education, there are a number of federal student loan forgiveness programs that you may be eligible for. If you want to learn how to apply for student loan forgiveness, keep reading until the end.
There are some situations that can apply the student loan forgiveness programs, as follows:
Working full time for government or non-profit organization
The student loan forgiveness is eligible for those who work full time for government or a non-profit company that provides a qualified public service. In order to apply, you will need to submit the FSLF and TEPSLF Employment Certification form to FedLoan Servicing. If you have no idea when to apply, you can submit the FSLF form in order to check the amount of payments you made or after you have made 120 qualifying payments.
There is an PSLF form application that you can find here. The form consists of a total of 9 sections, as follows:
- Section 1: Applicant Information
- Section 2: Total and Permanent Disability Information
- Section 3: Applicant’s Request, Authorization, Understandings and Certifications
- Section 4: Physician’s Certification
- Section 5: Definitions
- Section 6: Discharge Process / Eligibility Requirements / Terms and Conditions for Discharge (CTD.)
- Section 7: Eligibility Requirements to Receive Future Loans or Teach Grants
- Section 8: Where to Send the Completed Discharge Application
- Section 9: Important Notices
Please fill out every single thing well and when you are done, submit to the address that is shown on the form.
Actually, there are three ways to choose from for those who have been working in the public service for a minimum of 10 years. The program known as the service loan forgiveness is the main program to get the loan forgiven. However, it should be noted that only a few borrowers that met the complicated requirements of the program. For your information, there is no way for those with the government back bank loans called Federal Family Education Loans to be helped so please look for the other ones if you are one of them.
Having a permanent disability
If you are determined as severely and permanently disabled by a doctor, SSA or VA, then you are eligible to apply for the student loan forgiveness. It does not matter if your disability is mental or physical. You will need to submit the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge application to Nelnet or through a website called disabilitydischarge.com to be able to apply for it. The best time to apply for a TPD discharge is after the doctor signs the discharge application or you have determined that you are totally and permanently disabled by the SSA or VA. The application of TPD Discharge can be downloaded here.
If you become permanently disabled, you are suggested to look for lenders who are known to offer private student loan forgiveness. Since there are a lot of them, it should be easy for you to find one. if you want to know how to apply, please check with your loan servicer.
Making payments for at least 20 years
If you are a borrower with FFEL and Direct Loans, then you are eligible to apply for the student loan forgiveness. If you are wondering about the Perkins Loan borrowers, they are only eligible if they consolidate the Perkins Loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
Then, how do you apply for the student loan forgiveness? You will be contacted by your student loan servicer six months before making your final payment. They will let you know that it is almost the time to make your final payment.
Talking about the time to apply, there is no need for you to apply. It is stated that your services will be the one that will track your progress towards making the important payments. Unlike the previous ones, the application for repayment plan forgiveness does not exist.
Getting scammed by a school
You can considered yourself eligible for the program called student loan forgiveness if you attended a school that misled you or engaged in other misconduct. Not only that, you can also show your school violated the state law related to your loan or the educational services provided. Applying for it can be done online. Aside from that, another way to do it is to submit a paper application to the Department of Education. As for the time to apply, feel free to apply anytime you want after your school’s misconduct. Here is the link to find and download the Borrower Defense to Repayment form: https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/borrower-defense-application.pdf.
Teaching in a low income area
Everyone who teaches full time as a highly qualified teacher working in elementary or secondary school in a low income school is eligible to join the program. If you have no idea whether your school qualifies or not, you are suggested to check the Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory at by clicking this link https://studentaid.gov/tcli/. After making sure that your school qualifies, it is time for you to apply for it by submitting a paper application to your student loan servicer. Please visit link here to download the Teacher Loan Forgiveness application. The time when you are able to apply is after your fifth consecutive year of teaching full time in a low income school.
The school is closed
For those who were enrolled when the school closed, you are eligible to apply for the student loan forgiveness. Besides, the program is also eligible for those who were on an approved leave of absence when the school closed and those who withdrew within 120 days before the school closed and you did not complete your program of study at the school or a new school.
If you are in this kind of situation and are interested to apply for the student loan forgiveness, the first thing that you have to do is to make sure that your school closes as it is the only available to apply. When you are sure about it, you can submit a paper application to your student loan servicer. There is a Loan Discharge Application: School Closure form that can be downloaded here.
