Does anyone have information on education majors being able to have their loans forgiven ?

Question

I've heard of people agreeing to teach on (for example) an army base for say two years, and the government forgives their student loans. Does anyone have any info on this?

Answer 1

Yes, there are programs for student loan forgiveness, but they are for more than two years. There is a program for those who work for a government agency. In addition, you could be working at an inner city school in which there is a large population of title one students. Also, it could be a critical shortage area in teaching such as math, special education (educating disabled students), or science. I will include some readings on the student loan forgiveness program for teachers.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

If you were a full-time teacher for five consecutive academic years in a "low-income" school, you could qualify for a federal loan forgiveness program. To qualify, you must:

-have taught full time for five consecutive complete academic years in an elementary or secondary school that was designated a "low-income" school by the U.S. Department of Education.
And ...

-At least one of the qualifying years of teaching was after the 1997–1998 academic year.
-Your loan was made before the end of the fifth year of qualifying teaching.
-The school must be public or private nonprofit.

You can apply to have your teacher loans cancelled after you have taught for five consecutive years.

Submit your completed application to the chief administrative officer at your school. He or she must certify that you have taught full time for five consecutive years at that school, and

-if you're teaching in an elementary school, that you have knowledge of or teaching skills in areas of the elementary curriculum;
-if you're teaching in a secondary school, that you are teaching in a subject area relevant to your academic major.

Applications and regulations are available from the Department of Education's Student Aid on the Web.

Answer 4

Page 34 and 35 gives the exact amounts that can be forgiven depending on if your loan is a Perkins or a Stafford.

Here is the information on Stafford:
Condition: Full-time teacher for five consecutive years in a designated elementary or secondary school serving students from low-income families. Must meet additional eligibility requirements.

Amount: Up to $5,000 (up to $17,500 for teachers in certain specialties) of the total loan amount outstanding after completion of the fifth year of teaching. Under the Direct and FFEL Consolidation Loan programs, only the portion of
the consolidation loan used to repay eligible Direct Loans
or FFEL Loans qualifies for loan forgiveness.

Notes: For Direct and FFEL Stafford Loan borrowers with no outstanding balance on a Direct or FFEL Loan on the date
they received a loan. PLUS Loans are not eligible. At least one of the fi ve consecutive years of teaching must occur
after the 1997-98 academic year.* To find out whether your school is considered a low-income school, go to www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov.`Click on “Students, Parents and Counselors,”`or call`1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

Answer 5

Here is a link to the federal loan forgiveness program:
http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/cancelstaff.jsp