If you accumulated a great deal of student loan debt while you
were pursuing your college or graduate degree, you may want to consider a
loan forgiveness option available in certain professions. Generally,
loan forgiveness options are available for graduates who teach or
provide medical or legal services in low income areas. However, you can
also find opportunities for loan forgiveness while volunteering for
programs such as the Peace Corp or AmeriCorp.
Working in low income areas is often considered undesirable by many graduates. The pay is generally poor and the conditions are frequently stressful. But it's these drawbacks that enable government organizations to offer loan forgiveness as a benefit to working in these areas.
Of course, loan forgiveness programs have their own drawbacks, including a fairly significant time commitment. Consider for instance, that most college loans are paid back over ten years. To qualify for forgiveness, you'll still have to make regular payments for five to ten years. After the five to ten year period, it is the remainder of your loan that is forgiven - not the balance with which you left college.
If your loan is amoritized for ten years, you may be wondering how there would be a balance remaining. By working in lower income fields and areas, your payments can be lower using an income-based/income-contingent payment plan. You'll have to weigh for yourself whether the income and benefits package plus the value of the loan forgiveness, is worth a few years of your time. And most of the time, it may simply boil down to your own job satisfaction. Some things are intangible.
Another option is to investigate the professional organization associated with your career field. You may be surprised to find that these organizations also offer loan forgiveness options.
Personally, I find the route of teaching to be extremely attractive, especially if your primary goal is debt payoff. First, teaching in low income neighborhoods has a shorter time commitment, only requiring five years of service before providing over $17,000 towards your loans. Five years, in my mind, seems like a reasonable commitment to make, especially when you consider school hours may allow you to work a second job in the evenings, weekends, or over summer break, which can substantially add to your income and facilitate in debt repayment. Blog or write about your experiences and you might also just turn out to have a best selling book on your hands... we can only hope!
Working in low income areas is often considered undesirable by many graduates. The pay is generally poor and the conditions are frequently stressful. But it's these drawbacks that enable government organizations to offer loan forgiveness as a benefit to working in these areas.
Of course, loan forgiveness programs have their own drawbacks, including a fairly significant time commitment. Consider for instance, that most college loans are paid back over ten years. To qualify for forgiveness, you'll still have to make regular payments for five to ten years. After the five to ten year period, it is the remainder of your loan that is forgiven - not the balance with which you left college.
If your loan is amoritized for ten years, you may be wondering how there would be a balance remaining. By working in lower income fields and areas, your payments can be lower using an income-based/income-contingent payment plan. You'll have to weigh for yourself whether the income and benefits package plus the value of the loan forgiveness, is worth a few years of your time. And most of the time, it may simply boil down to your own job satisfaction. Some things are intangible.
Another option is to investigate the professional organization associated with your career field. You may be surprised to find that these organizations also offer loan forgiveness options.
Personally, I find the route of teaching to be extremely attractive, especially if your primary goal is debt payoff. First, teaching in low income neighborhoods has a shorter time commitment, only requiring five years of service before providing over $17,000 towards your loans. Five years, in my mind, seems like a reasonable commitment to make, especially when you consider school hours may allow you to work a second job in the evenings, weekends, or over summer break, which can substantially add to your income and facilitate in debt repayment. Blog or write about your experiences and you might also just turn out to have a best selling book on your hands... we can only hope!
