Eliminate Student Loan Debt with a Student Loan Forgiveness Program
Nearly every graduate out there faces the same dilemma: you’ve just graduated and you’re looking for or just starting a new job. Looming ahead are student loan repayments you’re going to have to start paying in just a few months. At that point, you’ll probably be looking at student loan consolidation and are facing the prospect of hundreds of dollars a month in loan payments. Not fun, but don’t panic because there are some ways to pay down or even eliminate student loan debt without money!
You can get student loan forgiveness from the federal government by participating in a student loan debt forgiveness program. These usually involve volunteer work, military service, teaching, voluntarily practicing medicine, and more. Often, for instance, recently-graduated doctors will practice their internship in at-risk community hospitals. They get both the experience required for licensing as well as Perkins loan debt forgiveness.
Many other opportunities are also available. Those who join Teach for America, Americorps, the Peace Corps, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) are often given student loan debt forgiveness that removes a large chunk or even eliminate student loan debt.
Military service is another option and many will find that two years in the National Guard can pay off more than half of their loans, resulting in significant student loan forgiveness. You can even have your student loan consolidation include a waiver of payment until your service is complete, which means that during your time in the National Guard, you pay nothing towards your loans.
Teaching full-time in low-income communities through Teach for America and similar programs is another great option that pays 15% of your loans for the first two years and 20% for the next two, with 30% the year after that. So in five years time, your loans are 65% paid, resulting in some great student loan forgiveness. Often, school districts or local/state offices will pay the rest as well.
There are some great opportunities for paying down or eliminating your student loans with student loan debt forgiveness programs.