Was your ambition to make a positive impact on the world when you first headed to college? Maybe this desire led you towards a career as a quality dental practitioner, which is not known for its high salary scale. If you studied at a private school and undertook significant student loans to pursue this noble dream, you may now wonder if you need a helping hand yourself.
Have you always been inspired to help others? You might have dreamt of contributing to society but eventually chose a more profitable degree, such as engineering or business. Despite earning a reasonable paycheck, you might be swamped with hefty student loan debt. You glance at job listings for nonprofits, knowing that staying with your current employer is more financially sound.
Or perhaps you truly are serving others as a medical doctor or aesthetic dentist, making a decent living, but burdened by student loan debt. Some days, you might question if your chosen path was the right decision.
Regardless of the circumstances you’re in right now, if your heart yearns to serve society, don’t let your student loans deter you.
The silver lining is that your service to others can actually help you settle your student loans. In some situations, your loans could be entirely written off, or your volunteer work could contribute towards the repayment of your student loan debt.
Let’s explore how you can assist others while simultaneously paying off your student loans.
1. FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAMS
If you have federal student loans, there are numerous options that could help you turn your service into student loan relief.
One such option is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. To be eligible for this program, you must hold Direct Loans under the William D. Federal Direct Loan Program. Also, loans consolidated into a Direct Loan qualify.
Moreover, you must be working for the government (at the federal, state or local level), certain non-profits, or serve in the Peace Corps. After making 120 qualifying payments, the remaining balance of your loans will be waived.
To qualify for these payments, they must be equivalent to the amount required through the 10-year standard repayment plan (even if you’re on an extended-term repayment plan) unless you signed up for one of the income-based repayment plans. These include the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan), Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan and Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan).
Teachers might also qualify for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program. To be eligible, you meet certain criteria as a teacher, the school you teach at must comply, and you must adhere to these requirements for 5 years.
Please note that with the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program, if you have Direct Loans or Stafford Loans, you can only claim a maximum of $17,500. This program doesn’t cover PLUS loans, whereas Perkins loans may qualify for total cancellation. Perkins loans forgiveness is accessible not only to teachers, but other qualifying service professionals, such as members of the Peace Corps or Vista Service, military personnel, law enforcement officers, nurses and medical techs, Head Start employees and early intervention specialists. For each year of service, a portion of your Perkins loan(s) will be forgiven.
2. OTHER LOAN FORGIVENESS OPTIONS
If you’re a highly-paid service professional like a doctor, psychologist, or nurse, you have more options. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services offers several programs you might qualify for.
Nurses have access to the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program. Any licensed registered nurse, including nurse practitioners, can avail of this scheme. By agreeing to work in a designated “Critical Shortage Facility” for two years, the nurse can have 60% of their qualifying loan balance settled. Furthermore, the HRSA’s Faculty Loan Repayment Program is offered to health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds who serve in faculty positions at college or universities.
3. VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
In the past five years, numerous organizations aiming to boost voluntary service and societal improvement have emerged, helping college alumni and students pay off their student loans.
Several organizations, like SponsorChange, ZeroBound, and StartNoo, offer volunteer options in exchange for student loan payments. This opportunity is accessible to all, irrespective of profession or employer.
If you have the ambition to help others and want to settle your student loans, seek ways to combine these two goals – you’ll not only change your future path but may also make a significant impact on the world.
Are there others ways you can think of for service-minded individuals to pay down their student loans? Do you qualify for any loan forgiveness schemes? Have you volunteered to get help with your debt? Let us know!
