Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses??

2 President Obama has enacted legislature that will allow Direct Loan holders to have their loans forgiven after 10 years of eligible employment in Public Service and 120 payments made to their loans.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

This benefit is for people who work in certain "public service" jobs in government and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations (for details see What are eligible jobs?). The program will forgive remaining federal student loan debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying payments.

You may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness if:

You have federal student loans in the Direct Loan program. Covered loans include Stafford, Grad PLUS, or Consolidation loans through the Direct Loan program.

If your federal loans are not in the Direct Loan program, you may be able to switch (see box on the right to find out more).
Your Direct loans originated before or after the loan forgiveness program was created, for either graduate or undergraduate study.

You work full time in an eligible job.

While working in an eligible job, you make qualifying payments for a total of 10 years (120 monthly payments which do not have to be consecutive). As long as you are in the Direct Loan program, these payments can be made through the Standard (10-year) repayment, Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), and/or Income Based Repayment (IBR) plans.

You are still working full time in an eligible job and have debt remaining after 120 qualifying payments.

What are eligible jobs?

In most cases, eligibility is based on whether you work for an eligible employer. Your job is eligible if you:
are employed by any nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization; are employed by the federal government, a state government, local government, or tribal government (this includes the military and public schools and colleges); or serve in a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps position.

If you don't meet these criteria, the Department of Education's regulations create a two-part test of other circumstances under which you may still be eligible:

(1) your employer is not "a business organized for profit, a labor union, a partisan political organization, or an organization engaged in religious activities, unless the qualifying activities are unrelated to religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing;"

and,

(2) your employer provides any of the following public services: emergency management; military service; public safety; law enforcement; public interest law services; early childhood education; public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly; public health; public education; public library services; and school library or other school-based services.

These definitions of eligible jobs reflect the Department of Education's final regulations for PSLF, as posted in the Federal Register on October 23, 2008.

For more information: http://www.ibrinfo.org/index.php

I think it's worth finding out if you qualify!
Would this include not-for-profit hospitals?

I'm sorry, but you took a loan out and you need to pay it back. I took loans out and I payed them back with interest. I was thankful that I could go to school because of student loans and I payed them back. Why should anyone be exempt?

Student loans and grants are the governments way of assisting people with their education. Now we need to add loan forgiveness to that as well just....because? I can see why some hospitals would do loan forgiveness in exchange for contract employement or the military offering GI bills and other like programs, but this just seems like a publicity stunt to endear the current president to the hearts of the people. After all, it's just free money from the sky, right

Quote from asc5I'm sorry, but you took a loan out and you need to pay it back. I took loans out and I payed them back with interest. I was thankful that I could go to school because of student loans and I payed them back. Why should anyone be exempt?

First of all I am not a troll. I am from a middle class family where my dad made too much money for me to be eligible for any financial assistance. I am one of four and there just was not enough money to go around. The only way I could go to school was through student loans (and my interest started compounding the day I took the loan out) and my summer job as a camp councelor. I was able to complete my four year degree at about a 18,000 loan to be repaid the month I graduated. Did it stress me out? YES! Did I pay every fricken penny back? YES! I was THANKFUL that I could go to school, work a part time job, and graduate with a BS. I PAID my student loan back in FULL with interest. So no I am not a troll, I am a real person who made my payments in full. I am a bit cautious of the free rides out there because I sure did not get one and I am a thankful for the education I got. I am blessed enough to go back to school now for my true passion and again I am THANKFUL. And I am having to pay in full with no discounts from our savings.

Quote from asc5I'm sorry, but you took a loan out and you need to pay it back. I took loans out and I payed them back with interest. I was thankful that I could go to school because of student loans and I payed them back. Why should anyone be exempt?

Quote from tfleuter but this just seems like a publicity stunt to endear the current president to the hearts of the people. After all, it's just free money from the sky, right

Quote from tfleuterStudent loans and grants are the governments way of assisting people with their education. Now we need to add loan forgiveness to that as well just....because? I can see why some hospitals would do loan forgiveness in exchange for contract employement or the military offering GI bills and other like programs, but this just seems like a publicity stunt to endear the current president to the hearts of the people. After all, it's just free money from the sky, right

All that being said though...It's kind of twilight zone-ish to hear such disdain for a benefit to public service workers from....err....public service workers. That's some weird kind of masochism y'all have got going on.

Quote from asc5First of all I am not a troll. I am from a middle class family where my dad made too much money for me to be eligible for any financial assistance. I am one of four and there just was not enough money to go around. The only way I could go to school was through student loans (and my interest started compounding the day I took the loan out) and my summer job as a camp councelor. I was able to complete my four year degree at about a 18,000 loan to be repaid the month I graduated. Did it stress me out? YES! Did I pay every fricken penny back? YES! I was THANKFUL that I could go to school, work a part time job, and graduate with a BS. I PAID my student loan back in FULL with interest. So no I am not a troll, I am a real person who made my payments in full. I am a bit cautious of the free rides out there because I sure did not get one and I am a thankful for the education I got. I am blessed enough to go back to school now for my true passion and again I am THANKFUL. And I am having to pay in full with no discounts from our savings.

"Just keep swimming....Just keep swimming..."Note to self: It is sooooooo not worth the headache.

Quote from asc5I'm sorry, but you took a loan out and you need to pay it back. I took loans out and I payed them back with interest. I was thankful that I could go to school because of student loans and I payed them back. Why should anyone be exempt?