Author: Geoffrey Ejiga
Student loan forgiveness aims to help federal student loan borrowers by canceling some of their outstanding student loan debt. But you’re probably wondering if you qualify for any student loan forgiveness.
So stay tuned to learn more about student loan cancellations and how you can get them.
The Current State of Student Loans
Student loan forgiveness isn’t new. And in recent times, President Biden has canceled about $15.5 billion of student loans, but there are currently no major plans for any other wide-scale student loan cancellation.
However, you may have a few unexplored options.
So let’s dive into some ways you can get student loan forgiveness:
3 Ways You Can Get Student Loan Forgiveness
Borrower Defense To Repayment
The United States Department of Education allocated $2 billion of student loan forgiveness to federal student loan borrowers who are eligible for the borrower defense to repayment.
The Borrower Defense to Repayment will partially or fully cancel student loans for federal student loan borrowers who were misled by their college or university.
But to qualify, you must prove that your school violated the law regarding your student loan or other educational services provided by them.
To apply for borrower defense to repayment, simply go to the federal student Aid website.
Navient Student Loan Settlement
Navient announced a settlement to resolve widespread allegations of deceptive, unfair, and abusive behavior concerning student loan services they provided. The settlement requires Navient to cancel the $1.7 billion student loan debt owed to over 66,000 borrowers, mostly from for-profit schools.
The company also has to pay $95 million in restitution to federal student loan borrowers who were placed in forbearance.
The restitution payments will distribute $260 to about 350,000 federal loan borrowers. Navient is among America’s largest student loan companies, meaning they may be your student loan servicer, which can eventually put you into consideration.
Also, there’s no application process, but Navient will contact anyone eligible for this student loan cancellation.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
President Biden’s administration recently introduced the public service loan forgiveness, which canceled $4.5 billion of student loans for public servants.
This public service loan forgiveness can also help you get the full federal student loan cancellation.
To be eligible, you must meet the requirements below:
- You must be working full-time for a qualified public service or non-profit employer.
- You must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan.
- You must have made at least 120 monthly student loan payments.
You can apply for public service loan forgiveness from the United State Department of Education.
You are also required to complete an Employer Certification Form every year or anytime you change jobs.
Final Thoughts
Forgiving student loans can have a dramatic impact on people’s lives. Some citizens even call on the president to cancel all outstanding student loans.
But for now, there are some ways that you can get student loan forgiveness which are highlighted above.