Student Loan Forgiveness for Military Duty

These days, it is tough for anyone to go to college without some sort of financial help. Unless you are wealthy or have scholarships, you will have to rely on personal savings and loans. The great things about student loans are their rate – generally very low, and that you do not have to pay on them until after you are done with school.

Yet, there comes a time when you do have to pay them back. Well, in point of fact, there are ways of getting some (and sometimes all) of a student loan canceled. Student loan forgiveness for military duty is one of those ways.

Government Aid

The federal government is willing to cancel all or part of a student loan for several actions you take. First, you can do some sort of volunteer work. Next, if you have a medical or legal degree, you can practice either profession or teach the subject in communities that need it.

Also, there is becoming an elementary school teacher. And then there is military service. Just to give a sort of general overview; volunteer work has to be done in groups like AmeriCorp, the Peace Corps, or VISTA – Volunteers in Service to America.

Terms and Conditions

Some people argue that the public service aspect of the loan forgiveness is not a very good

Under the terms of the law, people teaching in schools, working for the government, assisting in health care or nonprofit organizations, and military service can have any remaining balance left of their student loans forgiven.

But, the requirements are that the person be in public service for ten years, that they have made ten years of consistent loans payments, and that the payments have to have been made after the first of October of 2007. So, that effectively means the student loan forgiveness for military service will only help future servicemen and women.

The Position Today

Now, as for student loan forgiveness for military duty for today, here is what can work for you. First off, your loan must be up to date. If you are at all delinquent on any payments, you need to get current with it. Next, it is the Army National Guard that has a program to help you. While it is designed to help service personnel with student loans, it technically is not student loan forgiveness for military service.

What they have is a Student Loan Repayment Program. It will give servicemen (and women) up to ten thousand dollars specifically to help pay off their student loans. As a little side note, there are military and veteran associations that also have scholarships and assistance programs to help with college tuition.

So, while there are a variety of ways to get some student loan forgiveness for military duty, keep in mind that you must adhere to all the conditions. If you loan is new, then you have a real chance at getting some relief. If you are paying on an old student loan, look into the Army National Guard program; as it is designed to better help you in that situation.