Here are literally the 4 fastest ways to ensure you1. Assume your job magically qualifies for student loan forgiveness.
The public service loan forgiveness program - the one that 99% of borrowers have been rejected from - has several requirements. One of those requirements is that your employer must be an eligible employer. The fastest way to screw up your chances for student loan forgiveness is to assume you “work in public service.” Wrong. Focus on your employer, not your job. If you work for a company, but your client is the federal government, that won’t count.
Who needs an income-driven repayment plan? After all, you’re getting student loan forgiveness, right? Wrong. To be eligible for public service loan forgiveness, you must be enrolled in an income-driven federal student loan repayment plan. There are four types of income-driven repayment: Income-Based Repayment , Pay As You Earn , Revised Pay As You Earn and Income-Contingent Repayment .
If you don’t work in public service, there’s no way you’ll ever get loan forgiveness, right? Wrong. If you enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, you may qualify for federal student loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. Yes, it’s a long time, so it may not be worth waiting that long. If you stick it out, your remaining balance gets forgiven. The downside is that you’ll owe income taxes on any student loan forgiveness you receive.