collageAre you looking for a grant to pay off private student loans, Can you get a grant to pay off student loans, Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families)? You’re in luck! We’ve got everything you need right here. In this article we will give answers to grants to pay off private student loans, Can you get a grant to pay off student loans, Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families).
Grants can be used to pay off your private student loans. In order to get a grant, you need to fill out an application and meet the requirements set by the grant-giving organization. Grants are given based on a variety of factors, including your high school GPA and ACT/SAT scores. If you don’t meet the GPA requirement for your desired program, there are other ways to raise it so you can qualify for grants. Read on to know more on grants to pay off private student loans, Can you get a grant to pay off student loans, Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families).
grants to pay off private student loans
We begin with grants to pay off private student loans, then, Can you get a grant to pay off student loans, Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families).
Student loan debt is a massive problem for many students. According to the Brookings Institute, it is a 1.5 trillion dollar problem that impacts over 40 million Americans. What you may not know is that there are grants to pay off student loans! These programs include grants as well as loan forgiveness programs that will pay off your student loan debt.
Here are our summary of the best opportunities to manage your student loan debt:
- Best grants for private student loans: $2,000 College Repayment Grant
- Grant with the highest award : Delete Your Debt No-Essay Grant
- Best for student loan refinancing: Credible
- Best grants for people in social impact careers: Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Best grants for nurses: Nurse Corps Loan-Repayment Program
- Best grants for teachers: Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program
- Best grants for lawyers: John R. Justice Repayment Program
- Best for veterans: Armed Forces Loan Repayment
If you are concerned about your student loans or paying off student loans, keep on reading to learn about how you can find and secure these grants!
Dying for student loan debt relief? Sure, you can put those loans in deferment or forbearance, but both of those options have major drawbacks.
It’s way better just to get your loan forgiven or have someone else pay it off for you. And if you’re interested in that (because who isn’t?), you’ve come to the right place. Get ready—this is the largest guide to student loan debt relief we’ve ever assembled.
What is student loan forgiveness?
Student loan forgiveness can come in many different forms. You could receive a grant to pay off some or all of your loans, or you could get your loans cancelled in exchange for working in a specific high-needs area for a period of time.
For instance, one of the most well-known student loan forgiveness programs is Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Under this program, the government will cancel your federal loans if you work for a qualifying employer in public service and make 120 qualifying payments.
We go into that program in later in this article, but for now, know that it’s not the only way to get your loans forgiven.
Can you get a grant to pay off student loans
Next, we review Can you get a grant to pay off student loans, Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families).
Absolutely! There are many ways to have your student loans forgiven. Many of these are tied to your profession and where you work, but you can also find grants through your employer, organizations you’re involved with, volunteer opportunities, and more.
Most student loan forgiveness programs fall under the following categories, which we will cover in-depth below:
- Career-based student loan forgiveness
- Federal student loan forgiveness
- State-based student loan forgiveness
- Military student loan forgiveness
- Nonprofit/volunteer student loan forgiveness
- Forgiveness programs administered by corporate employers for employees
We’ve provided links to the original websites for all the grant programs we list below, so you can easily see how and where to apply.
If the application period has passed on one that looks good to you, try setting a calendar reminder to check back when it starts up again. This is a good idea, because many are given out on a yearly basis — and for some, the funds are first-come, first-served. Plus, many of these programs run annually.
Career-based grants
Now, we find out Career-based grants, Federal student loan forgiveness and Grants for members of the military (and their families).
These are grant programs that provide funds on a national level to anyone in these fields who qualify.
Grants for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals
National Health Service Corps: This is one of the most commonly-known grant programs for people in the medical field, including doctors, dentists, and mental health professionals.
The deal is simple: sign up for two years of full-time work within a high-needs community, and get up to $50,000 off your student loans. Reimbursement for part-time work is also possible.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program: There are many state-based grants to pay off student loans for nurses; this is the main one at the national level. (It’s also a great source for finding funding for specialized areas within nursing.)
The program will pay off 60% of student loan debt for registered nurses who work at least two years in a critical shortage area. Those who opt to work an optional third year may receive an additional 25% in reimbursement.
IHS Loan Repayment Program: This program will repay up to $40,000 of your qualifying student loans if you sign up for two years of service in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
If you choose to stay longer, you could keep renewing your contract until your entire physician student loan debt is paid.
Students-to-Service Loan Repayment Program: If you’re in your final year of medical or dental school, you could earn up to $120,000 in student loan repayment by agreeing to work in an area with a shortage of medical professionals for three years after you graduate.
Grants for teachers
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program: You could earn up to $17,500 in forgiveness for your federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (including Stafford loans) if you agree to teach for five years in a low-income area.
Teacher Cancellation of Perkins Loans: There are no new Perkins loans as of 2017. But if you have one from before then, you could get the full amount forgiven if you qualify.
Qualifying teachers work in low-income communities or teach high-needs subjects like math, special education, science, bilingual education, or foreign languages.
This program is noteworthy because unlike other grants to pay off student loans for teachers, it doesn’t have a set time requirement or even a specific number of hours per week you need to work. You get your forgiveness in per-year percentage increments until the loan is forgiven.
Grants for veterinarians
Veterinarian Medical Loan Repayment Program: This program pays as much as $25,000 per year toward your veterinarian school debt if you agree to work in an area with a shortage of veterinarians for three years.
Grants for lawyers
John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program: This program is designed for public defenders and state prosecutors. You can get up to $10,000 per year ($60,000 in total) toward your law school loans if you agree to three to six years of service.
You can apply through your state.
Department of Justice Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program: This program provides about $6,000 per year, up to $60,000 in total, for attorneys who work in the Department of Justice and have federal student loan debt totaling least $10,000. There is a three-year service obligation. Applicants are selected on a competitive basis.
Herbert S. Garten Loan Repayment Assistance Program: This program operates on a lottery system, offering as much as $5,600 in grants to attorneys with at least $75,000 in student debt. You have to work with one of the organization’s grantees to qualify.
Other options: Many law schools offer loan forgiveness for graduates who work in the public sector, and there are numerous state-based programs for public-service lawyers as well. Check out the American Bar Association website for a more complete list of resources.
Grants for researchers
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Programs: This is actually a group of grant programs designed to entice medical professionals into key research fields. You can get up to $50,000 per year (for a total of two years) by agreeing to conduct research considered critical by the NIH. You don’t have to work for the NIH to qualify.
The individual research topics include:
- Clinical research
- Pediatrics
- Health disparities in minority populations
- Contraception and infertility
- Clinical research for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds
Federal student loan forgiveness
The federal government administers many of the career-based forgiveness programs we’ve mentioned already, but the following are either not tied to your job title or apply to a wide range of professions.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): We’ve written a lot about this program. The upshot is that you can get the remainder of your federal student loans forgiven after 10 years or 120 qualifying payments, if you work for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer.
Under this program, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. It matters more who you work for than your job title; doctors, lawyers, teachers, and many other professionals could qualify for forgiveness.
Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness: There are four different kinds of income-driven repayment plans, and they all set your federal loan payments based on a percentage of your income. After 20 or 25 years, the remainder of your balance will be forgiven, but you’ll have to pay taxes on the forgiven balance.
Perkins Loan Cancellation: We’ve already listed a Perkins loan forgiveness program for teachers, but the federal government will also forgive your Perkins loan if you choose other careers. See the website for a complete list.
Cancellation and Discharge: The federal government may also discharge your loans under some extreme circumstances, including:
- Death
- Disability
- Bankruptcy
- Your school closes while you’re enrolled or soon after you withdraw
- Your school wrongly certified your eligibility for a loan
- Someone stole your identity and signed up for a loan
- You withdrew from school never got a refund for the remainder of your tuition
- You became total and permanently disabled during military service
Grants for members of the military (and their families)
Army Loan Repayment Program: If you enlist in the military after going to college and you have student loans, you can get forgiveness for those loans.
Army Reserve College Loan Repayment Program: This program provides up to $50,000 in student loan forgiveness for those in specific specialties who agree to serve for at least six years.
If you agree to serve for three years and meet other qualifications, you can get a third of your outstanding principal paid each year, for a maximum of $65,000.
Iraq-Afghanistan Service Grant: If your parent was a member of the military and died while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, and you were not eligible for a Pell Grant based on financial criteria, you could be eligible for an amount up to the maximum Pell Grant amount available for the award year. The amount for 2020-21 is $6,345.
You must have been under 24 years of age or enrolled at least part-time in college when your parent died.
Health Professions Student Loan Repayment Program: Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, veterinarians, and other healthcare professionals who enlist in the army can receive up to $120,000 in student loan forgiveness if they enlist for a specified amount of time, usually three years. The amount and time period vary by profession and service branch.
In addition, the military offers special student loan forgiveness programs in:
- The National Guard
- The Navy
- The Air Force JAG program
Also, if you haven’t yet enrolled in college, the military offers a wide range of scholarship programs for those who enroll.
Thankfully, there are grants and scholarships available for those with outstanding student loans. The more diligent you are in your search, the better chance you have of finding a scholarship that will help you gain a valuable degree while also making further payments on your student loans.
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