We get so many questions on student loan forgiveness so I thank the Corridor Business Journal for the following guidance.
Other student loan forgiveness tidbits:
No, it cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy
Yes public loans typically are better than private loans
FAFSA is not as daunting as it appears to be
Is student debt consolidation an intelligent option? Depends on the situation – let’s budget.
Can student loans for certain occupations be forgiven? Yes…see the program below for teachers.
The forgiven student loan debt may be taxable income.
Requests for student-loan forgiveness for teachers up 13 percent
Applications for student-loan forgiveness funding earmarked for Iowa teachers increased 13 percent this year, according to Iowa College Aid.
A total of 126 teachers in Iowa received an average of about $5,500 used to repay student loans this year, Iowa College Aid announced on Friday. The funds were awarded as part of the Iowa Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program. The average repayment was $5,493, for a total amount awarded of $692,171.
The program targets specific subject areas with a shortage of teachers, and received 543 applications for the 2015-16 school year, marking a 13 percent increase from the previous year. This year’s recipients have a total of $5,645,740 in outstanding federal student loans, with an average debt of $44,807. The three most common subject areas where this year’s recipients teach are family and consumer science, industrial technology and foreign languages.
To be eligible for the Iowa Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program, applicants must be a fully-licensed teacher in a shortage subject area designated by the Iowa Department of Education; have started teaching in Iowa on or after July 1, 2007; owe a balance on an eligible federal student loan; and be in good standing on all federal student loans.
For more information on the Iowa Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program, visit IowaCollegeAid.gov.
