Episode 007 – Nursing Education Loan Repayment and Forgiveness
One of the most frequently ask questions I am seeing is about ways to get student loans paid by someone else. Well, today I cover the main Federal loan mitigation plans out there! Note, I do not get into the state level plans available, or negotiating with your employer directly, but those should also be explored on a case by case basis. I do give some basic, functional differences between loan repayment and loan forgiveness, as well as, some of the big picture requirements for each. This should help provide some guidance as to whether a plan is available to you and whether it is worth the commitment required. I also have some links below, as mentioned in the audio, to help get you in the right direction.
Loan Repayment Programs:
- NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program can be found at https://bhw.hrsa.gov/loansscholarships/nursecorps/lrp
- NHSC https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/loanrepaymentprogram.html
Loan Forgiveness Program: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans
I would love to hear from someone who has participated in these programs and get their experience…so please leave comments below, email me at jeff@TheNPDude.com, or comment on the Facebook page. Don’t forget to like and share my Facebook page!
Hi Jeff, I just found your podcast today and am listening to this episode… I am an FNP in my second year of the NHSC loan repayment at a community health center in central Mass. They do NOT send you wherever they want to send you. It’s more like the Nurse Loan Repayment program. You have to apply and get the job, and then apply for the NHSC loan repayment program. The program then uses a scoring process to determine the level of need for the site (not the applicant) that’s weighted based on population below the poverty line, infant mortality, and a couple of other measures. Then they take all the applicants in a given year, and give the money to those in the facilities with the highest score. So you are already working at a (terribly underpaid) job and you may not even get the loan repayment funds.
Just wanted to correct the record. Here’s the link: https://www.nhsc.hrsa.gov/currentmembers/membersites/recruitproviders/index.html
All the best, and thanks for the podcast!
Oh, and I just wanted to add that the time you spend participating in ANY loan repayment program does not count towards the current 10 year public service loan forgiveness program. Which may or may not even exist going forward based on the current administration. Currently it looks like it will be written out of the budget (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-01-31/3-student-loan-reforms-to-expect-under-trump). I have seen other articles suggesting that Trump is in favor of getting rid of the PSLF program and doing a 15 yr loan forgiveness (for federal loans only) and make all the payments in those 15 yrs 12.5% of the person’s income (http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/trumps-student-loan-plan-pay-more-but-exit-sooner.html).
Thanks for clarifying the HRSA program. I have not talked with anyone going through the program and provide an update on a future episode to add your info. Do you know of a way to get the facility’s score before applying to work there?
Yes, although it’s not simple. You have to create an account on the website and then look under the job listings. The jobs show the HRSA score, usually between 12-26. (The higher the number, the worse the shortage, and more likely of getting the loan repayment.)
Also worth noting: if you don’t fulfill your contract, you have to pay back not only the prorated amount that you didn’t serve, but also a $7500/mo penalty for every month of the contract that you don’t fill. So if you serve 1 year instead of two, you pay back $25,000 plus $90,000 in penalties. They don’t mess around either–every single day counts. I have jury duty this week which means one more day will be added to my service commitment at the end.
Thanks Joy for this info. I will probably create an account so I can check it out!