I am considering joining the air force as a nurse and I have been told that all slots are full for student loan repayment for this fiscal year (2009). But that the bonus is still available.
I know the new fiscal year starts October of this year. However, my recruiter says that he has heard that there will be no bonus or student loan repayment because of the economy and that they over-did the amt of nurses that they accepted last year. Does any of that sound accurate?
I am also told that I need to give a definitive yes or no on whether I want to join the Air Force before he will even enter my application into the system. He says if I go through the process of getting accepted and then turn it down, then I wasted 4 AFB's time and money.
I am uncomfortable with giving a yes to this before I even get the opportunity to find out about student loan repayment & bonuses for the next fiscal year and before I even find out if I am accepted.
He says if I want to wait to hear about that, it will be December before he knows anything about student loan repayment and then he can enter my app.
Does any of this sound accurate?? Just curious b/c I have no other sources.
Does anyone know if you can defer your student loan payments if you are planning to apply for the loan repayment plan? DH is hopefully going to COT in October but his first student loan payment is due 7/1. We were hoping to defer until we found out for sure if we could get the loan repayment. Right now, it's looking like his loans will be about $300/month
There are many options out there depending on the lender. I had all my loans reduced or deferred for an extra 6 months following graduation due to "economic hardship" ei I couldn't find a job. There are other things they can do. Ask for your options. And good luck! If he has Sallie Mae start calling now. The lines fill quickly.
I wouldn't say you're applying because they're going to be repaid. They're likely to deny the deferral.
I'm also not saying HOW to get the deferral....use your own judgement.
I don't blame you for wanting them deferred if the Feds are going to pay them back. Mine were just paid out and believe me, while they didn't cover ALL my debt (because I had some terribly OLD loans that had nothing to do with my BSN), my payment has dropped by better than half, and it's a great feeling.
Usually they'll let you defer in six month increments. Many lenders grant up to a three year deferral if you're active duty military. That's the question I'd ask/investigate FIRST - do they offer an automatic deferral for AD military.
I requested a regular deferral for my government educational loan. You can request it for up to three years for "economic hardship" (which equals being jobless, etc...). They do it in six month increments like carolinapooh said.
Federal loans will also defer for active duty. Once you go active and your initial deferral expires - if they still haven't paid out after six months - call them back and defer for AD. That's what I did. When they paid out, I lifted the deferral to avoid more interest and had no problems.
Great! Thanks for all the advice. He got the federal deferred until 01/11. Now we just need to get the private one defer. I was really not looking forward to that payment. My interest is so much lower than his, so I know it is going to be insane. Hopefully the repayment loan will erase the majority of it.
The loan repayment will pay ALL of it - up to forty grand - as long as the loans were for the BSN. I had $20K in Federal loans and the payment was $387. Now it's less than $150 since some of my loans were old, old, old and unrelated to my Duke tuition.
But I feel like I got a $200+ a month pay raise after taxes!
A quick benefits question. A former enlisted told me that AD members receive free 100% dental coverage. Is this true? I am attempting to put off two crowns (over $1000/each) until after COT, but unsure how much the AF covers..
Yes, the active duty member gets 100% dental coverage. Dependents do not. You'll just make an appt. when you get to your duty station for an initial (xrays, exam, cleaning). From there they will make further appts to take care of more needs (like crowns, cavities, wisdom teeth removal, etc.). You will have a yearly dental appt. after that (but sooner if you have a dental emergency or need same day care...i.e. tooth pains).
.thumb.gif.09f7460d3e1ff8d6732564d77b5465cb.gif){kind=avatar}
carolinapooh, BSN, RN
3,577 Posts
I didn't hear I got the loan repayment until I was in COT, so if your recruiter doesn't call, don't take that as a hard "no".