Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses??

[RadBSN]

I for one am very happy about the loan forgiveness program as it will allow me to work in a less lucrative position, in an underserved area and be out of debt before I'm 60!!! I for one did do a lot of research before I went back to nursing school, unfortunately about a month into my program all the funding that I was counting on dried up. The hospital stopped offering contracts and the state decreased the number of nurse loan-scholarships it offered and then decreased the amount from $5000 to $2000 a year (but kept the commitment the same). Together those would have paid for the next year and a half of my degree (I had enough saved for the first semester). I had to take out additional loans to support myself over the next year and a half. I couldn't just drop out of nursing school and start working again (hello, where are the jobs???)

[Ambitiouz]

Does anyone know of any loan repayment options besides HRSA? I dont think I have a good chance of acceptance with HRSA. I have roughly 12,000 in loans with 2000 of it being from Perkins. I thought there were more loan forgiveness programs out there for nurses. Seems like they are hard to come by without major strings attached.

[RunningWithScissors]

I would not want to be beholden to any organization, certainly the government, for 10 years, for ANY benefit. I cherish my freedom to work/do what I want. I would PAY extra not to have to live by someone else's rules.

[hope4now]

student loan forgiveness is awesome. i have no clue why some people here are against it.

think of the greedy financial "professionals" who drove our economy into a major recession. then think of the hard work that nurses, social workers, teachers and other people do that is actually *work*......work that doesn't involve hiding money in the cayman islands or manipulating the stock market to make easy money.

the helpers in our society *deserve* loan forgiveness. they've earned it!! give yourselves a break, for crying out loud. you all are hard workers!!

[cutekittenj]

I would not want to be beholden to any organization, certainly the government, for 10 years, for ANY benefit. I cherish my freedom to work/do what I want. I would PAY extra not to have to live by someone else's rules.

I do see what you are saying. Working for whoever you want to is great so you won't be tide down, however if a person has a lot of student loan debt, then that may have to be put on hold. It sucks when you have to be tide down however, it's better to spend the required amount of time tide down then not being able to pay your loans because your passion is getting into the way and you may end up defaulting on them. But then again that's me but once again

[Devie06]

There's some math involved in this. And some important information to consider.

If I may have your attention...

The program stipulates that you must have 10 years of public service and must have made 120 payments to have your loans (whatever remains after making 120 payments) forgiven.

Consider:

Over the repayment period of their loans, Direct Loan borrowers who have not experienced financial hardship significant enough to warrant a deviation from the standard 10-year repayment plan generally stick with the standard 10-year repayment plan.

The standard 10-year Direct Loan monthly payment for a debt of $20,000 at an interest rate of 5% is about $240.00.

A borrower who is able to make payments at the standard rate throughout the repayment period will have satisfied their obligation at the end of 10 years ($240 x 120 = $28,800).

Conversely, borrowers who

1) Have seen significant financial hardship during the repayment period for whatever reasons (illness, disability, etc. - unforeseen and/or debilitating hardship)

or

2) Who may have many years in public service for the sake of public service (and not for a stellar paycheck), who are paid less than what their education level and experience might yield in another position (like, maybe...I don't know...a nursing instructor)

May have had to choose a repayment plan that reduces their monthly payment, (such as Extended Repayment for large amounts of debt or Income Contingent repayment for those who simply can't afford to make standard payments) thereby extending the life of their loan such that 120 payments (or 10 years of payments) doesn't satisfy their debt. So the offer is to reward 10 years of public service and a solid commitment to repaying the debt.

And here I thought nursing folk were all about critical thinking...

All that being said though...It's kind of twilight zone-ish to hear such disdain for a benefit to public service workers from....err....public service workers. That's some weird kind of masochism y'all have got going on.

I completely agree. Borrowing money to live while in school is a necessary evil that I am not jumping up and down over. Years of public service AND paying loans show that we aren't just lazy, looking for free money from the sky. Sheesh.

[AvaRN22, MSN, RN]

Brownie3085,

Thank you for your authentic and compassionate response to this thread. Happy to see nurses like you out there! :)

This is what happens when people comment without checking the facts. In order to qualify for this loan repayment, you must work for a non-profit underserved area, so there are stipulations to getting your loan forgiven. Everyone doesnt JUST get it automatically. It does come in exchange for something and with a term contract, so yes although you are getting paid while working, you are also serving a community that doesnt have adequate access and resources to health care. Unfortunatelty, everyone was not brought up in a middle class family or is able to find the "promised" job once they graduate. Others who do, may encounter major lifestyle changes, responsibilities or setbacks (such as raising children, ailing parents or even a crisis situation such as a cancer diagnosis or the lost of a spouse who provided financial stability) that can cause the good intentions of paying back (every penny) to be more difficult than initially expected. I am all for this bill! So what if YOU didnt get xyz when you were paying YOUR loans. This is a self-fish (and troll-ish) way of thinking. So, you only approve something if it benefits you? Have you considered how this could benefits others? Or were you too busy consumed in your own issues to even care? This is the problem with the world today, we lack the simple concept of compassion and understanding for others!!!! I am glad you were able to fulfill your financial obligations...but sometimes LIFE happens and you require a HELPING hand...in whatever form it comes, be it loan forgiveness or simply understanding from a total stranger. Why dont you try being that stranger?

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

It is merely an incentive to lull people into the public health sector or an underserved population, etc. Kind of a back end bonus. Consider this: my graduate program was $1,300 a credit hour. Some of my classmates had to borrow a lot of that. This was one of the best schools in the country, and probably has a high percentage of the best and the brightest, so to speak. You DO want some of the best and the brightest to consider public health, right? For some of my classmates, the income disparity between being a NP at at health department or working for IHS and say, being a NP in a derm practice makes the latter necessary, even if it not what they would otherwise choose. They need to earn over 100K a year to repay the loans. The loan forgiveness program may appeal to them, b/c then they can afford to make the other choice. It is win win. Underserved populations get excellent providers, the providers end up in an equitable position after their service commitment. The savings to the gov't inherent in placing strong candidates in needed areas will more than pay for the loan forgiveness, and everyone comes out ahead. There is nothing about it not to like.

And I don't have any loans, so I don't speak from self interest.

[Rohan8]

I'm sorry, but you took a loan out and you need to pay it back. I took loans out and I payed them back with interest. I was thankful that I could go to school because of student loans and I payed them back. Why should anyone be exempt?

Sounds to me like social progress

[watersamy]

this loan forgiveness will not apply if you've rolled your stafford loans or other federal loans into a lower interest personal loan or rolled it in a refinance of your home, etc.

[Mommy2be]

So in order to qualify you need to keep paying for 10 years and then anything left over would be forgiven?

[aachavez]

Couldnt loan forgivness be a bit of incentive for someone to go to school? Let's say, I know that going back is going to cost me more than what I could ever pay back in my lifetime. But I really want that job serving the public, but need the degree to do it. If I knew that my loans would be forgiven after ten years, I would feel a helluva lot better about taking that debt. So I wonder if these programs are meant to incentivize people to go back to school, and join a workforce that really needs some help.

As it is now, I was barely scraping by to support myself when I was working full time. (about 25k annually). And yet, I still make too much money to qualify for gransts now that I'm out of work and just went back to school full time. I still can't believe I am not entitled to ANY financial aide, just LOANS which I will be paying back. But if I can manage to get some of that debt forgiven, it would make up for not getting any help now I guess. And aren't tuition prices sky high anyway? Who's seriously against government help paying for school?