What are the chances of loan forgiveness?

[seekinghappy]

I have read about potential loan forgiveness/repayment programs, but is there a catch? Is qualifying for loan forgiveness extremely competitive to get? Is there a downside to working in the designated areas? I have found (at least in my area) they tend to be a lot of community health centers. Is that a disadvantage to someone who has just graduated from a BSN program (i.e., would it serve a new grad better to work in a hospital before working in a community clinic?)? And also, if you have, say, $90-100K in loans, will the nursing corps/other organizations pay that off? I have read that they only cover a percentage of your debt and sometimes only certain types of loans such as Perkins.

I'm not well-informed on many of the loan forgiveness options out there so I'm sorry if this post seems like I don't know much of what I'm talking about. I'm considering taking on the above debt I mentioned in order to get my BSN (second degree) at a private university with a great medical center, but not sure if my options for repaying the debt (lots of private loans) after school will be worth it.

Thanks!

[Valcorie34, BSN, MSN, RN]

There is a catch...if you go to the wrong place. The department of education offers many loan forgivness programs. There are hundreds of scam companies out there that want money upfront then monthly payments. My fiance used one. He paid $300 upfront and a monthly fee. He thought it was handled until his tax refund was garnished. So be forewarned, every forgiveness program is offered through the department of education, there are no fees and a large number of people quailify. He ended up calling and getting it all squared away for free and pays $5 per month, for a set number of months then the debt is gone.

[seekinghappy]

Thanks for the warning, Valcorie. That's good to know! Is your husband a new grad? Is he working in an inpatient or outpatient setting? If I went this route I would want to make sure I didn't miss out on learning more of an acute role--although I'm sure I could go back to that after my commitment was over.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

OMG - don't take on that much debt for a BSN.... there is insufficient ROI to support loan repayment of that scale. That much debt will cripple your financial future.

[kreyol77]

Most hospitals program will require 2 years of service contracts

[seekinghappy]

Lol @HouTx, I am applying to more affordable schools, but hoped I could find loan repayment options since I loved this particular program so much. Sigh!