Can You Legally Avoid Student Loan Repayment?

The money that you borrow in student loans may not seem much at the time that you borrow it, but, by the time you graduate it can really mount up. For many students it can seem that there will be no end to their repayments. But, did you know that there are ways that you can cut the money that you owe here completely legally?

There are a variety of things that you can do to cut down on the money you owe for student loans. These methods apply to Federal loans and run as schemes which give you access to a program called Loan Forgiveness. Take part in one of these qualifying schemes and the government may well write off some or all of the money that you owe.

Do bear in mind that the schemes that you can join here will give different levels of loan write off. Some will wipe off all of your borrowings, some will wipe off part of your loans and some will simply give you access to a range of additional repayment benefits which can still be useful to you.

To qualify for Loan Forgiveness you can, for example, take up some form of volunteer work. Joining the Peace Corps for example, could see you allowed to defer repayment of your borrowings for a period of time and you could also qualify to have a certain percentage of your loans written off for every year of service that you stack up.

Other volunteering institutions will, as an alternative, offer you a lump sum payment to use towards paying off your student loans. And, if you take up some form of military service such as joining the National Guard then you could qualify for up to $ 10,000 to be put towards your loan repayment.

Given the shortage of teachers in the country at the moment you may also be able to qualify for loan repayments to be made on your behalf if you take up teaching as a career. In some cases the options on offer here are given on a national level but some states also run their own loan repayment initiatives.

Here, for example, you could qualify to have a percentage of your Federal borrowings written off for every year you teach in certain types of schools. People studying at certain law schools and who move into certain kinds of medical and healthcare careers may also qualify for different kinds of Loan Forgiveness as well.

In many cases to qualify for these Loan Forgiveness options you will need to sign up for specific periods. You may also be expected to work in disadvantaged areas or in regions where the relevant skills and personnel are hard to find.

Do bear in mind that making these steps to repay some of your loans should not be taken lightly. These opportunities should really only be taken up if you are interested in them in the first place, are prepared to make a commitment and may well have considered them as a viable option even without the Loan Forgiveness benefit that they offer.