A Student Loan Forgiveness Program Just for Delaware Residents


Jen Williamson Updated: May 1, 2019

If you live in Delaware, you’re eligible for all the student loan forgiveness programs available on a national level. But you could also qualify for a generous student loan forgiveness option, just for Delaware residents who work in medical or mental health fields. Here’s some more info on what this program is and how you qualify.

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The Delaware State Loan Repayment Program

This program is designed to help medical and mental health professionals pay off their loans. Specialties that qualify include:

Advanced-degree practitioners

  • Family medicine
  • Osteopathic medicine
  • Internal medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Obstetrics and gynecology
  • General and pediatric psychiatry
  • Medical oncologists
  • General practice dentists

Mid-level degree practitioners

  • Registered clinical dental hygienists
  • Primary care certified nurse practitioners
  • Certified nurse midwives
  • Primary care physicians’ assistants
  • Licensed clinical psychologists
  • Psychiatric nurse specialists
  • Licensed clinical social workers
  • Licensed mental health counselors
  • Licensed marriage and family therapists 

The deal is this: Agree to work in an area of Delaware designated as underserved for two or three years, and you could get up to $105,000 (for advanced-degree practitioners) or $52,500 (for mid-level degree practitioners) toward your student loans.

Some of the other qualifying requirements include:

  • You must have student loans, and not be in default on any loans.
  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • You must not have any conflicting external conflicts that might affect your medical practice.
  • You must be licensed to practice in Delaware, and be in good standing on all licenses.
  • You must not have any felonies or federal liens on your record.
  • You must not have a discipline on your record from any state board or licensing body.
  • You must be current on any child support payments.
  • You must be willing to work full time in a federally-designated Healthcare Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) in the state of Delaware.
  • You must commit to treating Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIP, and uninsured patients.

This program pays back both your bachelor’s and graduate-level student loans, and it will pay back both federal and private loans. In some cases, the disbursements for loan forgiveness are tax-free.

You can apply by filling out the form here
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In addition to the Delaware State Loan Forgiveness Program, you may be eligible to get student loan forgiveness at the federal level. Some of your options include:

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Ideally, you’re supposed to get your student loans forgiven after you’ve made 120 qualifying payments (which takes about 10 years) and work for a qualifying employer.

This program has been severely mismanaged, but forgiveness may be possible if you’re careful about meeting all requirements. You may also qualify for a new program to give some borrowers who were initially rejected another chance.

Income-Driven Repayment

This is actually four distinct programs, each of which will reduce your monthly payments to a percentage of your disposable income. After 20-25 years, you can get your loans forgiven.

See also: A Beginner’s Guide to Income-Driven Repayment Plans 

Other programs

There are also other student loan forgiveness programs at the national level, including: 

  • Funds for people in specific careers who are willing to work in a high-needs area.
  • Employer-based student loan forgiveness.
  • Forgiveness programs administered by specific colleges.
  • Military student loan forgiveness.

Click here for a more exhaustive list. 

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