A Student Loan Forgiveness Program Just for Delaware Residents

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.

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. 

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. 

Want another option for reducing your student loan payments? See if you're Refi Ready.