If you live in Indiana, you may qualify for a student loan forgiveness program just for people who live in your state: the Richard M. Givan Loan Repayment Assistance Program Scholarship.
This program is designed to encourage lawyers to work with nonprofits that serve low-income clients. How it works: Attorneys at these organizations are offered forgivable student loans. This removes the barrier to accepting a job that may not come with the salary necessary to pay back law school loans.
To qualify, you must:
- Be licensed to practice law in Indiana
- Be an active member of the Indiana State Bar Association, and
- Be employed by a qualifying civil legal aid organization.
You can qualify if you work full-time or part-time; you’re eligible for a smaller amount of aid if you work part-time, however. Your salary may not exceed $70,000.
The maximum amount you can qualify for is $5,000 per year. You can find out more about the program here.
Other student loan forgiveness options
In addition to the Richard M. Givan LRAP Scholarship, there are a number of student loan forgiveness options available to people across the country—possibly more than you think. We’ll go over the big ones first.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
This program is designed to encourage people to take jobs in public service. The deal is this: after you've made 120 qualifying payments while working for a qualifying employer, you could get your loans forgiven. This usually takes about 10 years.
See also: What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
People have reported significant challenges to qualifying for this program, and it’s been in the news lately for unfairly denying a large majority of applicants. However, if you work or plan to work in public service, it may be worth it to enroll.
In addition, if you had your application denied because you were enrolled in the wrong repayment program, you may have a chance to have that decision reversed.
Income-based repayment plans
There are four income-based repayment plans. Under these plans, your monthly federal loan payment is reset to a percentage of your discretionary income—usually between 10 and 20%. The term lasts between 20 and 25 years, and at the end, your loan is forgiven.
Each plan has different terms and qualification requirements. You need to be enrolled in one of these to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness—which can forgive your loan sooner, at 10 years.
See also: 4 Income-Driven Repayment Plans that Lower Monthly Payments
Other student loan forgiveness programs
You can also get forgiveness for both federal and private student loans from a number of other sources. For a complete list, see The Ultimate List of Grants to Pay Off Student Loans.
Curious about how much you could save by refinancing? Check out our student loan refinancing calculator to find out how much you could save.
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I reduced my student loan payment by $152 per month, by refinancing thru Nitro
