HSCP - years in dental school count for PSLF?

[chompsss]

Question:

If one takes federal loans while on the HSCP and also makes at least minimum payments while in dental school on said loans, does that count for four years of the required 10 years for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program? So, in effect, one could be get the HSCP, pay loans while in school, pay loans during the 4 years of AD payback, then do a 2-year extension (and continue to pay loans), and then could have the remainder of the federal loan balance forgiven?

Anybody?

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[USArmyHPSP]

I don't believe so. The whole point of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness is that you do a public service in return for only paying 10 years on your student loans. You aren't doing a service while you are learning your trade. I could be wrong. I would suggest you post this in the forum Financial Aid.

 

[ChapelHillT]

Question:

If one takes federal loans while on the HSCP and also makes at least minimum payments while in dental school on said loans, does that count for four years of the required 10 years for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program? So, in effect, one could be get the HSCP, pay loans while in school, pay loans during the 4 years of AD payback, then do a 2-year extension (and continue to pay loans), and then could have the remainder of the federal loan balance forgiven?

Anybody?

I don't know for sure. But my understanding is you have to pay on all the loans to be forgiven for 10 years. Meaning--if you are accepting loans during years 2, 3, and 4, the 10 year payment 'clock' on those newly accepted loans would start over (for those loans respectively). Now if you only take loans 1st year and begin paying immediately after accepting them, or are looking to pay off undergrad loans....maybe this would be doable.

 

[dentclc]

I had thought about this a while back, and remember finding an answer as to why this would not work. If I remember correctly it was because your loans had to be in a 'repay' status or something like that, so you couldn't continue to take new loans while paying them back using PSLF. Could be possible if you only have loans from the start and will not be taking more loans throughout school.

 

[chompsss]

Hm... I appreciate all of your responses. I think what @ChapelHillT said is probably on the money - one might be able to start paying back using PSLF but each new loan re-starts that 10-year clock. So, loans during D1 could potentially be eligible for PSLF after 10 years but loans from D4 not until 14 years after D1 starts... But, this is just conjecture.

What @dentclc said is also true in that payments made while in "in-school status" are not qualifying: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Other than those points, I see no reason why you can't take advantage of PSLF as long as:
-You are AD
-You've been AD for 10 years while making "eligible payments" under the PSLF program's guidelines

Does anybody have a definitive answer? (Note: this is not to put your answers down, because I appreciate them).

 

[chompsss]

I don't believe so. The whole point of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness is that you do a public service in return for only paying 10 years on your student loans. You aren't doing a service while you are learning your trade. I could be wrong. I would suggest you post this in the forum Financial Aid.

Is there a way to pick this thread up and duplicate it in the Financial Aid forum or would I need to just create another thread in there altogether?

 

[USArmyHPSP]

Is there a way to pick this thread up and duplicate it in the Financial Aid forum or would I need to just create another thread in there altogether?

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/hscp-years-in-dental-school-count-for-pslf.1178557/

 

[chompsss]

For the record, it looks as though years spent in dental school while on HSCP do NOT count for PSLF even if you're paying on a qualified plan and don't put the loans in in-school or deferred status.

In this attached document (Public Service Loan Forgiveness Employment Certification Form), on the third page, left column, next to Military Service, it says that while "Active Duty" counts, it specifically says, "...but does not include active duty for training or attendance at a service school."

I believe the second part of that is referring to the Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, etc., but I think that the "active duty for training" is where the HSCP hang-up would be for dental school. I guess it ultimately depends on how you're classified by the military - I'm willing to bet you're classified as "Active Duty - Training" or something like that. Can anybody on the HSCP (or in the know) confirm or deny this for me?

This only brings to light another question, however: would qualifying payments made while in residency (say, a 2-year AEGD in the Navy), count? Or, would they not count? <--this also depends on how you're classified by the military during that time. Does anybody know how you're classified when in residency?

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/public-service-employment-certification-form.pdf