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There is a TON of confusion and miscommunication regarding the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Some people (anecdotally) say it's great, other people say not so much. Some people get angry when there are rumblings med students shouldn't qualify for PSLF.
Personally, I do not plan on using PSLF and don't think it's a necessary (or adequate) means of paying off med school loans. However, I have loved ones who DO have PSLF and are attempting to navigate the bureaucratic nightmare involved. Therefore it has become a bit of a pet crusade of mine to spread awareness of what's going on:
Some highlights:
For 10 years, Baker, who was a public school teacher in Tulsa, Okla., checked in with loan servicing companies and was told she was on track. "I said, 'I'm qualifying for public service loan forgiveness,' and they said, 'OK, great,' " she says. But it turns out that her $76,000 in student loans didn't get forgiven.
Baker is a plaintiff in a lawsuit being brought by one of the biggest teachers unions in the country against the Department of Education. The suit alleges the loan forgiveness program for millions of public service workers is in such a shambles that it violates federal law and the Constitution.
The American Federation of Teachers filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court. In the complaint obtained by NPR, the union is asking the court to order the department to fix the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that it meets legal standards.
By the department's last count, only 1% of the people who think they've made their 10 years of payments and apply for loan forgiveness are getting approved.
There are different kinds of federal loans and a wide array of payment plans. If a student loan borrower is told they need to switch from one type to the other to qualify for the program, that's easy enough to do. For public service loan forgiveness, borrowers need to have a "direct federal loan." But if their loan servicer never tells them that, they can remain in the wrong type of loan or plan for years, thinking they're making progress toward loan forgiveness only to find out later that none of those payments counted towards forgiveness.
In other words, people like Baker aren't given the right information or advice, and many end up in the wrong types of loans or repayment plans and get unfairly disqualified.
The lawsuit also alleges that loan servicers are having trouble keeping track of the number of qualifying payments people make — even when they are in the correct loan and payment plan and manage to do everything right.
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Just wanted to share this because I am tired of seeing people say, "Hey guys it's actually not that bad. The 99.999% of people who get disqualified are just idiots lolz." These are smart, hardworking people who are being duped and screwed over.
End rant.
Personally, I do not plan on using PSLF and don't think it's a necessary (or adequate) means of paying off med school loans. However, I have loved ones who DO have PSLF and are attempting to navigate the bureaucratic nightmare involved. Therefore it has become a bit of a pet crusade of mine to spread awareness of what's going on:
Some highlights:
For 10 years, Baker, who was a public school teacher in Tulsa, Okla., checked in with loan servicing companies and was told she was on track. "I said, 'I'm qualifying for public service loan forgiveness,' and they said, 'OK, great,' " she says. But it turns out that her $76,000 in student loans didn't get forgiven.
Baker is a plaintiff in a lawsuit being brought by one of the biggest teachers unions in the country against the Department of Education. The suit alleges the loan forgiveness program for millions of public service workers is in such a shambles that it violates federal law and the Constitution.
The American Federation of Teachers filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court. In the complaint obtained by NPR, the union is asking the court to order the department to fix the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that it meets legal standards.
By the department's last count, only 1% of the people who think they've made their 10 years of payments and apply for loan forgiveness are getting approved.
There are different kinds of federal loans and a wide array of payment plans. If a student loan borrower is told they need to switch from one type to the other to qualify for the program, that's easy enough to do. For public service loan forgiveness, borrowers need to have a "direct federal loan." But if their loan servicer never tells them that, they can remain in the wrong type of loan or plan for years, thinking they're making progress toward loan forgiveness only to find out later that none of those payments counted towards forgiveness.
In other words, people like Baker aren't given the right information or advice, and many end up in the wrong types of loans or repayment plans and get unfairly disqualified.
The lawsuit also alleges that loan servicers are having trouble keeping track of the number of qualifying payments people make — even when they are in the correct loan and payment plan and manage to do everything right.
---
Just wanted to share this because I am tired of seeing people say, "Hey guys it's actually not that bad. The 99.999% of people who get disqualified are just idiots lolz." These are smart, hardworking people who are being duped and screwed over.
End rant.
