Badass Loan Repayment Plan for Academics, etc.

[bitchykitty]

If you're like me, you want to cut yourself (or run away to Europe with a new identity) every time you think about the mountains of effing school loan debt that has accumulated over the years...

There is a new-ish loan repayment plan that allows people who work in the public/non-profit sector to pay about 10% of their income for 10 years and potentially have the rest forgiven.

I nearly passed out when I learned that I could likely forgive $90k under this plan.... in addition to dropping my expected repayment from $1520 a month to $550...

In case you're interested, here is the info:

Income Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp

10-YEAR PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS — If you work in public service, on-time, full monthly payments you make under IBR (or certain other repayment plans) while employed full-time in a public service job will count toward the 120 monthly payments that are required to receive loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Fact Sheet:
studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/LoanForgivenessv4.pdf

[yessir]

Yep I just completed the loan consolidation this past month...it's a really great program. Made it possible for us to buy a house when we move vs. renting

[damnyouofficialyepperson]

Saw this, looks like a great deal, especially since it'll count for people working at a public university.

Just one word of caution: Make sure you apply for the income-based/sensitive repayment process, otherwise you'll have no loans left to repay after 10 years.

When I calculated it for myself, given my expected income starting this fall as an assistant professor, times ten years at ~10%, it'll only repay around $10k in loans (which is good, but I sort of wish I had taken out more during school), and that's not even counting raises in pay.

[taketwo]

*cheers loudly*

[hellyez]

it should be noted that you don't have to be at a public school to use this. Private colleges are fine, too, as I understand it, unless you're at one of these for-profit places. Even if you go non-ac and work in industry, they can be forgiven after 25 years, which is a long time, but the amount you're paying will still be tied to your income and thus more manageable in those early years.

This is absolutely huge, though. Started getting to sleep much easier as soon as I heard about this program.
I wonder if faculty are aware of the loan debt grad students take on. I really think the older ones actually believe that we're all getting by on our terrible stipends, assuming you have one. I'm sure some people are able to do so, but not everybody's circumstances allow for that.

[side note]

As a side note, your payments are not only based on your income when you do the income based repayment but also on your family size. So if you have a spouse who will be making little or no income and some kids (like I do), it really reduces your payment amount.

[laughthroughit]

Hmm... I did not understand that private colleges/universities were included here. @hellzyea - would you mind sharing where you found that information? As my student loan debt is extremely high and I'll be back on the market next year, it'd be nice to be clear about whether private institutions are also included. Otherwise, I'm sticking with public!

[here]

to laughthroughit: from the pdf posted above, and similar info posted on other websites about IBR:
"A non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (includes most not-for-profit private schools, colleges, and universities);"

[laughthroughit]

Ooooh sweet! Thanks!!