Because you are serving in an AmeriCorps program, you are eligible to place your qualified student loans in forbearance for the full duration of your term and the government will pay the interest that accrues on these loans. Please note that the national service legislation defines a "qualified student loan" as a loan backed by the federal government under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Unfortunately, private loans do not fall within that definition, so privately funded (nonfederally funded or backed) loans through lenders such as Law Access are typically not eligible for loan forbearance during AmeriCorps service. If you are uncertain about whether a particular loan will qualify, contact your lender or call the National Service Trust Help Line at (888) 507-5962. When it is clear that a particular loan is not eligible for national service forbearance, we encourage you to call the lender and explore whether they will voluntarily provide forbearance during your term of service on the basis of national service or financial hardship.

If you intend to place your existing student loans into forbearance, you must initiate the process by taking the following steps:

1. Review the information provided in "About Your Education Award" and contact your lender(s) for more information regarding their specific loan forbearance policies. When asking your loan holder questions, you should indicate that you are seeking forbearance based on your AmeriCorps national service position

2. Ask your project director for a Forbearance Request for National Service Form. Fill out one form for each of your eligible lending institutions and return it to your project director. Your project director is then responsible for faxing the form to Equal Justice Works for processing

Once Equal Justice Works receives the request form, we certify it and forward it to your lender. We will then return a copy of the certified form to you. Please check in with your lender to ensure that your request for forbearance has been granted, and contact us immediately if it has not. Please remember to keep copies of the completed and signed forms for your own personal files.

Upon successful completion of service, you are eligible for an interest-accrual payment equaling the amount of interest that accrued on your loans while in forbearance. The National Service Trust will calculate the amount for which you are eligible and pay your lender(s) directly. Your project director will provide you with the Interest Accrued during National Service Form at the end of your term of service if you wish to request this payment.

Once you have successfully completed the requirements of the program and have submitted your exit form to your project director, you will be eligible for an education award from the Trust. Your education award of $4,725 may be applied to a range of educational expenses, including student loans and tuition. For more information on how to apply your education award, please see "About Your Education Award."

Individuals who have previously served in a national service program, such as AmeriCorps or AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), may not be eligible for an education award. Please be sure to inform your project director and Equal Justice Works.

Please be advised that receipt of the full education award is contingent upon your successful completion of the full-time AmeriCorps term of service outlined in your AmeriCorps Attorney contract. If you end your service term before fulfilling the program requirements and/or completing your 1,700 hours, you will not be eligible for an education award. If you must leave the program early for "compelling personal circumstances," as determined by Equal Justice Works and CNCS, however, you will be eligible for a prorated education award. Examples of "compelling personal circumstances" include a member's disability or serious illness; disability, serious illness or death of a family member when it makes completing the term unreasonably difficult or impossible; and conditions attributable to the program or otherwise unforeseeable and beyond the member's control, such as a natural disaster, a strike or relocation of a spouse. Please note: finding other employment or simply falling short of the required hours is not considered a "compelling personal circumstance."

Following your project director's submission of your exit form to Equal Justice Works and CNCS via WBRS, the Trust office will oversee the processing of your education award. Once the Trust has all of your paperwork, a voucher will be sent to you in the amount of your award, asking you where to direct the payment(s). You may use the award all at once or in smaller amounts. To use the award, simply complete the voucher request for payment, designate the recipient of the funds, and the Trust will issue payment. Please be aware that the education award is treated as taxable income in the year it is paid to your lender.