Educational Debt Relief Information and Resources for Advisors and Administrators
Equal Justice Works believes that educational debt should lead to opportunities for happiness and success in choosing to pursue public service careers -- not stand in the way of this service. Equal Justice Works was a leading advocate for the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and continues to advocate for programs and policies that reduce the educational debt burden for all students and professions.
Printer-friendly versionTake the right steps now!
Help your students start planning and taking the right steps now to qualify for relief and forgiveness programs.
It is important to learn about available relief and forgiveness programs now -- and their requirements -- so you can help your students take the right steps when it matters.
Where do I start?
The burden of educational debt is often a significant barrier to pursuing a career in the public interest. Costs for college, graduate and professional school continue to rise and more and more students find it necessary to borrow for their education. But public interest salaries are traditionally lower than many positions in private companies and firms. As a result, many students and graduates find it untenable to enter or remain in public service when faced with the realities of paying off large amounts of educational debt.
The availability of relief and the steps to get there should factor into your students' major decisions.
Students should start by considering tuition and exploring options to finance their education -- undergrad, and graduate and professional school if that is their chosen path.
Students should think about:
- Future career plans
- Whether and where they want to pursue additional degrees
- How much -- and what type of -- debt to borrow
- Repayment options
Tell me more about how to begin.
Know Options for Student Loans
To qualify for the federal programs students will want to take out federal loans and avoid private or commercial loans if possible because private loans are never eligible for government forgiveness. By borrowing all or mostly federal loans, they will preserve the possibility of all or most of their educational loans being eligible for federal relief and forgiveness. The more the more they borrow in private or commercial loans, the more this possibility is foreclosed.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA)
If your students borrow federal student loans, the CCRAA may help ease their educational debt burden.
The CCRAA created a historic Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), offering loan forgiveness after you work for ten years in qualifying public service employment. For students and graduates who borrowed federal student loans and have high debt relative to their income, the CCRAA also created a new repayment plan -- Income-Based Repayment -- which can help lower your monthly payments by calculating the amount due monthly based on income rather than the amount owed.
Look through our information on Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Based Repayment. Then sign up for an informational webinar to learn how these programs can work together to help ease the burden of educational debt.
Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs)
These programs available from schools, employers, states and the federal government can help manage educational debt by providing funds to make monthly payments. Often, LRAPs may be used in conjunction with IBR and PSLF by providing funds to make lowered monthly payments in IBR for ten years until Public Service Loan Forgiveness is earned.
Read about what LRAPs are and how they work. Then sign up for an informational webinar to learn what you should look for and how LRAPs can work with IBR and PSLF to significantly reduce the burden of educational debt.