Public Service Loan Forgiveness: What it is and How It Works
- Kristen Horstmann
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness: What it is and How It Works
- Tommy Lau
- Happy and Healthy in Dental School: What Does Wellness Mean to You?
- Positions Available?December 2020
- Navigating Dental School Decision Day
- Alexandra Graham
- New Think Tank Uses Holistic Approach to Oral Health Policy and Management
- Parinaz Esteghamat
- 2019 NIH Graduate & Professional School Fair
- Writing a Personal Statement for Your Dental School Application
- Working With Health Professions Advisors Throughout Your College Years
- Wendi Clanton
- A Conversation With the ADEA President and CEO and Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors
- How to Answer Questions About Other Dental Schools
- The Future of Dental Technology and Innovation
- The Top Ten Things Health Professions Advisors Should Know About Financial Aid
- ADEA to Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Historic Education-wide Climate Assessment Survey
- Help With Your Student Loans During the Pandemic
- A Shot Worth Taking: Dentists in Several States Join the Fight Against COVID-19 by Giving Vaccinations
- Dental Students Glimpse New Possibilities at ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition
- ADEA
- Mind Full or Mindful?
- Elyse Estra
- Crisis and Opportunity: COVID-19 Pandemic Kick Starts Changes for Dental Community
- How to Study for and ?Crush? the DAT
- Poonam Furmah
- ADEA GoDental Recruitment Event Encourages Attendees to Pursue a Future in Dentistry
You may have heard that some borrowers who have careers in the nonprofit sector after graduation can retire their student loan debt through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program after meeting certain eligibility requirements. This program is designed to encourage borrowers of any discipline and degree program (including dentistry) to enter and remain in the nonprofit sector for at least 10 years, with the promise to forgive any remaining federal student loan debt at that time completely tax-free—meaning the forgiveness amount is not considered taxable income.
PSLF may be of great interest to health professions students interested in the nonprofit sector, such as the government or nonprofit community-based health clinics. It may also be of interest to dental school graduates who enter academic dentistry after they graduate.
The program is still very new, as it was only enacted in 2007, and it takes borrowers at least 10 years to qualify, hence the number of borrowers qualifying to date has been quite small. In addition, there have been several proposals to change the program since its inception, including proposals to completely eliminate PSLF. Also, the percentage of borrowers whose PSLF applications were denied this past year was extremely high. All of this has led to all sorts of inaccurate and incomplete information, or “noise,” about PSLF.
Since there is a good chance you may have to borrow to help finance your dental education, we suggest you consider the following if you think you may be interested in PSLF to help retire your debt:
- Remember
to always borrow responsibly and never borrow more than you really need. Your
financial aid office can help you determine the best funding sources available
for you, including any scholarships and grants they may have. That should help
limit what you borrow.
- While
this may sound obvious, plan to pay back what you borrow, remembering that
responsible borrowing leads to responsible repayment. Dental school graduates
were paying off their student loans in a timely manner long before this program
even began. However, keep up your radar for information on PSLF and work
closely with your financial aid office to ensure you get the most accurate and
complete information about PSLF to see if this might be a program of interest
to you.
- Be
careful where you get your information about PSLF. The eligibility requirements
are actually straightforward, and you can even track your eligibility every
year when you enter your repayment. That way, you always know exactly how many
qualifying payments you have made to date—and how many more you need to make
before you can submit your PSLF and know you will be approved.
- Lastly, changes to loan programs tend to not go into effect immediately and, when they do, usually they only impact first-time borrowers—yet another reason to work closely with your financial aid office to find out up-to-date information about PSLF.