Some loans are eligible for public service loan forgiveness and some are not. Federal student loans are eligible or can be made eligible. Private student loans are not eligible.
All other federal education loans, such as loans in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and Federal Perkins Loans, are not eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
Other Federal Loans Can Become Eligible
However, a borrower can convert FFELP loans and Federal Perkins Loans into eligible loans by consolidating them into a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.
If you consolidate your loans, only payments made on the new consolidation loan will count toward loan forgiveness. Previous payments will not count, not even if you were in an income-driven repayment plan and working full-time in an eligible public service job. Public service loan forgiveness is provided on a per loan basis, not per borrower. The consolidation loan is a new loan, with its own qualifying payment count.
Private Loans Are Not Eligible
Private student loans and private parent loans are not eligible for public service loan forgiveness. Only federal loans are eligible.
Non-education loans, like credit card debt, personal signature loans and home equity loans, are also not eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
Federal Parent PLUS Loans May Be Eligible
Federal Parent PLUS loans are eligible for public service loan forgiveness. However, Parent PLUS loans are not directly eligible for an income-driven repayment plan. Since a loan in a standard 10-year repayment plan will have no balance remaining after ten years of payments (120 payments), borrowers must repay their loans in an income-driven repayment plan in order to qualify for some forgiveness.
There is, however, a loophole that Parent PLUS loan borrowers can use to repay their loans in an income-driven repayment plan. If a Parent PLUS loan entered repayment on or after July 1, 2006 and is included in a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, the consolidation loan is eligible for income-contingent repayment.
Mark Kantrowitz is a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships and student loans. His mission is to deliver practical information, advice and tools to students and their families so they can make informed decisions about planning and paying for college.
Mark writes extensively about student financial aid policy. He has testified before Congress and federal/state agencies about student aid on several occasions.
Mark has been quoted in more than 10,000 newspaper and magazine articles. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Bottom Line/Personal, Forbes, Newsweek and Time Magazine. He was named a Money Hero by Money Magazine. He is the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid, including How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid, Twisdoms about Paying for College, Filing the FAFSA and Secrets to Winning a Scholarship.
Mark serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid and the editorial advisory board of Bottom Line/Personal (a Boardroom, Inc. publication). He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education. Mark previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association.
Mark is currently Publisher of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, a web site that provides students with smart borrowing tips about private student loans. Mark has served previously as publisher of the Cappex.com, Edvisors, Fastweb and FinAid web sites. He has previously been employed at Just Research, the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Bitstream Inc. and the Planning Research Corporation.
Mark is President of Cerebly, Inc. (formerly MK Consulting, Inc.), a consulting firm focused on computer science, artificial intelligence, and statistical and policy analysis.
Mark is ABD on a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He has Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and philosophy from MIT and a Master of Science degree in computer science from CMU. He is also an alumnus of the Research Science Institute program established by Admiral H. G. Rickover.
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