Here are the Federal student loan forgiveness programs

For many students, the prospect of paying back a large amount of student loans can be daunting. This is especially true if your starting salary following graduation is not very high. Fortunately there are a number of paths that will forgive college student loans such as Federal student loan forgiveness programs which forgives student loans under certain circumstances. The general qualifications are:

• Perform volunteer work for social work student loan forgiveness
• Perform military service for military student loan forgiveness
• Teaching full time serving low income families for student loans teacher forgiveness
• Practice medicine in certain designated communities for nurse student loan forgiveness and physician student loan forgiveness

In order for the government to forgive a student loan under federal student loan forgiveness programs with the volunteer work qualification, you must volunteer in the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps or Volunteers in Service to America. This is essentially called social work student loan forgiveness.

Any student who has enrolled in the Army National Guard may be eligible for up to $10,000 toward repayment of their student loans. This is more commonly called military student loan forgiveness.

Teaching is one of the most common ways to receive a forgiveness of a federal student loan; however there are very specific requirements. Students who have a Perkins student loan and teach full-time in an elementary or secondary school that serves low income families may have a portion of their loan forgive; up to 15% for the first and second years of teaching; 20% for their third and fourth years and 30% for their fifth year of service. Students with a major in Education who teach in Mississippi may also be eligible to receive a forgiveness of a portion of their student loan; up to two years of your loan in certain circumstances.

Law students who go on to serve in public interest or non-profit positions may be eligible to receive law student loan forgiveness for a portion of their loans. This policy varies per law school.

Loan forgiveness programs are also offered through the US Department of Health and Human Services for physicians and registered nurses who practice for a certain number of years in areas that lack in regards to adequate medical care.

Remember that the amount of money in student loans that is forgiven is considered to be taxable income; so you’ll need to take this into account for tax purposes.

More on forgive college student loan.