FAFSA repayment options confusing me - is income-based the best for teacher loan forgiveness?

Don't panic! Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF are two separate programs with different benefits. For Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you can receive up to $17,500 forgiven after 5 consecutive years teaching in a qualifying low-income school. PSLF forgives ALL remaining federal loans after 120 qualifying payments (10 years) while working for an eligible employer. For your situation, I'd recommend: 1. Enroll in an income-driven repayment plan (IBR or PAYE) immediately 2. Get employment at a Title I school that qualifies for both programs 3. Submit your employment certification form annually for PSLF 4. After 5 years, apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness 5. Continue making payments for 5 more years to qualify for PSLF This way, you can potentially benefit from both programs! Also worth noting: recent PSLF waivers have made it easier to qualify, so don't give up hope.

the whole system is designed to keep us in debt forever lol. i graduated w/ teaching degree 2 years ago, $54k in loans and they want me to pay $650/month on a $42k salary?!? make it make sense. i'm on IBR now and barely keeping afloat. tried calling FSA about forgiveness options and spent 3 hrs on hold before getting disconnected. TWICE. good luck teaching rich kids about shakespeare while you cant afford rent 🙃

Unfortunately, you cannot receive credit for PSLF and Teacher Loan Forgiveness for the same period of service. This is a common misunderstanding. If you receive Teacher Loan Forgiveness for 5 years of service, those 5 years will NOT count toward the 10 years needed for PSLF. You would need to do 5 years for Teacher Loan forgiveness, then 10 more years for PSLF (total of 15 years). However, for your loan amount, PSLF might be more beneficial since it forgives the entire remaining balance after 10 years rather than just $17,500 for Teacher Loan Forgiveness. The math depends on your specific financial situation. Make sure to select the right income-driven repayment plan - PAYE or REPAYE might be better than IBR depending on your income, family size, and state. Use the loan simulator on studentaid.gov to compare your options.

I feel your pain!!! I had $70k in loans and have been teaching for 7 years now. I went with PSLF instead of Teacher Loan Forgiveness because the TLF only covers $17,500 max (and only if you teach special ed or high-need subjects like math/science - otherwise it's just $5k!!). My advise is get on PAYE plan right away and make sure EVERY FORM is perfect. They will deny you for any tiny mistake. I had to resubmit my employment certification twice because my principal didn't use the right ink color or something ridiculous. Keep copies of EVERYTHING. The whole system is designed to make you fail.

I finally got through to a real person at Federal Student Aid after trying for WEEKS with constant disconnections and 3+ hour wait times. I used a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. It costs a little bit but was so worth it to finally get my questions answered about PSLF eligibility. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The FSA agent was super helpful and explained exactly which of my loans qualified for forgiveness and how to make sure my payments count. Saved me hours of frustration!

Dont beileve the forgiveness hype... my cousin did teching for 6 yr and they denied her forgiveness bc the school wasn't "low income enough" even tho it was when she started?!! Make min payments and live your life, these loans are BS anyway. thyre just printing imaginary $$ and making us pay real money interest.

I'm a 5th year teacher who's gone through this exact process. Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: 1. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Save every confirmation email, take screenshots of submissions, keep a spreadsheet of every payment. 2. If teaching special ed or math/science, Teacher Loan Forgiveness is guaranteed after 5 years (up to $17,500). PSLF takes 10 years but forgives everything. 3. Income-driven plans are your friend - I'm on REPAYE and my payments started at only $218/month because they're based on income, not loan amount. 4. The PSLF waiver program fixed a lot of issues, but still submit your Employment Certification Form (ECF) EVERY YEAR to track progress. 5. Don't trust your loan servicer to give correct information - double-check everything through studentaid.gov directly. The system is confusing by design, but understanding your options will help you avoid costly mistakes. Feel free to ask me anything specific!

To answer your follow-up: I use a simple Google Sheet with columns for payment date, amount, confirmation numbers, and notes. For employment certification, I set a calendar reminder each October to submit my form (you can do it anytime, but annual consistency helps). The trickiest part was getting my principal to fill out the form correctly - make sure they use the school's official name exactly as registered with the Department of Education (not nicknames or abbreviations). I had one form rejected because my principal wrote "Middle School" instead of "Middle Academy." Now I pre-fill everything except their signature to avoid errors. Also, submit through the PSLF Help Tool on studentaid.gov rather than directly through your loan servicer - it pre-populates information and reduces errors.

@Profile3 - just tried that claimyr thing and it actually worked?! got through to someone in like 15 min when i've been trying for WEEKS. they fixed the verification issue with my IBR application that was stuck in processing. thank youuuu

Just want to add - APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS EVEN AFTER YOU GRADUATE!! I found three different "teacher shortage" grants in my state that give $2000-$4000 per year for working in high-need schools. That money goes directly to paying down your loan principal. Also check if your district offers any loan repayment assistance - mine gives $1200/year as a retention bonus specifically for loan payments. Every bit helps!

Hey Yara! As someone who just went through this exact same situation last year, I totally understand the panic. Here's what I learned that might help: First, breathe! You're asking the right questions. With $67k in loans and a $46k starting salary, an income-driven plan is definitely your best bet initially. I started with REPAYE and my payments were around $320/month, which was much more manageable than the $800+ standard payment. For your situation, I'd actually recommend going straight for PSLF rather than Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Here's why: TLF only forgives up to $17,500 after 5 years, but PSLF forgives your ENTIRE remaining balance after 10 years of qualifying payments. With your loan amount, you'll likely save way more money with PSLF. The key things that helped me get started: - Applied for REPAYE immediately (lower payments than IBR in most cases) - Made sure my school qualified for PSLF before accepting the job - Submitted my first Employment Certification Form within 30 days of starting - Set up autopay for the small interest rate reduction Don't let the horror stories scare you - the recent PSLF improvements have made the program much more reliable. Just stay organized and follow the rules exactly. You've got this!