Does law school count for loan forgiveness?
Asked by: Miss Flossie Huel PhD | Last update: October 23, 2025Score: 4.3/5 (67 votes)
Student loan forgiveness and repayment programs can erase some or all of your federal student loan debt for law school and possibly even private student loan debt. Income-driven repayment plans, while not specific to the law field, will cancel your remaining federal student loan debt after 10 to 25 years of repayment.
Are law school loans eligible for forgiveness?
Some lawyers can get federal loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program once they've made 120 qualified payments while working for a qualified employer — namely any government agency (federal, state or local) or nonprofit.
Who is not included in student loan forgiveness?
You must be a direct employee of a qualifying employer for your employment to qualify. This means that employees of contracted organizations, that are not themselves a qualifying employer, won't qualify for PSLF including government contractors and for-profit organizations.
Which loans count for student loan forgiveness?
What loans qualify for forgiveness? Only loans you received under the Direct Loan Program are eligible for PSLF.
Can you take out student loans for law school?
Today, a large majority of law school students rely on education loans as their primary, but not exclusive, source of financial aid for law school. You are eligible to receive financial aid, if needed, in an amount not to exceed the COA established by the law school you attend for the academic year.
How To Pay Off Student Loans Quickly
How do most people pay for law school?
The primary funding options are Scholarships and grants—the “free” money this is either funded by your law school or funded by private organizations, civic groups, etc.; Loans which can be federal loans or private/alternative/institutional loans.
How do I get out of law school debt?
- Go for PSLF in a public interest law job.
- Use PAYE or REPAYE for a 20-25 year forgiveness strategy in the private sector.
- Aggressively pay back all your debt and become debt free as quickly as possible.
What loans are excluded from forgiveness?
The program is for federal direct loans only. That means your loan must be either a subsidized or unsubsidized loan under the direct loan program. Although certain loans are excluded, like Perkins and Federal Family Education Loans, you may be able to consolidate these early in the process to benefit from the program.
At what age do student loans get written off?
After at least 20 years of student loan payments under an income-driven repayment plan — IDR forgiveness and 20-year student loan forgiveness. After 25 years if you borrowed loans for graduate school — 25-year federal loan forgiveness.
Who actually gets student loan forgiveness?
The PSLF program supports public servants—including teachers, nurses, social workers, first responders, service members, and other public servants—by forgiving the remaining student loan balance for those who make the required 120 qualifying monthly payments.
How to get 100% student loan forgiveness?
If you work full time for a government or nonprofit organization, you may qualify for forgiveness of the entire remaining balance of your Direct Loans after you've made 120 qualifying payments—i.e., at least 10 years of payments. To benefit from PSLF, you need to repay your federal student loans under an IDR plan.
Who qualifies for the new student loan forgiveness?
You may be eligible for income-driven repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness if you've have been in repayment for 20 or 25 years. An IDR plan bases your monthly payment on your income and family size.
What is the Harvard Law School loan forgiveness program?
The HLS Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)-based plan (referred to as “the Plan”) reduces the loan repayment burden for graduates in full-time public sector jobs, which qualify under federal guidelines, such as those in the government, non-profit, and academic industries.
Can you graduate law school debt free?
Well the average cost to attend a public state school is about 85,000 per year and for a private universities law school about 145,000 per year. So all anyone needs to do in order to graduate debt free is to come from a pretty well off family who can pay for the entire 3 years.
Are lawyers able to pay off student loans?
The ASLRP is an agency incentive program based on 5 U.S.C. § 5379 in which the Department agrees to repay certain types of Federal student loans as a recruitment or retention incentive for highly qualified attorneys in exchange for a service obligation of three years.
What is the 7 year rule for student loans?
The 7-year student loan myth most likely stems from a misinterpretation of various aspects of credit reporting. For instance, it's true that there is a credit reporting time limit for negative information, like defaults. Late payments or defaults generally stay on your credit report for a maximum of seven years.
What happens if I never pay my student loans?
If you are delinquent on your student loan payment for 90 days or more, your loan servicer will report the delinquency to the national credit bureaus, which can negatively impact your credit rating. If you continue to be delinquent, you risk your loan going into default.
What is the 20 year rule for student loan forgiveness?
Any borrower with ED-held loans that have accumulated time in repayment of at least 20 or 25 years will see automatic forgiveness, even if the loans are not currently on an IDR plan. Borrowers with FFELP loans held by commercial lenders or Perkins loans not held by ED can benefit if they consolidate into Direct Loans.
Who no longer qualifies for loan forgiveness?
You must be a direct employee of a qualifying employer for your employment to qualify. This means that employees of contracted organizations, that are not themselves a qualifying employer, won't qualify for PSLF including government contractors and for-profit organizations.
Is it too late for student loan forgiveness?
You can still apply for Student Loan Forgiveness in 2024. Despite the Supreme Court striking down Biden's initial plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans, the president has introduced other programs that have provided $167.3 billion in student loan forgiveness to over 4 million borrowers.
Why is my student loan not eligible for forgiveness?
Only borrowers who have entered repayment on at least one of their loans when the debt relief is applied would be eligible for forgiveness on the loan(s) in repayment.
Are law school loans forgiven?
Student loan forgiveness and repayment programs can erase some or all of your federal student loan debt for law school and possibly even private student loan debt. Income-driven repayment plans, while not specific to the law field, will cancel your remaining federal student loan debt after 10 to 25 years of repayment.
How long to pay off 200k law school debt?
How long does it take to pay off $200,000 in loans? If you choose the standard 10-year repayment plan, you'll pay off your loans in a decade. Longer plans, like those with 15- or 20-year terms, reduce monthly payments but significantly increase the total interest you'll pay over time.
How to not pay for law school?
The best way to attend law school with no money is to apply for scholarships or make yourself a prime candidate to be offered scholarships. Low-ranking schools tend to give out higher-value scholarships more frequently.