59% of denied applications were rejected due to too few qualifying payments. 26% of denied applications were due to missing information. As of November 2020, $118.5 billion was the total outstanding balance of borrowers eligible for PSLF.
The later-adopted Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program also has a strikingly high ninety-four percent plus denial rate for the over 29,000 applications for debt relief filed and processed as of that date.
How difficult? It is as difficult as: having the right kind of loans; working qualifying job(s) for 10 years; while paying your loans back on an income-driven repayment plan.
Important: If your employer is a for-profit organization, a labor union, or a partisan political organization, it isn't an eligible PSLF employer regardless of the kinds of public services it might provide.
A lot of people apply for PSLF, but the odds of actually having your loans forgiven through this program are extremely low. Between September 2020 and June 2023, almost 4 million PSLF applications were processed, and only 19,218 of them resulted in forgiveness—that's only 0.5%.
If we determine that you're not eligible for loan forgiveness at this time, you'll be notified and will be provided with the reason(s) we determined you were ineligible. You'll then be required to resume making payments on your loans.
11% of all PSLF and TEPSLF applications have been approved, according to June 2023 data from the Department of Education (673,077 approved for discharge among 6,147,812 total applications). Total discharges processed included: 19,218 for PSLF and 6,520 for Temporary Expanded PSLF.
Required Commitment and Lengthy Duration
One of the notable drawbacks of PSLF for doctors is the required commitment. To be eligible for forgiveness, you must make 120 qualifying payments, which essentially means 10 years of service in a qualifying organization.
Typically it takes at least 2 months to process PSLF Forms. During the busiest PSLF Waiver periods, estimates were between four and six months. If you're still within those time periods, continue waiting. You can always go to the My Activity page on studentaid.gov to check the status.
Yes. However, you must submit a PSLF Form showing that you were employed full-time by a qualifying employer at the time you made each of the required 120 payments.
It may initially lower your credit score as the forgiven debt could be reported as “income,” which may increase your overall income-to-debt ratio. However, over time, having fewer loans and lower debt could improve your credit score.
PSLF has erased $74 billion worth of student loans for more than one million public servants as of Oct. 17, 2024, according to the Education Department, which boils down to an average of $74,000 in debt forgiveness per borrower.
The Department of Education denied 98% of PSLF applications between November 2020 and October 2021. Some borrowers discovered they weren't eligible for forgiveness after making years of payments working in what they thought were qualifying positions.
Does my income level determine my eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)? There is no income requirement to qualify for PSLF.
As of mid-July 2023, approximately 662,000 borrowers have qualified for forgiveness under the limited PSLF waiver.
25% of rejected PSLF applications were rejected on grounds that the applicant had not entered all necessary information in their application.
To get PSLF, you have to get a total count of 120 qualifying payments. So you'll want to make sure that you're getting closer to your goal with each payment you make. Keep in mind, your payments don't have to be consecutive.
Because you have to make 120 qualifying monthly payments, it will take at least 10 years before you can qualify for PSLF.
After this request is made, a final review of your account will be performed to process forgiveness, which will take about 60 business days. If you meet the requirements for forgiveness, you'll first receive a notification from the U.S. Department of Education indicating you have been approved for PSLF.
Along with the pros of PSLF, there are some cons. 1) Complex Eligibility Requirements. Although the Education Department has made considerable efforts to simplify and streamline PSFL, it is still complex. Borrows must meet specific requirements for loan types, repayment plans, employment status, and timely payments.
Current PSLF numbers aren't any better. Of the 2 million folks who have applied for PSLF and met employment requirements since 2020, fewer than 1% have actually received forgiveness under the original setup.
A final review of your account will be done to process forgiveness, which will take at least 90 business days.
In July 2024, AFT sued MOHELA for a wide range of unlawful practices, including illegally executing a “call deflection” scheme to deny service to borrowers who need help.
Your employment can be certified by an official who has access to your employment or service records and is authorized by your employer to certify your employment or your service as an AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer.