College Loan Scholarship
A college loan scholarship, also known as a tuition forgiveness program, is a great way for students to pay off their college debt, while simultaneously performing a service for their country or community. Students can work off bills after graduation by volunteering, or working as teaching, health, or military personnel in understaffed, often low-income areas.
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A college loan scholarship is not actually a loan at all. The college loan scholarship is more like a grant given to a borrower by the U.S. government, automatically earmarked to help fund his or her education. Students can earn this essentially free money by working in one of several applicable service jobs. Time commitments and award amounts vary, but all go towards certain governmentally funded loans.
Loans qualifying for a college loan scholarship incentives include:
• Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students
• Stafford Student Loan
• Parents Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
• Consolidated Loan Program
• Federally Insured Student Loan
• Perkins Loan
• Supplemental Loan for Students
A college loan scholarship can come in various forms and award amounts. Students may have the option to use their educational allowance to pay off old college debts or as forbearance to go back for more post-secondary schooling. According to a publication put out by the College Board, titled “Trends in College Pricing,” the average total cost of attending an in-state public university for one academic year was over $17,000 for the 2007-2008 academic year. The sum represents tuition, rent, book costs, food, transportation, and the students’ personal needs. For students attending an out-of-state university, the cost is even higher. An out-of-state student pays an average of $27,000 per year, and their collegiate peers at private institutions spend over $35,000 each year. A college loan scholarship is one sure-fire way to pay back the outrageous bills a student can incur within a four-year term at any college or university.
Of the aforementioned bulleted loans, portions or the entirety of the debt obligation can be cancelled through service in specific government agencies. The Peace Corps is a widely popular world relief effort group, in which volunteers may defer repayment on federal loans and, if they hold a Perkins loan, receive a 15 percent cancellation for each year of service. In AmeriCorps, the domestic version of the Peace Corps, volunteers potentially earn an educational award of up to $4,275 by working 10-12 months for the organization. Another college loan scholarship option is Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA. VISTA is a branch of AmeriCorps that focuses on poverty, homelessness, hunger, and illiteracy. Volunteers of at least 1,700 hours prove eligible to receive $4,725 in loan cancellations.
Teach for America is a program in which recent education graduates are handpicked to schools in inner cities, Indian reservations, and other low-income areas. Participating students receive the $4,725 in loan forgiveness on top of their regular wages as a beginning teacher. In addition, thanks to the National Defense Education Act, full-time teachers in low-income school districts may be eligible for Perkins loan forgiveness. The U.S. military offers graduates with a multitude of opportunities. Only students who enlist in the military right after graduation are qualified to receive up to $20,000 for service in the Army Reserves or Air National Coast Guard and up to $10,000 for service in the Air Force or Navy Reserves. Additionally, the National Health Service Corps is a mixed group of healthcare professionals who, for at least two years, work in under-served areas. These individuals can receive up to $25,000 in federal reimbursements for each year of service. Such options help students offset the high prices of an education and all the while, serving American interests at home and abroad.
Looking for college loan scholarship money?
Get information on a college loan scholarship today.