Can art teachers receive the loan forgiveness program?
Im planning on becoming an art teacher for secondary schools and I was wondering if I would be eligible for the loan forgiveness program? I have the subsidized and unsubsidized loan.
Any information would be helpful. Please,no guesses ): Providing proof for your answer would be great also.
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To qualify for Stafford Loan deferment or cancellation, you must either serve in a school that provides services to a low-income population, or you must teach in a subject that has been identified as a critical shortage area. Loan cancellation is only available to those who work in low-income schools – borrowers who teach in critical shortage areas are only eligible for a loan forbearance.
If you work in a low-income school, you must complete 5 years of full-time employment, and you must be accredited as a “highly qualified” instructor. The maximum forgiveness amount is $5000, unless you work in mathematics, science, or special education, in which case you could qualify for a maximum forgiveness of $17,500.
You can not apply for the program until you have completed the 5 years of employment. There’s a good brochure here http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/15936_GPO_Stafford_SCREEN.pdf that describes the Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program, or you can read all of this in more detail on the Department of Education’s web page here: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/cancelstaff.jsp?tab=repaying
Do not confuse this program with the newer TEACH Grant program that offers grants of up to $4000 for current students who sign a contract agreement obligating them to work in low-income schools upon graduation.
If you want to see the list of low-income schools that qualify for the cancellation program, that list can be accessed and searched here: https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp
I hope that helped – as you can see – no guesses!
Good luck!