Thread by @CarolineCBaxter

I got some good news today:

~12 years after finishing grad school, my student loans were forgiven via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. I'm among a tiny group of people for whom #PSLF panned out, so here is a thread that charts the journey. I hope it's useful.

1. PSLF is supposed to take ten years for forgiveness, so why did it take me 12? Because I needed to be in the right repayment program and consolidate my loans into the right kinds of loans. Both take months of bureaucracy and delay your repayment start date.

2. The job I got after graduation was with a "qualifying employer." (This would be @RANDCorporation). You would think that any non-profit or government org would qualify. You would be wrong. Ex.: the United Nations doesn't count.

3. Because I loved my job and had plenty of career growth, I stayed at RAND, my qualifying employer, for 11 years. Every year I recertified my repayment plan and my employment status to make sure that every single payment was being counted.

4. My current organization, @EGFound, is also a "qualifying employer." This is critical b/c I HAD to be with a qualifying employer at the time of forgiveness. When I changed jobs, I submitted two employment certif. forms: one saying I left RAND, and one saying I started at EGF.

5. I received notice I'd made 120 payments in October of last year. I didn't apply until I got that confirmation, even though I knew that I'd crossed the finish line. Here is what was happening behind the scenes after I applied.

6. First, the loan people had to check with both employers that I had been/currently was an employee. Then they had to count all my payments. Then they had to make sure my PSLF application was correct. Once it was all approved, THEN my application got passed to the Dept. of Ed.

7. When I called FedLoan yesterday, they said the package was just being wrapped up to get sent over and that I would receive a notice that it had rounded the final corner. Well, I logged into my account today and my balance = $0. Cleary that last step is the fastest.

8. So here is the point of all of this.

If I hadn't had a job I loved that qualified for forgiveness right out of grad school; if I'd had to leave that job because I couldn't grow; if my current job didn't qualify; if I hadn't known to get on the right loan repayment plan...

9. ...I wouldn't be writing this today. I was unbelievably lucky. That is infuriating.

Also infuriating: the repayment plans that qualify for PSLF don't scratch the principle. My loans almost doubled over the past 12 years, thanks to an interest rate of ~7%.

10. I didn't go to grad school to get rich. I went to grad school to serve the common good as best I'm able. The amount of debt I ended up with is almost 50% more than my yearly salary and, without forgiveness, my family would be digging out for years.

11. I don't say this for pity. I say it because the system we have now can't ensure the most diverse of the best and brightest apply themselves to national security. Who in their right mind would follow the path I trod, watching their debt increase year after year?

12. I will never forget today. I will never forget collapsing to the floor with the news; looking at my son and seeing only possibilities; feeling the anvil lift. But no one should ever have to wonder if they can afford to serve their country. This has to be easier.

/fin

So many excellent questions! I'll try to compile answers to as many as I can and post them in the coming days. Two answers for now:

YES your "payments" during COVID forbearance count.

YES there is a website where you can check qualifying employers: studentaid.gov/pslf/

Okay - as promised, here are some answers to some of the questions I've gotten. I know I haven't answered everything but I hope this helps some people out. /1

"What are qualifying repayment plans?" Any one of the four Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans: Revised Pay As You Earn, Pay As You Earn, Income-Based, and Income-Contingent. /2

"What are qualifying loans?" There are four loan types: Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS, and Direct Consolidation Loans. NB: if you need to consolidate (like I did), that last one is what it'll be called after you do it. /3

"What in the world is qualifying employment?" Okay, this will be a two-parter. There are three bins of qualifying employers: government, a 501c3 non-profit, or a non-profit that isn’t a 501c3 but “provides certain qualifying services." /4a

But your employer is only half the battle. You also have to have qualifying employment STATUS, meaning not only does the employer have to count, but you need to be employed by them (one or more than one) for at least 30hr/week. /4b

"Do payments during COVID forbearance count towards PSLF?" YES THEY DO. This is really important. /5

"How long did your process take?" About four months. I applied for forgiveness in October and got approved and forgiven in February. /6

"I'm not with FedLoan Servicing, is that a problem?" Once you submit a PSLF application to get on the program, any loans that are with the Department of Ed - so, all non-private loans - will be automatically transferred. If you have private loans, consider consolidating. /7

Finally, here is a website that gives you statistics for the number of people approved and - here's the useful part - WHY people got denied. studentaid.gov/data-center/st… /8

Also, here is phone number to talk to PSLF program administrators: 855-265-4038. /9

I'm 100% NOT an expert on this, I just obsessively worked the program for 12 years and I'm imparting what I know. I pulled this information from what I learned and also the FedLoan website. myfedloan.org/borrowers/spec… /10

One final note. I'm aware that there are a lot of people who are angry I got forgiven-that tax $ are going to this, that they paid all their debt but I didn't have to, I could have gone to cheaper schools. I get it. I really do. I'd offer two thoughts here. /11a

Instead of getting angry with the borrower, rail at the jobs that require higher ed degrees and privilege MAs/PhDs from the pricy Ivies. And, rail at those Ivies who, like my alma mater, have multi-billion endowments but charge $130K for that higher ed degree. /11b

In other words, don't demonize the young for following their ambitions - as American society pushes them to do - and playing the game set out by generations before them. It's the system, not the student, most at fault. /end