Frequently Asked Questions - Loan Forgiveness
Loan Forgiveness
Besides the $5000 loan forgiveness fund, each goer is also eligible to raise an additional $200/mo to go toward the monthly payments of their student loans. Depending on the student loan debt amount, goers who make have these payments rolled into their monthly budget can pay an additional $2000-$3000 toward the principal of their student loans. Therefore, at the end of their two years of service, most goers will have paid down their student loans by at least $7000!
The $5000 loan forgiveness program is available for all GoCorps applicants that have student loan debt. Here's how the $5000 scholarship works: GoCorps raises the first $2500 which is a matching gift fund for each goer's student loans. GoCorps has made arrangements with each partnering organization to allow each GoCorps goer to raise an additional $125/mo into their monthly budget. This money is set aside each month and at the end of the two years of service, each goer will have raised $2500, which is then matched by the GoCorps loan forgiveness program. At that point, $5000 is sent to the loan provider of each goer.
There are two potential ways to take care of your student loan payments while you are serving overseas:
- You may qualify to postpone (defer) your loan payments until you return from your two years service
OR - You can raise additional funds to cover your loan payments while you are serving
You may qualify for deferment (postponement) or forbearance during your service. Since educational loans come from hundreds of different banks and institutions (providers), arranging to get your school loan payments deferred or for forbearance should be done directly with your loan provider(s).
In most cases, simply adding your loan payments to your living expenses is how volunteers cover their loan payments while serving overseas. This process usually involves applying with your loan provider to qualify for an 'income based payment schedule.' This will make your loan payments to be no more than $200/mo while your are serving overseas. GoCorps partnering organizations will then help you set your budget to include sufficient funds to cover your loan payments while you are serving overseas.
In addition, learn more about the $5000 loan forgiveness available for GoCorps goers.