Image courtesy of Fora Financial.
After a student graduates, it can feel like a huge accomplishment. You’re ready to start your new life and enter the working world, but now that school is over, those student loans you once didn’t have to worry about become an issue. Student loans are one of the biggest burdens that come out of attending college. School is so incredibly expensive that most students can’t pay for it on their own without some extra help. So most students get loans, which help them make it through school, but can be difficult to pay off afterwards.
American graduates owe more than 1.75 trillion in student loan debt. This debt is spread across about 46 million borrowers. In 2020, about 55% of students getting their bachelor’s degrees had to take out student loans. Each individual student graduated with an average of $28,400 in debt, both in federal and private loans. Most of these people have federal student loan debt, which comes with different rules than private loans do.
Students usually have about six months to start paying off their loans. This is called a “grace period,” and it is implemented to give former students a chance to get their footing in the job market before the bills start coming in. If you like, you can always start paying off your loans early, but most people take advantage of the grace period given to them. But despite this grace period, paying off loans isn’t very simple for everyone.
Some people might have a tough time finding a job even after six months, or maybe they do find a job but it doesn’t pay well enough for them to keep up with their payments. It is well known that every graduate isn’t able to find a job in their field right after school. Many jobs want candidates with more experience than a lot of recent graduates have. You may very well end up taking a job just to get your bills paid after school.
But the situation doesn’t have to be hopeless, there are other ways that you can go about paying off your student loans. You can do it through scholarships and career loan repayment programs. One way to pay off loans is through grants. You may have thought that getting a grant is something you could only do while you’re still in school, but that is not the case at all! There are several grants that graduates can get to pay off their loans, and we have compiled a list to help you find them!
Forget Your Student Debt No Essay Grant
This grant has no stringent requirements.
This grant applicant really does not want to spend her time writing an essay. Image courtesy of Scholarships 360.
The “Forget your student loan debt no essay grant” is a grant that is attainable for just about any graduate. While many grants are provided for people with specialized careers, this grant is simply for anyone who has graduated college and has started working on their careers. There isn’t much that you need to do to earn this grant. There is no essay that you need to write or anything that you need to prove! The only criteria that you need to fit into to earn this grant is to apply.
And the application process is so easy! The grant will be awarded in December of 2022, and there will be rolling application deadlines each month. The sooner you apply, the greater your chances of earning this grant, so get on it as soon as you can!
Employer Grants
With the right company, you can get your loans paid off.
One way to get grants to pay off your student loans is through your employer. Most individual employers do not offer this benefit, but depending on who you work for, they might be willing to pay off your student loans. More and more companies are offering this benefit as the years go by. In 2018, 4% of companies offered this benefit, but ever since 2020, 8% of companies now offer loan repayments.
If you would like your employer to help repay your loans, there are certain employers that you should look towards working for. And thankfully, these employers each offer different services with an array of jobs that fit many different fields. No matter your degree, you can likely find a position in one of these companies that match your skill set.
The companies that will help you pay your loans when you work for them include Google, Hulu, Chegg, Estee Lauder, and Fidelity Investments. And there are several more. Each company has its own way of contributing and offers its employees different amounts. Chegg offers employees $1,000 a year for loan repayments, Estee Lauder and Hulu offer their employees up to $100 a month for loan repayments, Google offers its employees $2,500 per year, and Fidelity Investment’s employees can get up to $15,000 overall. Choosing the right company to work for can leave you well taken care of regarding financial matters.
Medical Student Loan Repayment Programs
Your major can open up several grant earning opportunities.
There are many grants that are offered to graduate students, especially students in the medical field. If you are currently a medical school graduate or making your way through medical school, you can go after several opportunities to have your loans repaid. The NHSC loan repayment program is one such opportunity for medical school students. This grant is available to students who are in their last year of medical school.
It is offered to many different types of health professionals. That includes physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and professional therapists. This program offers up to $100,000 worth of loan repayment money, but there is just one small catch. You must agree to work for 2-3 years in a program of the National Health Service Corps choice. As long as you are able to meet the requirement, you will earn a huge payoff!
Another grant available to medical scientists is the NIMH loan repayment program. This grant is from the National institute of Mental Health and is given to support health professionals in the field of research. They offer up to $50,000 per year in student loan repayment to mental health clinical researchers, pediatric researchers, health disparity researchers, and researchers in emerging areas. Their goal is to support any medical breakthroughs that will lead to medical innovations that will benefit our society.
There are grants offered to people who work for the NIMH and even for those who work outside of it. This grant is offered to about 1,600 scientists per year. About 4.68 million was awarded to applicants in 2021 alone. And the best part is that you can always continue to apply to additional renewal awards! As long as you match the criteria, the NIMH is happy to support your growth by reducing the burden of loan repayments.
Law Professional Loan Repayment Programs
Law school is expensive, but certain companies are willing to help.
Law students incur a lot of debt, and because of that they have a few different options when it comes to getting grants to repay loans. The John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program aims to help lawyers who seek work in lower paying public servant positions. This grant is available to public defenders and city prosecutors. These positions are not as heavily coveted by new lawyers because of the lower pay. Lawyers have the potential to make very high salaries depending on their position, so lower paying law jobs are often not as attractive.
The lower paying jobs also happen to be the ones that help the public. Public defenders help clients who can’t afford to pay for lawyers, and city prosecutors work on behalf of their communities. This grant aims to place more lawyers in those positions with financial incentives.
The Department of Justice also offers a loan repayment grant. This grant is for lawyers who work with the DOJ. Anyone who receives this grant is required to work for the DOJ for at least three years.
TEACH Grant
Teaching students in need can get your loans paid off.
The TEACH grant is available to undergraduate and graduate students. As long as you intend to be a teacher and have maintained a GPA above a 3.2, you may be eligible for this grant. You will receive up to $4,000 in grant money per year, with just one small requirement. You have to teach in an area that serves low income students for at least four years. You must teach in either an elementary school or a secondary school. This grant’s purpose is to help out low income students who teachers may otherwise not feel inclined to teach. You might even find that the environment is one that you are well suited for!
Student loans can be difficult to deal with, but thankfully there are many opportunities available for graduates who want to pay off their loans. As long as you’re willing to follow the stipulations to get a particular grant, your loan debt can be largely taken care of!
