Kaitlyn Venta

April is deadline month on My Scholarship Central. 108 scholarships are currently open and accepting applications. 75% of those scholarships are due in April, with many deadlines on April 15 and 17. There are some scholarships that are open in May and June, but very few are open through the summer. We know it is a busy time of year with prom, finals, AP exams, and graduation. However, we want students to have enough money to go to their best fit school. Don’t wait until after graduation – now is the time to apply for scholarships! Visit myscholarshipcentral.org/apply to start your application.

This year will be My Scholarship Central’s biggest year – in terms of student users, awards made, and total dollars awarded through the site. There are already more than 10,800 students applying for scholarships this year. Students who complete multiple, high quality scholarship applications ahead of the deadline see the best success on My Scholarship Central. You don’t have to be the valedictorian or class president – you just need to take the time to carefully and throughfully apply to scholarships you qualify for.

We are always looking for more scholarship organizations to partner with! If you know a scholarship from a non-profit organization for students from Missouri or the surrounding metros, we would love to talk. Email Kaitlyn Venta at [email protected].

One year ago, the federal government issued a waiver for many of the requirements for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. These changes expanded the number of borrowers eligible for forgiveness, but are only available until October 31, 2022. Click the image below to take a short eligibility quiz, and keep reading for more information from Federal Student Aid.

What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program?

PSLF is a loan forgiveness program for borrowers who meet certain criteria including working full time for a qualifying employer (government or non-profit), making 120 qualifying payments, having direct loans, and using an income-driven repayment plan.  Borrowers who meet the qualifications can have the remaining balance of their loans forgiven.

What PSLF requirements are different under the current waiver?

Changes until October 31 include credit for Perkins Loans and FFEL Loans, repayment under any plan, repayment before consolidation, late payments, Teacher Loan Forgiveness counting toward PSLF, and you do not have to currently be working for an eligible employer. Click here to see all changes under the current waiver.

How do I know if my employer qualifies?

Government work at any level (federal, state, local, or tribal) and most non-profit work qualifies.  This includes public school teachers, those that work at public colleges and universities, and government employees. Serving in AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and the military may also qualify. Use this tool from Federal Student Aid to look up your employer.

What loans can be forgiven?

Federal, direct loans qualify for PSLF.  Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Federal Perkins Loans do NOT qualify for PSLF. However, you can consolidate those loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to become eligible.  Private loans and Parent PLUS loans do NOT qualify for PSLF.  To find out what type of loans you have, log in to Federal Student Aid.

How many payments do I need to make?

You must make 120 monthly payments to qualify for PSLF. Under the current waiver, payments that would not have previously counted towards the 120 payments may now count. The suspended payments through COVID-19 also count toward the 120 required payments.

Is this different than the $10,000-$20,000 loan forgiveness recently announced by President Biden?

YES! PSLF is a program with specific requirements and you must apply to receive the benefits.

I think I qualify, what should I do next?

You can use the PSLF Help Tool from Federal Student Aid to confirm your eligibility and complete and submit the PSLF form.

Act now to take advantage of the expanded eligibility under the waiver that expires October 31, 2022.

UPDATE 11/29/22 – From Federal Student Aid “Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders. If you’ve already applied, we’ll hold your application. Subscribe and check back here for updates. We will post information as soon as further updates are available.”

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On Wednesday August 24, the Biden administration announced student loan forgiveness for more than 40 million borrowers. Pell recipients can have up to $20,000 in loans forgiven, and other borrowers up to $10,000.  Borrowers must have annual incomes below $125,000 if single or $250,000 if married to qualify.  The Department of Education will have an application for borrowers in the coming weeks. Sign up for email updates from the department at ed.gov/subscriptions.

The department also announced that student loan repayment will resume in January 2023.  A new income-based repayment plan has been proposed that would cap payments at 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income.  Borrowers should contact their loan servicer to see if they qualify for this program.

Borrowers need to be aware of scams around loan forgiveness. Do not share personal information over the phone, do not pay someone to complete a loan forgiveness application, and only apply through the official government application which has not been released. Learn more about how to avoid these scams.

Additionally, there are limited time changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program that expire October 31, 2022. Learn more about the PSLF waiver here.

For more information see the links below:

Federal Student Aid

Frequently Asked Questions from Federal Student Aid

U.S. Department of Education

National College Attainment Network

The Education Trust