While you may know that grants are available to help fund your college education, you may not realize that you can also use certain grants specifically to pay off student loan debt.
Grants are a form of gift aid, which means you don’t have to repay them. Similar to student loans, you must apply and meet the grant’s eligibility requirements.
Can I use grants to pay off student loans?
Yes, you can use grant funds to pay off student loan debt. A number of different grants are specifically designed to help borrowers pay off their loans after graduation. These awards are similar to the grants you may have received while in college: They both require the recipient to meet a certain set of eligibility criteria.
However, grants used to pay off student loans are often based on specific criteria, like the career you’re employed in and the length of service required in that career after you receive the grant.
Grants to pay off student loans are available for a variety of borrowers, including military personnel and their families, healthcare professionals, farmers, and lawyers. Most of this funding comes from the federal government and is administered by state organizations. However, some grants are state-specific.
If you’re interested in learning more about grants that may be available for your profession, ask your school’s financial aid office if they know of any applicable programs. You can also get the latest information on the federal StudentAid.gov website.
Remember: If you’re struggling to repay your student loans, you should always seek assistance. Call your student loan servicer to discuss your options.
Grants for military personnel and families
Approximately 1% of the U.S. population serves in the Armed Forces, according to Defense.gov. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported that nearly half of veterans are married and have children, while more than 60% are first-generation college students. Tuition assistance programs offered through the GI Bill don’t always cover the full amount of their academic costs.
Grants are available to military personnel and their family members struggling to pay for their college education. These grants may be reserved for Armed Services veterans themselves, while others are available to their spouses and children, such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant provides financial aid to young adults whose parent or guardian died as a result of military service performed in Afghanistan or Iraq following the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Additional eligibility requirements for this grant include:
- You are not eligible for the federal Pell Grant based on your Expected Family Contribution. But you meet the remaining Pell Grant requirements.
- You must have been under the age of 24 or enrolled in college at least part-time when your parent or guardian died.
You may be eligible for an amount that’s equal to the maximum federal Pell Grant for an award year, but it can’t exceed your school’s cost of attendance.
Learn More: How Military Veterans and Dependents Can Pay for College
Grants for healthcare professionals
Healthcare professionals often allocate a higher percentage of their monthly income to student loans than professionals in the law, engineering, and accounting industries.
Although healthcare administrators and nurses with graduate degrees may have less of a student loan burden compared to some of their peers, many borrowers who pursued a degree in healthcare need assistance repaying their loans. Grants are available for a number of healthcare professionals, including licensed nurses, those who work in infertility research, and veterinarians.
Keep Reading: How to Pay for Medical School
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program is designed for registered nurses who work for two years in an eligible nursing school or public or private nonprofit Critical Shortage Facility. A CSF is a private or public healthcare facility that either serves, is located in, or designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area.
This grant is offered by the Health Resources and Services Administration and pays up to 85% of unpaid nursing education debt for registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and nurse faculty.
See Here: How to Get Student Loans for Nursing School
If it’s taking some time to find a grant you qualify for, refinancing can be a way to lower your loan costs or monthly payment. The student loan consolidation companies in the table below are Credible’s approved partner lenders. Because they compete for your business through Credible, you can request rates from all of them by filling out a single form. Then, you can compare your available options side-by-side. Requesting rates is free, doesn’t affect your credit score, and your personal information is not shared with our partner lenders unless you see an option you like.
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Contraception and Infertility Research Repayment Program
Certain healthcare professionals may be eligible for the Contraception and Infertility Research Program, including doctors, nurses, physician assistants, graduate students, and postgraduate research fellows. Eligible borrowers must work in either infertility research or contraception research.
The CIR-LRP grant pays up to $35,000 of your principal and interest for each year of commitment to your research. You must commit to at least two years of conducting research focused on contraception or infertility. You may also receive up to 39% of the prior amount paid to yourlenders.
National Institute of Mental Health Grant
The National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Programs were created by Congress to recruit and retain healthcare professionals in the fields of biobehavioral or biomedical research.Two loan repayment programs are available through the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIH.
One repayment program is for researchers at universities, medical centers, and other institutions not employed by the National Institute of Health. The other program is specifically for researchers employed by the National Institute of Health. These programs may repay loan amounts of up to $50,000 per year.
Regarding the non-NIH employed grants, the National Institute of Mental Health participates in four types of programs: clinical research, pediatrics research, health disparities research, and research in emerging areas critical to human health.
Each program has specific requirements. You can learn more about these programs and general eligibility information by visiting the National Institute of Mental Health website.
The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program
Professionals in the field of veterinary medicine with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree may be eligible for the USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program.
The program provides aid to qualified borrowers working in an underserved area. These areas are specifically designated by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture as experiencing a high-priority veterinarian shortage. The VMLRP will pay as much as $25,000 per year toward eligible loans if you serve in these shortage areas for at least three years, for a total amount of $75,000.
It’s important to note that although this is a federally funded program, each state administers the payments to a select number of borrowers. For example, the North Dakota Veterinarian Loan Repayment Program may pay up to $80,000 to repay educational loans, and only three veterinarians are selected each year.
Grants for farmers
Over the last decade, one industry that’s seen an increase in demand for recent college graduates is the agricultural sector. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that nearly 60,000 jobs open annually for recent college graduates with a degree in agricultural programs. Because agricultural programs in the U.S. are only producing about 35,000 graduates each year, this career path is an attractive option for students hoping to quickly find a job in their field of study.
If you need to take out student loans to complete your degree in agricultural studies, you should know that the federal government does offer grants for qualified borrowers. One of these grants for farmers is the New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program.
New State York Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program
The NYS Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program was designed to encourage recent college graduates to pursue farming careers. The program is only available for borrowers who:
- Obtain their undergraduate degree from one of the approved colleges or universities in the state of New York
- Apply within two years after graduating
- Agree to operate a farm within the state full-time for at least five years
- Must be a resident of the state and have resided there for at least 12 months prior to applying.
This means that some upper level undergraduates might be able to enroll in one of the approved schools for their final semesters, earn their degree, and be eligible for the award.
The maximum amount awarded to an individual borrower per year is $10,000 and the maximum amount awarded l is $50,000. It’s important to note that certain loans, including Parent PLUS Loans, aren’t eligible for repayment with this program.
Grants for lawyers
Students graduating with their law degrees are especially in need of financial repayment assistance. In 2020, the average debt of a law school graduate was approximately $145,000, according to the American Bar Association. This was an increase from the national debt averages for the class of 2018, which were approximately $92,000 for graduates of public law schools and approximately $130,000 for graduates of private law schools.
Financial assistance grants are available for those specifically working in the U.S. legal system after graduation.
John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program
The John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayment assistance to public defenders and prosecutors who continue working in their role for at least three years. This applies to local, state, and federal public defenders, as well as local and state prosecutors. This program is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which means the federal government provides the funding to state or other governor-designated agencies to facilitate payments to borrowers.
Annual award amounts could be between $4,000 and $10,000. Eligible prosecutors or public defenders can receive a maximum lifetime total of $60,000 over six years. It’s important to remember that if you receive this funding and don’t continue your career for the required three-year minimum, you’ll have to repay the grant.
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Check Out: How to Find and Apply for College Grants
