Under certain conditions, if your loan is not in default, you may quality for a loan cancellation.  This means your lender agrees to cancel all or part of your student loan.  You must have a very good reason to request a loan cancellation and not just losing your job.  

To be considered, you must prove the one of the following:

• You can’t earn a living because you are totally and permanently disabled due to injury or illness.  Your disability is expected to last indefinitely or may even result in death.
• Your school closed before you are able to complete your degree or within 90 days after your withdrew from the school.   However, you will not qualify for a loan cancellation if you are now completing your degree at a comparable school or if you completed your degree from the closed school.
• You are a full-time teacher working in a low-income area or teaching a subject that is shortage.  Find more information at studentaid.ed.gov and click on the “Repaying” tab and then click on “Cancellation and Deferment Options for Teachers”.
• You are pursing a career which there is a shortage of workers.

If you die, your family will not have to pay off your student loans.  The lenders should cancel it.

If you don’t meet any of the scenarios listed above you may still qualify for full or partial federal loan cancellation or get loan-paying assistance if the following is true:

• Your state rewards students who pursue a specific degree.  Your state may cancel these student loans or pay off some of the loan.  To find out if your state has a program contact your state’s post-secondary education agency.  To find your state’s agency call 800-433-3243 or visit studentaid.ed.gov and click on “Funding” and then “State Aid.”
• If you enlist in the military some branches of the armed forces use loan repayment programs as recruitment tools.  To find out more, call or visit your local armed forces recruitment office.
• If you become an AmeriCorps volunteer, you maybe able to cancel your student loans.  AmeriCorps offers the opportunity for citizens to donate a year of their lives to work for public agency, nonprofit organization or faith based organization to address a critical community need.  For more information contact AmeriCorps at 800-842-2677 or visit www.americorps.org.