The federal government established the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program in 2017 for students who would end up working in helping professions (teaching, healthcare, etc.). There were two main requirements:
- The borrower works in a public service profession
- The borrower has made loan payments for ten years
Public Student Loan Forgiveness can be great for those who plan to or already work in any public sector. However, many people do not qualify. According to the Department of Education, only 96 people received loan forgiveness in 2017, the year the first round of applicants became eligible. As of September 2019, 1,216 people have received loan forgiveness under the program. This is a huge improvement from the original 96. However,100,835 applications were still rejected.