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Student Loans for Military Spouses

As a military spouse, you might wonder if there is help for student loans. Unfortunately, no student loan programs seem specifically geared toward military spouses, but that doesn’t mean no help is available.

Military Spouse Student Loan Guide

SpouseWorks/MYCAA is a helpful tuition assistance program, but is not open to everyone. Some applicants will have to use student loans to help fund their education. Student loans can seem overwhelming, but they can be the correct answer when you need help financing your education.

Military spouses can access both federal and private student loans. Federal loans are from the government, while private loans can be from individual lenders, banks, credit unions, schools, and even state agencies.

Differences Between Federal and Private Student Loans

There are some significant differences between federal and private loans. With a federal loan:

• You don’t have to start paying until you graduate, leave school, or reduce your enrollment to less than half-time.
• The interest rate is fixed and often lower than a private loan. Federal loans also have much lower interest rates than typical credit cards.
• Students with financial need will likely qualify for a subsidized loan, in which the government pays the interest while they are in school at least half-time.
• A credit check isn’t required (in most cases), and these loans can also help you build your credit.
• A cosigner is not required.
• Your interest may be tax-deductible.
• You may consolidate your payments into a direct consolidation loan, and if you have trouble paying them back, you can temporarily postpone them or even lower your payments.

With private student loans:

• You may have to start paying them back while you are still in school, and they will likely have higher interest rates.
• They won’t be subsidized, and you’ll need established credit.
• You might need a co-signer, and your interest might not be tax-deductible.
• You can’t consolidate them into a direct consolidation loan, and you’ll have fewer deferment options.
• There could be prepayment penalties.
• There are typically no loan forgiveness programs.

How to Apply For Student Loans

You can apply for federal loans through FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). By filling out this form, you are starting the process for federal aid through grants (which you don’t have to pay back), loans (which you do), and work-study options.

Each academic year, FAFSA deadlines are similar—applications open on October 1 and close on June 30. Even with that window, you should complete and submit the Employment Certification as soon as possible because many schools distribute funding on a first-come, first-served basis. The form is not exclusive to first-year college students—enrollees must renew their application each academic year.

For private loans, you will need to do your research. Each loan can be different, with its own terms, fees, and application requirements. You can also check with your college or university for a list of preferred private loan providers.

After you compare loans, apply for the ones you are comfortable with and qualify for. Since you may need a cosigner for a private loan, choose someone you trust, usually a family member.

Paying Your Student Loan

For federal loans, you typically have a 6-month grace period before you must start making payments, which gives you little time to find a job. If you drop out of school or your attendance status changes to less than half-time, you must start paying your loans off immediately.

The grace period applies to direct subsidized/unsubsidized loans, subsidized/unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans, and some private loans. It does not apply to PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) You can also choose to consolidate your loans during your grace period.

How much you should pay depends on the repayment plan you have set up. The default payment program is the Standard Repayment Plan, a 10-year fixed monthly payment plan.

Help for Paying Student Loans

A number of additional programs can help, even if they are not directly for military spouses.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

The PSLF program will forgive the remaining balance on direct loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. There have been many changes to programs like these in the last few years. If you have not explored your options in a while it pays to refamiliarize yourself with PSLF and other options like it.

You qualify based on your employer, not your specific job. You will need to work for these types of organizations to qualify:

• Government organizations at any level—federal, state, local, or tribal.
• Not-for-profit organizations that are not tax-exempt under section 501 ( c ) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Other types of not-for-profit organizations are not tax-exempt under section 501 ( c ) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code if their primary purpose is to provide certain qualifying public services.
• Serving as a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer also counts.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a way for teachers to be forgiven for some or all of their student loan debt. You must teach full-time for five consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency and meet other qualifications. But there are things to know from the official site:

“Borrowers can’t receive credit toward TLF and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for the same period of service. That means, if you seek and receive TLF, the five-year period of service that supported your eligibility will NOT count toward PSLF. We recommend that you consider whether you’re interested in PSLF before deciding to pursue TLF, because we can’t make changes once you receive forgiveness.”

Perkins Loan Cancellation for Teachers

The Perkins Loan Cancellation for Teachers program allows you to have some or all of your student loans canceled or discharged. To qualify, you must:

• Work full-time as a teacher in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school.
• Work at a school that serves low-income families, or be a special education teacher, a teacher in mathematics, science, foreign languages, or bilingual education, or in any other field of expertise a state education agency determines has a shortage.
• Teach full-time for a full academic year or its equivalent.

National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program

The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program recruits health professionals for employment in areas with worker shortages. In return, it helps them repay their qualifying student loans.

You can enlist in this program if you’re open to moving to other areas, provided you meet the following requirements:

• You are a U.S. citizen (born or naturalized) or U.S. national.
• You are a provider (or eligible to participate as such) in Medicare, Medicaid, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
• You are trained and licensed to practice in the NHSC-eligible discipline and state where you applied.
• You are a healthcare professional in an eligible discipline with qualified student loan debt.
• You work at an NHSC-approved site.

 

Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program

The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program covers up to 85 percent of education debt for:

• Registered nurses (RNs)
• Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs)
• Nursing faculty

Eligible applicants must:

• Work in an approved healthcare facility with a critical shortage of nurses (as critical shortage facility)
• Work in an approved nursing school as nurse faculty

An applicant must be a licensed registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, or a nurse faculty member with qualifying nursing debt. Their nursing education must come from an accredited nursing school in a U.S. state or territory.

Apply through the HRSA Nurse Corps application portal.

 

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