There might not be any easy loopholes to dig your way out of student loan debt, but there are ways to lighten the load where you can work away student loan debt through public service or military service. This is an option I explored quite a bit after graduating college with more than $70,000 of student loan debt and I wish it was something I explored prior to entering college when weighing options in regards to the true cost of a college degree. If you have the time and motivation to trade approximately four-to-ten years of service to the government, you can find student loan debt dissolving around you; I however chose to directly pay off my student loan debt through hard work in a private business and through the discipline of frugality (which you can read about here).
When exploring options of how to eliminate my massive student loan debt, the first option I explored was joining the military. Each branch of the military offers different levels of assistance, the best option up front might be to join the OCS (Officer Candidate School) of your college prior to graduation and begin training while still in school. Unfortunately, in my situation I did not explore OCS until after graduation of my Bachelor’s degree. I nearly joined the Marines, having done diligent research, beginning training and going for the military physical, however I have skin conditions that disqualified me of being an officer in the active branch and was told I could only be a reserve, therefore I decided rather to go back to school for my Master’s.
In my first year of graduate school, I highly considered two other options - the first was joining the National Guard, the second was Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I was attending graduate school to get a Master’s degree in education with the intention of becoming a professor and getting my PhD. Therefore joining the National Guard would be a quicker way to eliminate the loans (6 years of service) vs. Public Loan Forgiveness (10 years of service).
The National Guard Student Loan Repayment Program has a few key requirements: A minimum 6-year term of service, you must enlist in a “critical skills” vacancy and a maximum of $50,000 can be repaid at one of two rates (15% of the total loan per year or $500 per year - whichever is greater). In most cases you would be looking at 15% of the total loan per year. In addition, the National Guard offers other great benefits like Tricare insurance, dental, life insurance, pension if you reach 20 years of service and VA home loans (no down payment), which can lead to a lot of real estate investing success - faster growth potential. In addition, joining the National Guard would lead to paid training of critical life skills. When looking into an option like joining the National Guard, I do what I always do and broke it down into a pros and cons list (see my article on how to make major life decisions).
In the end, this was my favorite option. I took the ASVAB, completed physical training tests, etc., but then opted not to join when it came to signing - as I had just met my future wife and had a feeling if I went to basic training for 10 weeks (during the summer in between semesters), our relationship would have been sacrificed. If I hadn’t met her, I would have gone and it would have been a blast - but in the end I am happy with the decision I made, as I wouldn’t currently be married to the love of my life. Life is full of difficult decisions.
The second option I looked at on how to make college more affordable was Public Service Loan Forgiveness. As a teacher, in order to qualify, I had to work at a school in a lower income area for 10 years. This meant I would be delaying my goal of becoming a professor since I was a history professor. However, it is possible to defeat student loans quicker by teaching subject in need (like math, science and special needs). I was one year into this program would I made the major life decision to switch careers to the construction field.
There are Public Service Loan Forgiveness options for other public service fields like military attorneys, nurses, doctors, government employees and forgiveness options through volunteering through the Peace Corps. Some private employers allow the options to assist with paying for advanced degrees, but they likely will not assist in paying for loans already incurred.
The point is, there are many options out there that may suit your particular situation and by doing some in-depth research on these options you might be able to finds ways to help in eliminating your student loan debt. I encourage everyone not to repeat my mistake of not looking into these options until the debt was already a burden on my shoulders; research and make these decisions before you choose to even attend college. If you can, go to community college and live at home for the first two years of your degree program to save money. There are a number of alternative programs out there to suit your particular situation. Don’t let others in your life dictate your path, or you may find yourself graduated with a degree in a field you don’t care about, with a ton of debt and no job options in a field you are actually interested in. Trust me, it happened to me and in retrospect, there are many things I would have done differently to make college more affordable that would have given me a huge economic heads up when entering the real world. I was not able to start investing in my retirement until I was 26-years-old because of these decisions. The sooner you can start investing in your future, the more likely you will be able to retire early and enjoy the path you were meant to walk.
SOURCES:
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/military-student-loan-forgiveness-repayment/
