The overhaul of a controversial loan forgiveness program was projected to erase the debt of 22,000 student loan borrowers in the effort’s first weeks. Three months in, more than triple that figure have had their debts wiped out.

The Biden administration extended the pandemic pause on federal student loan payments through May 1 to give struggling borrowers more time to prepare for the restart

The loan forgiveness initiative, which was rolled out in 2007, was designed to entice people to work as teachers, police officers, firefighters or in other public jobs. After 10 years working in those jobs and making payments, their college debt would be erased. In practice, the federal government forgave almost no one’s debt.

When the Biden administration loosened standards in October, the agency estimated more than 22,000 borrowers would benefit immediately, and 27,000 would qualify as soon as they proved they worked in an eligible job.

S. Department of Education released the Public Service Forgiveness Loan figures Thursday, a year into President Joe Biden’s term as president

Those who have worked for a decade in public service should be able to rely on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, but until October, the system hadn’t delivered on its promise, said James Kvaal, undersecretary of the Department of Education.

“Teachers, nurses, first responders, service members and so many public service workers have had our back, especially amid the challenges of the pandemic,” Kvaal said. “One year in, the Biden administration continues to demonstrate that we have their backs, too.”

Biden faces calls to use his executive authority to forgive student loan debt for more of the 43 million federal borrowers. The president campaigned on forgiving up to $10,000 per borrower but said it’s Congress’ job to issue student loan forgiveness. He was asked about canceling student loan debt near the end of a news conference Wednesday but ended the conference without answering.

Tisa Silver Canady has seen borrowers obtain loan forgiveness through her work as the director of the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness, an organization that helps students and families pay for college.

When she heard about the changes to the program in October, she dug up her old clients who had encountered an issue navigating it. Some were excited, but others were wary after they said they’d been burned by the Education Department. Interest has grown steadily, she said, as borrowers see others obtain forgiveness.

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“My basic advice to anyone who thinks they might qualify even for one month is: Do not cancel yourself,” she said. “If you cancel yourself, you’ll never know how close you are or if you’re already there.”

Though forgiveness hasn’t been widespread, the Department of Education has forgiven the debt of 675,000 borrowers to the tune of $15 billion since Biden came into office. That forgiveness has come through expansions of debt forgiveness programs, such as those for borrowers who have permanent disabilities or were defrauded by their schools. The changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program are part of that trend.

The debt forgiveness program is simple in concept but complicated in practice. The idea was to offer an incentive to college graduates to forgo lucrative private-sector wages to work for the public instead. In exchange, the federal government would forgive these graduates’ debts after 10 years of payments.

The program came with rigorous requirements that prevented most borrowers from qualifying for forgiveness. Many had the wrong type of loan, or they weren’t enrolled in the correct income-based repayment program. Borrowers often didn’t realize they had made an error until after applying for forgiveness after 10 years of repayment. Many had no choice but to restart their payment clock.

When the government announced the revamp, 16,000 had received debt forgiveness out of the 1.3 million trying to wipe out their loans through the program. In October, the government said it would offer a one-year waiver that allowed borrowers to get credit for past payments, provided they worked in a qualifying job.

The waiver is applicable only to borrowers with direct loans or those directly issued by the government. Those with Federal Family Education Loans or Federal Perkins loans must consolidate via a direct loan before .

There are many reasons why a skilled RN may choose to return to school to become a nurse practitioner (NP). With the increase in autonomy, responsibility, and pay, NPs are helping to address critical shortages in primary and mental health care in the U.S. However, with all transformations, there is a tradeoff. In this case, tuition-and later student loan debt-is the tradeoff for most NPs in the United States.

As of , the most recent data available about graduate nurse student loan debt is from a 2017 report by The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The report determined that 74 percent of nurses in NP programs took out federal student loans. The range of anticipated debt for APRNs is less than $15,000 to more than $150,000, and the most common threshold of anticipated debt for APRNs is between $25,000 and $55,000.

Additionally, 50 percent of graduate nursing students are concerned about their ability to repay loans upon program completion. Only 27 percent of students received any form of aid from their NP program online payday loans Maryland or from their employers. Finally, 76 percent of graduate student nurses already have undergraduate student loans.

With three out of every four NPs staring down a debt horizon, understanding student loan forgiveness may spell the difference between a career that feels like indentured servitude and one that feels like a career choice made freely.

Keep reading for a general overview of what it means to enter into student loan repayment programs and for detailed information on loan repayment options for nurse practitioners.

What Kinds of Student Loan Repayment and Forgiveness Programs Exist for NPs?

The loan repayment and loan forgiveness programs detailed below are designed to incentivize providers to choose positions that may offer lower-than-average pay and/or are in underserved regions working with underserved populations. There are several things an NP should keep in mind as they consider which repayment or forgiveness programs are right for them.

Loan Forgiveness Programs

In a forgiveness program, NPs work in public service for a set period of time while making payments to their loans in hopes that the remainder of their student loan balance will be discharged afterward. With the exception of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLP), most of the programs available to help nurses with student loan debt aren’t forgiveness programs.

Loan Repayment Programs

Loan repayment programs are those where an NP commits to service for a set period of time in exchange for a clearly articulated amount of loan repayment. Overarchingly, loan repayment programs are designed to distribute NP talent to underserved populations and/or to get NPs to commit to serving the underserved for the long term. Most of the programs that NPs can pursue to aid with student loan debt are repayment programs.

Can You Enroll in Multiple NP Loan Forgiveness or Repayment Plans at Once?

While an NP could enroll in multiple repayment programs over the course of their career, they can only do so sequentially (e.g., an NP could enroll in NCLRP for three years to repay 85 percent of student loan debt, and once done with that commitment, they could enroll in NHSC LRP to pay back the remainder).

This sequential requirement also includes state programs. An NP cannot be enrolled in a federal repayment program and the repayment program from their state of practice at the same time.

Generalized Requirements for NP Loan Repayment Programs

• US Citizenship
• Unencumbered licensure
• Federal employment eligibility
• A history of honoring prior legal obligations (e.g., no loan defaulting, contract breaches, liens, etc.)