 TITLE: 3 Ways to Get Help With Student Loans CONTENT: 2\\. Apply for Student Loan Forgiveness\n--------------------------------------\nFederal student loans come with additional forgiveness programs for borrowers in certain public service occupations. Closely follow each program's requirements to get forgiveness; your student loan servicer should be able to guide you.\n*   **Public Service Loan Forgiveness**: You may qualify for this program, known as PSLF, if you work 30 or more hours per week for a government agency or 501(c)3 nonprofit, you have federal direct loans, and you're on an income-driven plan. You can consolidate other types of loans to make them eligible for the program, but only payments made after consolidation count. Forgiveness on the balance happens after you've made 120 monthly payments, and it won't be taxed as income. The program has so many requirements that it can be hard to know if you're on track; use the government's [PSLF Help Tool](;_ga=2.110728449.527797636.1553014287-1917240108.1549760842#!\/pslf\/launch) to check.\n*   Teacher Loan Forgiveness: While public school teachers generally qualify for PSLF, there's another program that gives certain teachers access to forgiveness sooner. Teacher Loan Forgiveness is available to teachers in low-income schools and forgives up to $17,500 in federal direct or FFEL loans over five years. Teachers can use both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF back to back if they're eligible. END