Student loan forgiveness for nurses | NELRP

Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP)

What is NELRP?

Ever heard the phrase “The British are coming” by Paul Revere?  Well the new saying is “The Baby Boomers are coming”.  Basically there is a major shortage of nurses to help the aging baby boomer population.  So the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in an effort to provide the health care the Baby Boomers will need is offering repayment/forgiveness to Registered Nurses who will work in Critical Shortage Facilities (CSF)throughout the United States.

How much is Forgiven?

60% up to 85% depending on availability of funds

• Year 1 – 30% of balance
• Year 2 – 30% of balance
• Year 3 – 25% of balance (if funds are available)

 

Who is eligible?

Below is a list of qualifications to apply for this program:

1.      Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. National or Lawful Permanent Resident

2.      Employed Full-time (at least 32 hours) at a non-profit CSF

3.      Have a Baccalaureate or Associate degree in nursing, diploma in nursing or graduate degree in nursing from an accredited school

4.      Have a current license as an RN

5.      Have completed the nursing education program for which the loan applies

6.      Must retain a permanent unrestricted RN license during the 2-year service obligation

What loans are eligible for this program?

1.      Nursing Student Loans

2.      Stafford Loans

3.      Supplemental Loans

4.      Consolidated Loans (under certain circumstances)

 

Do I need good credit to qualify?

During the application review process they will obtain a credit report to assess eligibility, creditworthiness and suitability to participate in NELRP and to verify any educational loans.

This seems to be a great program for qualifying nurses.  The 2010 year for eligibility is closed.  Click here to get an email notice when the new window opens to take advantage of this program.  You will need to click the button that says “Notify Me by Email is this Answer is Updated”.  When you do you will prompted to key in your username/password.  If you don’t have one then proceed to create one so you can be notified.

This is a brief summation of this program for more details and how to apply click here.