If you live in Minnesota, you’re in luck. In addition to student loan forgiveness at the federal level, you’re eligible for a number of student loan forgiveness programs just for state residents.
Here’s a roundup of all your state’s forgiveness programs.
Health Professional Education Loan Forgiveness Program
This program offers help for a broad variety of healthcare practitioners looking to pay off their loans.
Under this program, you can get your student loans forgiven up to a specific yearly amount, in return for agreeing to serve in an area with a shortage of healthcare practitioners—usually for three to four years.
For most of these, you have to agree to live in a high-needs area for a set number of years, and apply during your last year of residency or licensure studies. The individual programs include:
Minnesota Rural Physician Loan Forgiveness Program
Get $25,000 per year for 3-4 years of service in a rural, high-needs area.
Minnesota Urban Physician Loan Forgiveness Program
Same deal: $25,000 per year for 3-4 years of service, this time in an urban high-needs area.
Minnesota Rural Advanced Practice Loan Forgiveness Program
Up to $12,000 per year for 3-4 years of service. Qualifying practitioners include nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, and physician assistants.
Minnesota Nurse Faculty Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $9,000 per year for 3-4 years of service as post-secondary faculty, for those studying to teach in advanced nursing or allied health care.
Minnesota Dental Therapist / Advanced Dental Therapist Loan Forgiveness Program
Up to $10,000 per year for 3-4 years of service in a rural, high-needs area.
Minnesota Dentist Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $30,000 per year for 3-4 years of service, with 25% of your patient base being sliding-scale or on public program assistance.
Minnesota Rural Mental Health Professional Loan Forgiveness Program
Get $7,000-$12,000 per year (depending on the type of mental health professional) for 3-4 years of service in a rural, high-needs area.
Minnesota Urban Mental Health Professional Loan Forgiveness Program
Same deal as above, but for practitioners in urban high-needs areas.
Minnesota Nurses in Nursing Homes / Housing with Services Establishment / Home Care Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $5,000 per year for 2-4 years of service as an LPN or RN working for a qualifying nursing home or home care provider.
Minnesota Rural Pharmacist Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $20,000 per year for 3-4 years of service in a rural, high-needs area.
Minnesota Rural Public Health Nurse Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $5,000 per year for 3-4 years working in a rural, high-needs area. This one’s for RNs with certificates as Public Health Nurses.
Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program
Get up to $15,000 per year toward your loans in return for 5 years of service in a rural area with a shortage of veterinarians. At least 50% of your practice needs to involve the care of food animals.
This one’s only for University of Minnesota graduates who received their degree no more than three years ago.
Aviation Degree Loan Repayment Program
This one’s for pilots and aircraft technicians who hold a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree from a Minnesota institution. You can get up to $5000 per year (for pilots) or $3,000 per year (for technicians), in return for working at least 1 year in Minnesota.
Agricultural Education Loan Repayment Program
This one’s for teachers in agricultural education, working with grades 5-12. You can get up to $3,000 per year for a minimum of one year working in Minnesota schools.
Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program
Get up to $1,000 per year in loan forgiveness in exchange for working at least one year in a teacher-shortage area in Minnesota.
In addition, Minnesota residents can be eligible for any student loan forgiveness program available at the national level. For a complete look at your options, go here.
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