Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses: The Programs You Need to Know

There are over five federal student loan forgiveness programs for nurses, and almost every state has its nursing student loan forgiveness program. Based on popular demand, I’ve compiled a full list of federal and state nursing student loan forgiveness programs available in the United States. Read more Medical courses like nursing, pharmacy, medicine, and surgery are quite expensive in the States. Even Americans living slightly above the poverty rate can’t afford these college fees without incurring debt.

Undergraduates of nursing departments incur debts with the hope of paying them back after graduation. However, the story changes when the after-college reality dawns on them; they start to see the need to apply for loan forgiveness programs. And you know what! It’s okay to seek loan forgiveness.  The United States federal government and state governments have created a structure to help nurses who want to be assisted in paying back their loans.

Are you ready to get out of debt? If yes, then let’s get started.

Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses

There are a lot of student loan forgiveness programs to choose from. Here’s an in-depth look at each of them.

Federal Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses

The USA federal government sponsors Federal student loan forgiveness programs for nurses. To qualify for nursing student debt programs, nurses must consolidate their loans, fulfill the individual requirement of each initiative, and maintain a good credit score.

Below are the different types of federal student loan forgiveness programs for nurses

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The public service loan forgiveness program is a debt-relief initiative created under the Department of Education. And guess what! Nurses qualify. According to the College Cost Reduction and access act of 2007, borrowers who have taken direct loans on or after October 1, 2007, would be pardoned.

The nurse practitioner student loan forgiveness is open to public workers who have made 120 monthly payments to the lender while holding a full-time public service work or an NGO job for ten years. All public health workers qualify, but the nature of the loan agreement taken might be disqualified. Check their conditions to ensure your loan is forgivable.

NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program (LRP)

With Nurse Corps LRP, you can kill two birds with a stone. The forgiveness program allows you to work in an eligible critical shortage facility in a high-need area or accredited nursing school for a 2-year duration. And as a reward, 60% of your nursing education debt would be paid by the Nurse Corps LRP.

The basic idea behind Nurse Corps LRP is to make working at a critical shortage facility appealing to nursing professionals, licensed nurses, nurse department workers, and top practice registered nurses.

You can extend your two-year program by an extra year. Nurse Corps LRP would pay 25% of your loan starting balance.

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National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program

The NHSC loan repayment program is restricted to primary care nurses, certified midwives, and psychiatric nursing specialists. The forgiveness program offers debt relief in exchange for working in high-need societies.

The program requires you to work at an NHSC-accredited Health professional area site for only two years. The amount paid per nurse depends on the HPSA score of the location chosen. The HPSA Score for sites with 14-26 is $50,000 for full-time workers and $25,000 for halftime workers. For areas with an HPSA Score of 0-13, full-time nurses are paid $30,000 for full-time workers, while half-time workers are paid $15,000.

You can apply for both the NHSC loan repayment program and NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program (LRP), but if both accept, you must decline one for the other. Unlike Nurse Corps LRP, the NHSC loan repayment program offers debt relief for part-time nurses.

Perkins Loan Cancellation for Nurses

The Perkins loan cancellation program for nurses offers student loan programs for nurses, nursing assistants, and practicing nurses. If accepted, you’re a percentage of your debt would be forgiven per year of service. Here’s how to arrive at the percentage:

• 15% forgiven after one and two years of full-time work.
• 20% forgiven after three and four years of full-time work.
• 30% forgiven after five years of full-time work.

Perkins loan cancellation is twice as fast as the PSLF program, and after five years of service, 100 percent of your debt will be forgiven. Opposite to the mode of application of other federal loan forgiveness programs, you’d apply directly to the college that approved you for the Federal Perkins loan.

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State Loan Forgiveness for Nurses

As we stated earlier, almost all American states provide at least a nursing forgivable loan program for nurses.  The basic requirement for most state loan forgiveness programs is to serve in a health professional shortage area for a specific time. HPSAs are sites that lack qualified nurse practitioners. To qualify for state loan forgiveness, you must be licensed in that particular state. Check your condition below:

Alabama Student Loans For Nurses

Certified nurses interested in pursuing a CRNA, CRNP, and CNM degree can apply for Alabama’s advanced practice loan repayment program. If awarded, you’ll get $12,000 for your education.

Requirements

• Work for 18 months in a board-defined area of critical need after graduation.
• Proof of Alabama residency (for at least one year).
• You cannot apply till after three years of funding.

Alaska 

The Alaska state government has made necessary provisions for nurses who need debt relief. Those interested can not be enrolled in any other federal government forgiveness program, National Health Service Corps, or NURSE Corps loan repayment program.

There are two forgiveness schemes in Alaska, namely;

SHARP I

•  $20,000 debt pardoned each year as a reward for two-year work in Alaska HPSA. You’ll make $27,000 in a full-time position.

SHARP-II

• SHARP-II offers additional funding for three extra years of service to the Alaska state government. The maximum you can use in this program is 12 years.
• To qualify for SHARP-II, you must achieve a 25% match and commit three years to work in the Alaskan HPSA.

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Arizona 

Arizona State has two student loan forgiveness for nurse practitioners, namely: Primary Care Provider Loan Repayment Program and Rural Private Primary Care Provider Loan Repayment Program. If accepted, you’d be forgiven $50,000 worth of debt, and there’s a good chance they’d let you renew your slot.

Requirements

• National Health Service Corps or Nurse Corps program-not approved.
• Full-time or half-time job
• Needful to work in Arizona HPSA
• This program requires at least two years of service

California 

California state government has the interest of medical practitioners at heart. This state offers undergraduates of nursing numerous scholarships. There are two basic programs offered in California, namely:

Bachelor of Science Nursing Loan Repayment Program

The approved sites are Health Professional Shortage Area, a Medically Underserved Area (MUA), and a Veterans facility or state prison. The program guarantees $10,000 worth of debt forgiveness.

Advanced Practice Healthcare Loan Repayment Program

This program is suitable for Certified midwives and nurses. If approved, you’d have to work full-time for twelve months in a medically underserved area.

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Colorado 

Part-time or full-time certified midwives, psychiatric nurses, and nurse practitioners. If accepted,  you’d be given $50,000 worth of loan forgiveness.

Requirements

• Must work in a health professional shortage area for three-year service
• Nurses currently under a federal government loan forgiveness program aren’t qualified.

Delaware 

Delaware State Loan Repayment program accepts certified nurse midwives, Nurse practitioners, and psychiatric nurse specialists. The last payment in loan forgiveness is $30,000 for two years, and the highest payment is $100,000.

You can also apply for a one-year extension after the two-year program. The payment in debt forgiveness for the extra year is around  $30,000.

Requirements

• Must work HPSA for two years
• Applicable to federal and state loans
• Required to present a 50% match.
• Available for state and federal loans.

District of Columbia 

The Washington D.C Health professionals loan repayment program guarantees advanced practice nurses $79,876 worth of loan forgiveness.  A year in HPLRP covers 18% of your total loan balance, 26% in the second year, and  38% in the third and fourth years.

Requirements

• Render full-time services at an accredited service obligation site.
• Agree to cater to patients in an approved facility.

Florida 

Florida State fights the lack of nurses in specific areas by temporarily assigning indebted nurses to accredited regions such as; state healthcare facilities, specialty hospitals for children, teaching hospitals, public schools, and county health departments — in exchange for $4,000 worth of debt forgiveness per annum.

Requirements

• Only Florida licensed nurses qualify
• Can be renewed for another four years.

Georgia 

Georgia’s advanced practice registered nurse Loan Repayment Program  (APRNLRP) offers loan forgiveness of $10,000 per annum.  If accepted, you’d be required to work in an underserved rural Georgia county. 

Requirements

• Must possess a Georgian license to practice
• The award method is first come, first serve.
• Applications begin on the 1st of September.

Hawaii

Certified nurse midwives and primary care advanced practice nurse practitioners can apply to the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program.

Requirements

• Must provide a 50% match from a donor
• Apply on the first day of every month
• Work full-time for two consecutive years or halftime for four years.
• Nurses in a federal or state loan repayment program may not apply.

Idaho 

The Idaho state loan repayment program is open to Nurses, midwives, and psychiatric nurse specialists. The range of payment includes; $10,000 – $20,000 (halftime) and $20,000 – $30,000 (full-time).

Requirements

• Can work half-time or full-time
• Funds received from this program aren’t taxable.
• Operates on a 1:1 matching system, demonstrating mutual and equal funding from the federal government and the assigned site.

Illinois 

This program aims at encouraging teaching among nurses. Interested nurses can get $5,000 worth of loan forgiveness per annum.

Requirements

• Renewed up to four times
• The maximum reward you can get in a four-year program is $20,000
• Only nurses who’ve served as educators for not less than twelve consecutive months can apply.

Iowa 

The Iowa Registered Nurse and Nurse Educator Loan Forgiveness program offer a 20% loan forgiveness to certified nurses working in Iowa and nurse educators with MSC or Ph.D.  

Requirements

• Required to work for a minimum of quarter-time
• Up to a five-year extension.

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Kansas 

Kansas State Loan Repayment Program accepts certified nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, or psychiatric nurse specialists interested in working with Kansas HPSA.  In exchange for a two-year service, nurses would be given $40,000 worth of student loan forgiveness.

Requirements

• Not available for nurses who are under federal or state debt-relief programs
• The funds received are tax-free
• Applicable to federal and state loans
• Must be willing to work in an accredited primary care specialty in any Kansas HPSA.

Kentucky 

The Kentucky State government, accredited employers, and the NHSC offer forgiveness programs to eligible nurses. Thirteen nurses would receive a grant of $300,000 per annum. The debt forgiven range is between $20,000 to $40,000 for nurses and nurse practitioners.

Requirements

• Only licensed nurses are eligible to apply.
• A 1:1 match, which can come from the site admin or national foundations, is requested by the federal government.
• The nurse and employer must adhere to a two-year commitment.

Louisiana 

the Louisiana State Loan Repayment Program is open to nurse practitioners, licensed nurse midwives, and psychiatric nurse specialists. If accepted, you’d get $45,000 of loan forgiveness in three years ($15,000 annually). You can ask for a two-year extension, which attracts an extra $24,000 cost of loan repayment.

Requirements

• Must serve full-time in a federally HPSA
• Only licensed nurses are eligible for this offer
• Full-time work T federal HPSA is mandatory

Maryland 

Interested nurses can apply for the Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP). The three-year program offers $30,000 as loan forgiveness in exchange for working with underserved residents.

Requirements

• Service is full-time
• Candidates must possess a degree (from Maryland College)
• Annual gross salary of single applicants must not exceed  $60,000
• Yearly gross salary of married applicants must not exceed  $60,000, and the joint salaries of couples must not exceed $130,000
• Candidates must be residents and work in Maryland
• Nurse faculty members: yearly gross salary shouldn’t be more than $75,000, and married couples’ joint salaries must not exceed $160,000
• Candidates must not be beneficiaries of other states’ loan repayment programs. 
• The funds released depend on your loan balance. One-third would be awarded yearly. Plus, you can request monthly payments if you want.
• Nurses benefitting from the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can also apply.

Massachusetts Student Loans For Nurses

Massachusetts Loan Repayment Program (MLRP) is open to Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and psychiatric nurse specialists. The reward for participating in this program for two years in a roll is $50,000 worth of loan forgiveness. Individuals would be required to do so for four years. This time frame would come into effect if they chose to work part-time.

Requirements

• Applicants must be free of other incentive programs.
• Can work full-time or part-time in an accredited facility in Massachusetts.
• Must be a resident and worker in Massachusetts.

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Final Thoughts on Student Loan Forgiveness for Nurses

Most state loan forgiveness programs, except Maryland LARP, emphasize not being a beneficiary of federal Loan forgiveness programs at the time of submission. It is important to consider applying for a loan forgiveness program. The program will ensure terms and conditions are understood before accepting the offer. Some requirements or HPSA aren’t healthy for some set of individuals.

If I missed your state or you want me to write a full review of your state’s loan repayment program, kindly sign in the comment box. And don’t forget keeping a good credit score can anoint your application as the right pick. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can nurses pursue student loan forgiveness if they have already consolidated their loans?

Nurses can still pursue student loan forgiveness even if they have consolidated their federal student loans. However, there are crucial considerations to keep in mind. Suppose a nurse has already reduced their loans. In that case, they may need to restart their qualifying payment count under the forgiveness program, potentially resulting in a delay before becoming eligible for forgiveness.

Can nurses pursue multiple loan forgiveness programs simultaneously?

In certain cases, nurses may be eligible to pursue multiple loan forgiveness programs simultaneously. However, it is essential to note that the same qualifying payments generally cannot be used for various programs.

What happens if a nurse’s loan forgiveness application is denied?

If a nurse’s loan forgiveness application is denied, they should carefully review the rejection reasons provided by the forgiveness program. In some cases, it might be due to missing or incorrect information. Nurses can rectify the issue and reapply or explore other repayment options that suit their financial situation better.

Published on May 22, 2019; Updated on July 30, 2023.