Hi Heather,

Quick question:
On the Federal government’s list of schools that qualify for loan forgiveness, only one school in Illinois is listed. Could this be correct?!

I’m trying to find out if I qualify for loan forgiveness. As it is on their website, it appears that the only school in Illinois that qualifies is “St Genevieve School.”

My school (in Chicago) is definitely low income and knowing the situation in Chicago, I’m surprised there aren’t more eligible schools. Is this a mistake, or do I not qualify?

Thanks!

Nick
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The guide which indicates that you must work at a school in their database is here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/teacher?language=es#is-the-school

The actual database is here: https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp

Weird.  I agree that makes no sense.  I’m thinking something is wrong with the database?

Check this out for contact information to investigate further: http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/090314InfoTeacherCancelLowIncomeDirectoryUpdates.html

And foks can read about the various kinds of forgivenesses available for teachers on my blog post here: http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/teachers-dont-need-lip-service-they-need-cash-money

Let us know what you find out!

Hi Heather - Ok, so I called the help-line.

They told me that the problem is that some states don’t update their current year information. Illinois still hasn’t updated their information.

What you need to do is select a previous year from the drop down menu at the bottom.

Good news for me - my school is listed for as far back as I can see. I’m in my third year of teaching now, so I think I will be eligible for $5,000 in loan forgiveness when I complete my 5th year. I just applied for the forbearance. Btw, does forbearance mean I won’t have to make payments for the year? Is interest suspended during that time?