Heather,
I found your blog from surfing the web looking for advice on student loan consolidation..so awesome! I live in Durham, NC & just graduated with my Masters in Counseling from a private school. It’s time to start thinking about consolidating my loans and I know there is a smarter way to doing this than I have set up (which is really nothing).

I’m working as a mental health counselor in the public schools with kids on medicaid. BUT I’m technically employed by a “for-profit” mental health company that has a contract with the public school system. Does that mean I can’t qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program? Maybe I’d qualify for the Income Based payment plan b/c I’m making less than employees who work for Social Services.

Where do I start in consolidating my loans to then see if I qualify for any loan forgiveness options?

Thanks!
Meredith

Hi Heather,

I have the same question as Meredith. I will be working as a law clerk and eventually as a staff attorney for a county office, but I am paid by a for-profit that has contracted with the county. Will my work qualify for loan forgiveness? Thanks for your help, and thanks to Meredith for starting this thread!

Kayleigh

Unfortunately, government contractors are specifically excluded from the definition of government and from what I can tell no for profit organizations are included.

This is what the regulation says counts as an eligible employer (for the folks who don’t work for the government or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit):

(5) A private organization that—
(i) Provides the following public services: Emergency management, military service, public safety, law enforcement, public interest law services, early childhood education (including licensed or regulated child care, Head Start, and State funded pre-kindergarten), public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full- time professionals engaged in heath care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations, as such terms are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics), public education, public library services, school library or other school-based services; and (ii) Is not a business organized for profit, a labor union, a partisan political organization, or an organization engaged in religious activities, unless the qualifying activities are unrelated to religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing.

Emphasis added.

A few of those listed services are further defined in the regulations.