Federal Student Loan Debt Relief available to MPCC students

Mid-Plains Community College students and alumni could be eligible for up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief from the federal government. 

The U.S. Department of Education released an application this week for the Federal Student Loan Debt Relief program that provides full or partial discharge of loans up to $20,000 to qualifying Federal Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 to select non-Pell Grant recipients. 

“This forgiveness applies to loans borrowed before June 30, 2022,” said Erinn Brown, MPCC director of Financial Aid. “That means current Mid-Plains students who borrowed last year or in the last few years could be eligible for relief.” 

Qualifiers include individuals who made less than $125,000 in 2021 or 2020 and families that made less than $250,000 in 2021 or 2020. Income requirements are based on the adjusted gross income listed on tax returns. 

Applications can be submitted until Dec. 31, 2023, at: https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application. The form takes about five minutes to complete, and no login or documents are required. Applicants are asked to be wary of other links offering debt relief as they could be scams. 

“We have been told repeatedly by the Department of Education to encourage borrowers as they go through this process to be aware of scams,” Brown said. “Entities that may appear to be student loan servicers may attempt to collect sensitive information. The best source of information is https://studentaid.gov/.” 

The U.S. Department of Education will determine eligible applications and will reach out if more information is needed. A loan servicer will provide notification when relief has been processed.