FTA:
In response to an inquiry from Kaine, the Education Department
disclosed last week that 38,460 people had submitted requests
for forgiveness as of Dec. 28 under the new program. Most of
those, 28,640 people, were immediately rejected because they
had not previously filled out a formal loan forgiveness
application — one of the many criteria of the relief program.
Of the 9,820 applicants who cleared the first hurdle, 1,184
are still under consideration. The rest were rejected for
myriad reasons. Of the applicants who cleared the initial
hurdle, 40% still had years to go before hitting the required
10-year mark. Nearly a quarter were ineligible because they
were paying less money in the wrong payment plan than they
would have in the correct one.
Others were turned away for having the wrong type of federal
loan — those originated by private lenders through the
now-defunct Federal Family Education Loan Program. Some had
not made enough on-time payments or had not had at least 10
years of full-time employment certified by a qualifying
employer, according to the department.