Application Process
In order to start the GSB Nonprofit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness application process, please submit to the GSB Financial Aid Office (FAO) the required application materials (refer to the required application materials navigational tabs). If the submitted materials are accurate and complete, then the FAO will process your application. Be advised that supplemental information may be additionally required and will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Award Letter
If you are eligible for GSB Nonprofit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness funds, the FAO will email you an award letter and promissory note that indicates how much you will receive in these funds. The award letter will state how much you are eligible to receive in your first award disbursement (first 6 months of eligibility). It will also project how much you will receive in your second award disbursement (the next 6 months of eligibility) assuming that there is no change in income, employment and/or marital status.
Please be advised that your eligibility will begin on the first date of the month in which the FAO receives the completed loan forgiveness application and additional required materials. An initial applicant may not request back payments that they had made on their educational loans prior to submitting your GSB Nonprofit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness application materials.
Acknowledgement/Acceptance Letter
The acknowledgement/acceptance letter will be based on the amount you are to receive for the first award disbursement. In the email, you are requested to sign and return the acknowledgement/acceptance letter to the FAO. A legible fax or scanned signature copy of the letter would be acceptable.
Disbursement
Once we receive your acknowledgement/acceptance letter in the mail, it typically takes 2 weeks thereafter to send you the award disbursement in the form of a check payment. It is then your responsibility to pay the lender or servicer, which holds your loans in a timely manner. If you are residing in an international location, it is your responsibility to consider how to deposit and remit loan payments from your loan forgiveness award to your lender in a timely manner.
Each disbursement of funds from the GSB Nonprofit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is made on the understanding that you will remain employed by the eligible organization described in your application for the full six months. If you change jobs, if your salary changes, or if you work less than halftime (less than 20 hours), you must notify the GSB FAO immediately. If requested by the GSB Financial Aid office, you will be required to repay any funds advanced for which you have later become ineligible.
Typically, the process takes 5-7 weeks from the receipt of loan forgiveness application documents in the FAO to the time in which an applicant will receive the check payment. Applicants should be reminded to continue to make required loan payments during the application process.
Renewal Process
At the end of the six months of qualified employment for which your educational loan payments have been made, you will be required to provide the following renewal materials, in a form satisfactory to the GSB Financial Aid Office:
- Proof of your continued employment in an eligible organization.
- Proof of current salary level for you and your spouse's, if applicable.
- Copies of your federal and state income tax returns and W-2's for the previous calendar year.
- Proof of current payment status of all your educational loans.
- Confirmation that all your educational loans are in good standing (i.e., no delinquency).
The FAO must receive the above renewal materials no later than one month after the next six-month renewal period, as indicated on the award letter. Please be advised that the FAO may grant back payments for only one-month, upon receiving the renewal paperwork.
The FAO will then examine the information you provide, and if it is sufficient, they will process your renewal for the second award disbursement payment. If the FAO receives changes to previously submitted information (e.g. change in income, employment and/or marital status), they may adjust your second award disbursement payment.
Renewal Award Letter & Acknowledgement/Acceptance Letter
You will receive a renewal award letter and a new acknowledgement/acceptance letter based on the amount you are eligible for the second disbursement. For the next six-month period, you will again need to sign and return the acknowledge/acceptance letter. Once the new acknowledgement/acceptance letter for the next six-month period is received, the subsequent disbursement will be made. Again, in order to keep your loan(s) in good standing, you should continue to make any required loan payments during this processing.
After your second award disbursement has occurred and another six months of qualified employment for which your educational loan payments have been made, you will start over in the application process.
