In the US, the working students as well as parents are finding it difficult to manage the higher education expenses. In this situation, they have no other option than taking out a student loan to pay off their tuition fee, boarding and stationary bills. However, many students after graduating failed to secure a job and incurred insurmountable amount of debt, after the colossal financial collapse in the US. Students who managed to get a job suffered job loss and wage deduction during the economic meltdown, so they have defaulted on their payment. In this situation, the students can apply for government grants to pay off their student loan debt.

The loan forgiveness programs and grants are designed for the students to pay off the student loan debt. In order to obtain some government grants you are required some sort of volunteer work military service or serve the underprivileged in the medical and educational setting.

You are required to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to determine whether you are eligible for the grant. If you get grant or scholarship, then it will be beneficial for you to pay off the debts. Remember, grants or scholarships are funds that you are not required to pay back.

Here are a few effective tips to apply for a free government grant or scholarship:

1. You are required to analyze your education expense when you are in school before applying for the government grant. You can avoid incurring debt, if you apply for a government grant to pay off your financial obligation. You can contact your financial aid office on campus to know whether you are eligible for the grant.
2. You can fill out an FAFSA application online in order to apply for a federal grant. After the application you’ll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in a few weeks. This report will help you determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Make sure that you visit the website Fedmoney.org to enquire about the free government grants available for the students in the US. There are different types of grants administered by the Department of Education like the Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness grants etc.
3. You are required to apply for a PIN number, before filling out your FAFSA online application. You can apply for the PIN number from the FAFSA homepage and it takes a minute to complete the entire process. Make sure that you apply for a financial aid prior three month before your college starts.
4. You can get grants in order to repay a part of a Perkins Loan by teaching at schools to serve the low income students group. If you apply for this program then it’ll help to forgive 15% of your loan for the first and second years of teaching service. In the forth and fifth year you can manage to save 20% and 30% respectively. Therefore, you are required to find out eligibility to teach in the school from your local school district before application.
5. You can receive loan forgiveness, if you are in health care professions like nurse, doctor, dentist or serving the undeserved population. You can visit the website of services.aamc.org in order to find more information on loan forgiveness programs for the medical field.

Therefore, these are the five points that you are required to keep in mind while applying for grants to get rid of your student loan debt.