Many people are currently saddled with crushing amounts of student loan debt that they will be years in paying off because they chose to work in the public service sector. However, a new law that was just passed this month could be the answer to their prayers. According to an article by Tribune Media Services reporter Kathy Kristof dated July 6th, 2008: "A law that took effect Tuesday (7/2/08) could allow you to have some of your college debt forgiven. The debt-forgiveness provision of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, enacted last fall, is designed to encourage college graduates to enter - and stay in - public service careers that many people might spurn in favor of better-paying jobs. Here's how it works:...The program will erase any student loan debt - including principal and interest - that a public service worker has after making monthly payments for 10 years." Of course, there are some qualifications to this way of consolidating student loans. For instance, to remain eligible for this program, the student must stay in the public service sector for the full ten years. However, if you used student loans to pay your way through law school, worked as a public defender for five years or so, and then quit to take a better-paying job in a private law firm, then you would be disqualified from the program's debt forgiveness. Still, for people who qualify, such as police officers, firefighters, members of the military or public school teachers, this is a great way to consolidate student loans down to nothing. It's not a perfect way of consolidating student loans, but it's certainly a step in the right direction, and will hopefully encourage more people to enter the public service sector once they have completed college. If you're interested in this program and other ways to consolidate student loans, I strongly suggest that you check out this website: http://www.nextstudent.com; it's an excellent source for student loan information.

        If you are interested in consolidating student loans or eliminating them altogether, be advised that only certain types of the federal student loan are eligible under this law. These loans are: Stafford Loans, PLUS loans and federal consolidation loans that are through the U.S. Education Department's Direct Loan program. You should be able to consolidate student loans through this program, but you can't if you have a Perkins loan because of the nature of the Perkins loan. But, if you want more student loan information, then you should definitely consult the website I mentioned above: http://www.nextstudent.com.