3 Wyoming Student Loan Forgiveness Options You Need to Know

Educational debt is a significant burden, often persisting years or decades after graduation. Understanding Wyoming student loan forgiveness can help ease financial stress as you navigate repayment options.

Nearly 10% of Wyomingites have student loan debt. The average student loan balance is $31,972 per person, according to Student Loan Planner’s calculations using Federal Student Aid data. Even though Wyoming has some of the lowest average student loan debt balances in the country, the weight of repayment can feel like an overwhelming responsibility for borrowers.

3 Wyoming student loan forgiveness options

Wyoming offers three student loan forgiveness programs to partially or completely relieve your outstanding loan balances. The programs are a ray of hope for borrowers, but each program comes with their own requirements, benefits and limitations.

Wyoming State Loan Repayment Program

If you hold an active and permanent healthcare license in the state of Wyoming, consider the  Wyoming State Loan Repayment Program (WY-SLRP). You can’t have an existing service contract with another entity and must practice as a:

• MD or DO in family practice, including osteopathic general practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics or psychiatry.
• Physician Assistant (PA) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) in an adult, family, pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health, mental health or psychiatric area.
• Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM).
• Health Service Psychologist (HSP).
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
• Psychiatric Nurse Specialist (PNS).
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
• Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT).
• Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors.

You must practice full-time, defined as a minimum of 40 hours per week for at least 45 weeks each year. It also requires a two-year commitment at a site approved by the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).

The WY-SLRP offers up to $40,000 in Wyoming student loan forgiveness, while NPs, CNMs and mental health clinicians can receive up to $20,000. However, it's important to note that the forgiveness amount can’t exceed the outstanding balance of your loans.

Wyoming Healthcare Professional Loan Repayment Program

The Wyoming Healthcare Professional Loan Repayment Program helps medical professionals manage their educational loan repayment. It awards physicians and dentists up to $30,000 per year. Allied healthcare professionals in areas like dental, vision, nursing, radiology, mental health, speech language pathology or pharmaceutical can qualify for up to $20,000 per year.

To be eligible for the program, you must:

• Practice full-time for three years.
• Serve in an approved area.
• Treat Medicare, Medicaid and Kid Care CHIP-eligible patients.

Despite efforts to reach underserved areas in the state, the Wyoming Healthcare Professional Loan Repayment Program hasn’t received funding since 2017. AmeriCorps and the Rural and Frontier Health Section, created by the Wyoming Department of Health, are evaluating the program’s cost and effectiveness. The goal is to provide insight into the health professional shortage severely affecting Wyoming’s frontier and rural areas.

Wyoming Veterinary Loan Repayment Program

The Wyoming Veterinary Loan Repayment Program offers significant financial aid to veterinarians serving in the state. You must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Have a degree from a school of veterinary medicine.
• Hold a valid license to practice in Wyoming. 
• Provide proof of student loan balances.
• Be current on your loan payments.

However, it's worth noting that the Veterinary Loan Repayment Program requires a sponsor to match 25% of the funds, and you must name the sponsor (or sponsors, if more than one) when filing your application.

If you meet eligibility requirements and commit to serving for three years, you can get up to $90,000 ($30,000 per year) in forgiveness. Reach out to the Wyoming Livestock Board for an application.

Other student loan forgiveness options for Wyoming borrowers

While Wyoming student debt relief is helpful, don’t overlook the benefits of a federal forgiveness program. Here, we explore three notable options from the U.S. Department of Education to alleviate student loan debt. 

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness offers relief to borrowers who work full-time for a qualifying employer, such as a government or nonprofit organization. You must have Direct Loans, be on an income-driven repayment plan, and make 120 qualifying monthly payments to get your loan balance forgiven.

PSLF forgives your remaining loan balance, tax-free. After your loan is forgiven, you won't owe any additional taxes on the forgiven amount. This can be a huge financial relief for student loan borrowers with large loan amounts.

Income-driven repayment (IDR)

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, consider income-driven repayment (IDR). It caps your monthly student loan payment amount so it’s more manageable. IDR also opens the door to student loan forgiveness after 20 to 25 years, depending on the plan. 

How much you pay depends on your chosen IDR plan, but the amount generally falls between 10% to 20% of your discretionary income. It’s important to note that the Biden administration introduced a new repayment option in 2023. Once fully implemented, the SAVE Plan, which is short for Saving on a Valuable Education, can drop your payments to 5% of your discretionary income if you only have undergraduate loans. For graduate borrowers, the maximum amount is 10% of your discretionary income.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a federal student loan forgiveness program that forgives up to $17,500 in student loan debt. However, you must be a “highly qualified” math, science or special education teacher to be eligible for the maximum forgiveness amount. You can still get up to $5,000 in forgiveness if you don't meet that criteria.

You must also meet additional eligibility requirements, including teaching full-time for five consecutive years at a low-income school or educational service agency.

Next steps for Wyoming student loan forgiveness

When managing student loan debt in Wyoming, you have several viable options for financial assistance. Take the time to understand and explore state and federal loan forgiveness to determine which option makes the most sense for your situation. For help taking the first step, reach out to a Student Loan Planner to book a consultation.