# Loan Repayment Program Advice



## Dienekes (May 10, 2017)

When I begin the enlistment process in the next few months for 18X, I intend enlist under a 6-year contract to accept the Loan Repayment Program (LRP) enlistment incentive (if it is available) and the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The first 3 years covers the LRP and the GI Bill is covered in the last 3 years. This is only doable by waiving the Montgomery GI Bill, confirmed by local Army recruiter. The LRP covers all federal student loans which is great, but there is a section of the LRP that covers 


> Any loan incurred for educational purposes made by a lender that is -
> 
> an agency or instrumentality of a State;
> a financial or credit institution (including an insurance company) that is subject to examination and supervision by an agency of the United States or any State;
> from a pension fund or a non-profit private entity (subject to case-by-case review)



However



> There are many loans that do not qualify. Individuals should ensure loans are covered under the Higher Education Act, Title IV, Part B, D, and E or any loan incurred for educational purposes made by a lender for the Soldier prior to signing the enlistment agreement. Listed below are several loans that are not covered under this Act:
> 
> 
> Private Loans
> ...



I am going to take out a non-federal student loan to complete my studies this summer, and I would obviously like it to be covered under the LRP, but I don't speak Army yet and this is as far as I could get from the HRC page. My question is: Does anyone have any experience with this or advice on how to proceed so that I get a loan from a qualified lender?


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## Il Duce (May 10, 2017)

PM me if you want.  I've got a friend who enlisted with OCS guaranteed, did 4 years and got out (went to Fordham and got a JD after).  He got about 190k of student loans paid off, plus got help with law school (I'm not sure if it was GI Bill or not).

Happy to link you guys up.

The unimportant backstory:

It was one of those cases I was afraid I had given him terrible advice for a little while - but it worked out.  I did my last semester of graduate school at the American University in Cairo - and he was a fellow student there.  He was in his last semester of graduate school - but had done the entirety of his MA at AUC.  He had done 3 years of his undergrad at a university in Italy (I think Furman was his starting school in the US).  So, the dude spoke Italian and Arabic very well - and had a killer education.  But, he had around 200k in student loans.

We talked about the Army and loan repayment help.  He moved to NYC after graduation and had a very good job with a consulting firm - but even at 80k a year with living expenses he wasn't making a dent in his debt.  I recommended enlisting with OCS guaranteed - which you can do with a 4-year degree.  I warned him though - if you get hurt in basic or get in trouble you can go needs of the Army and you may not like being a SPC.  He was all rah-rah to be a Ranger so after some back-and-forth with a recruiter who was giving him some bullshit (luckily it wasn't hard for me to get with my unit retention NCO and get the correct information) he signed up.

2/3s of the way through basic training he breaks his arm.  Everything is up in the air.  I thought this dude was screwed - his OCS date was scrapped and he was a medical hold in basic.  Fortunately his drill sergeant's liked him and he spent about 6 months being their runner doing shit around post.  He healed up, they helped him secure an OCS date, he graduated basic and moved straight over and made it through OCS without a problem.  He chose Armor branch, went to a BCT in 1CAV, deployed as the PSD PL to Iraq (where his Arabic came in handy), redeployed to the end of his commitment and got out.


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## Dienekes (May 15, 2017)

Called HRC and they directed me back to the recruiter. I was passed on to the next level higher, and the recruiter confirmed that any legitimate student loan, as in not defined as private/personal, is eligible for the LRP. If you are unsure about which, the loans classified 'student' usually have a grace period of 6 months after graduation.


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## bw10 (Sep 25, 2018)

Il Duce said:


> PM me if you want.  I've got a friend who enlisted with OCS guaranteed, did 4 years and got out (went to Fordham and got a JD after).  He got about 190k of student loans paid off, plus got help with law school (I'm not sure if it was GI Bill or not).
> 
> Happy to link you guys up.
> 
> ...



Hi Sir, I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but I was wondering if I could message you regarding the above? Thank you very much.


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## Ooh-Rah (Sep 25, 2018)

bw10 said:


> Hi Sir, I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but I was wondering if I could message you regarding the above? Thank you very much.



He has not been on the site in quite a while.  You tagged him, so he will respond via PM if he chooses.

- locked -


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