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These Four States Will Help Pay Your Private Student Loans

By U.S. News & World Report

Many Americans are trying to juggle student loan payments with their other monthly expenses.

The median student loan balance is between $20,000 and $25,000, according to the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024. Naturally, borrowers are often looking for ways to shave off some of their debt, and many states offer programs that help repay at least a portion of their loan balance.

States typically create these programs to encourage workers — especially those in certain fields — to move there. It’s a trend that has been growing in recent years, says Tom O’Hare, holistic college advisor at Get College Going.

“It’s becoming a little bit more common,” says O’Hare. “I think that creative side has got to move forward to help individuals with their repayment and also to help companies with attracting and retaining key employees.” While many states offer student loan forgiveness or repayment programs, most options are only available to borrowers who work in specific high-need professions such as health care, teaching or law.

Some can be quite generous, with states paying up to $200,000 in student loans to attract high-demand medical professionals. A New York program will repay loans for in-state graduates who agree to operate a farm. Arkansas just created a program that helps pay off loans for state employees.

“Probably 90% or more of them are profession-based,” says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit organization that provides free student loan advice.

TISLA’s database of student loan forgiveness programs is one of the most comprehensive lists available, providing details on more than 100 federal and state repayment programs that borrowers may qualify for. Mayotte and her team update the list twice a year to keep it current.

Some of these state repayment programs only apply to federal student loans, but others will help pay off your private student loans as well. That could be increasingly important in the years ahead, as new borrowing caps on federal loans for some students are expected to push more borrowers to private loans to cover financing gaps.

We examined student loan repayment programs offered by states across the country, and highlighted four in particular that cover private student loans and are open to residents who work in a wide variety of fields.

[Read: Best Private Student Loans.]

These States Repay Student Loans, and Many Borrowers Can Qualify

Several states have repayment programs or tax credits that are available to a wide range of private student loan borrowers who live or move there. Here are four programs that don’t require you to work in health care, teaching or law.

Kansas

Open to college graduates in any field, this student loan reimbursement program has one basic requirement: You need to move to rural Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Commerce partners with 95 counties that the state has designated as Rural Opportunity Zones, and it provides various incentives for people to relocate to one of those less-populated areas. Those benefits include repaying up to $15,000 of your student loans over five years.

Before you pack up and resettle in the Sunflower State, you’ll want to check with the particular county you’re eyeing to confirm that it is participating in the program and that funds are available. A map highlighting participating counties can also be found on the Kansas Department of Commerce website. Then you’ll need to fill out an application and provide proof that you’ve established a permanent residence in the county and that you previously lived outside of it. You’ll also need to provide college transcripts and details of your student loan balance.

[Read: Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders.]

North Dakota

Graduates looking to work in one of dozens of in-demand or emerging occupations can get up to $17,000 of student loan assistance as part of the North Dakota Career Builders program.

North Dakota’s list of employment fields that qualify for student loan repayment is much more robust than most states’, and you may be surprised to find that your sales or web developer role is just as eligible for the program as medical professional positions.

Although the program is administered by the North Dakota University System, it is open to graduates of any institution outside the state as well. To qualify, you must apply within two years of being hired to work in the state. Also, like many similar programs, Career Builders matches funds from an employer or other source, so you’ll likely need to confirm that your employer is participating.

Payments are made over three years, and in any one year they can’t exceed $5,667 or one-third of your student loan balance, whichever is lower.

Maine

The Pine Tree State offers several loan repayment programs, including one for dentists that pays up to $100,000 of student loans. The state also provides a tax credit to its residents to offset student loan payments, and many Mainers are eligible for it.

The Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit of up to $2,500 per year and $25,000 lifetime is available to Maine residents with at least $13,244 of annual income. The tax credit you receive varies depending on the amount of student loans you paid during the year.

Loans obtained to earn an associate, bachelor’s or graduate degree from an accredited college, university or community college qualify for the credit.

Maryland

Similar to the benefit offered in Maine, Maryland’s Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit was set up to help borrowers pay off their student loans, including those from private lenders. To qualify, residents must have incurred at least $20,000 in student loan debt and must have at least a $5,000 outstanding balance remaining when they apply for the credit. You can receive up to $5,000 in credit.

Borrowers must use the credit to pay toward their student loan balance within three years of receiving it.

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These Four States Will Help Pay Your Private Student Loans originally appeared on usnews.com

Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey amid security concerns, official says

By CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump secretly slipped out of Turkey last month on an alternate military plane, which he boarded while hidden inside a catering truck, as part of an elaborate ruse prompted by an Iranian threat, according to a US official.The clandestine security plan — first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by CNN — underscored the lengths American officials went to in order to protect Trump from being assassinated by Iran.Trump had flown to Turkey on a new plane gifted by Qatar and meant to be used as Air Force One. But while he was on the trip, officials announced he would fly out on an older presidential plane, which CNN and others had previously reported was due to security concerns.That, though, was apparently part of the subterfuge. After boarding the older aircraft, a moment caught on camera, Trump secretly got off via the catering vehicle and moved to a smaller Air Force C-32A. The Qatari-gifted plane, the older aircraft used as Air Force One, and the C-32A then all departed separately for the UK. Once there, Trump got on board the Qatari-gifted plane and flew home.For the last month, much of the public discussion about the plane swap had been centered around the security capabilities of the Qatar-donated plane. Trump had boasted about the new aircraft — even though officials felt it was not as secure as other planes because it had to be retrofitted to serve as Air Force One — and the president seethed privately over coverage of its deficiencies, CNN previously reported.Now, attention is likely to shift to reporters and staffers unknowingly being aboard a decoy plane — and the nature of the threat that prompted such dramatic security measures.When asked about the reports of the secret plane switch, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told CNN, “The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff. As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”Details from the presidential travel pool — a group of journalists who travel with the president and document his movements — provide a closer look at the unusual sequence of events surrounding Trump’s departure from Turkey following a consequential NATO Summit.Trump was aboard the old Air Force One in Ankara as of 8:26 p.m. local time, according to a pool report.Air Force One was wheels up at 8:43 p.m. local time, according to a subsequent pool report, 17 minutes later.The pool was also “advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed,” according to a print pool note from Politico’s Megan Messerly. This is extraordinarily unusual, and seemed indicative of a security situation; Trump would later say it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”A supplemental pool note from ABC’s Michelle Stoddart on Tuesday, sent in light of the secret plane revelation, noted that a Secret Secret agent came back to the press cabin to remind the media to keep the shades closed. When a photographer attempted to lift a shade, they were quickly told to lower it again. And when the press inquired with White House staff about why, they only said it was a request from Secret Service.Video shows what appeared to be a catering truck parked next to Air Force One at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport during that time, about seven minutes before the aircraft begins taxiing.The plane then was “wheels down” at RAF Mildenhall in England at 10:29 p.m. local time. But it wasn’t until roughly 20 minutes later that the pool notified news networks that an underwing shot — a camera angle from underneath the wing of the plane — was being set up to capture the president deplaning.That is an unusually long period of time — and it’s enough that Trump theoretically would be able to get off the smaller plane and back on Air Force One before cameras could capture it. For comparison, CNN was part of the pool on Sunday, when it took roughly eight minutes between wheels down and the underwing shot to be established.Trump was seen stepping off Air Force One about one minute after the pool alerted that the underwing shot was up.That timing was notably faster than what CNN crews typically experience. Usually, it takes several minutes for the president to deplane after the pool crew has assembled under the aircraft. The pool is generally in position before the first Air Force One door is opened and the stairs for the president are put into place.CNN reviewed pool video from Mildenhall that showed the stair car already in position and the aircraft door already open when the pool shot came up. There also appeared to be more security personnel on the tarmac than CNN crews are accustomed to seeing.Trump later boarded the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One at 11:01 p.m., according to pool notes. The pool captured video of the president walking from one aircraft to the other.CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and photojournalist Khalil Abdallah noted that when they traveled as part of the pool covering Davos and had to turn around and board a new aircraft due to what officials described as a minor electrical issue, the White House did not allow the CNN crew to film Trump transferring between planes. Instead, the crew was instructed to wait until he had boarded the new aircraft.During the flight on the Qatari gifted plane, Trump was asked what prompted the aircraft switch.Trump had said the change was to give US service members stationed at the base “a chance to tour the Aircraft.” Pressed on whether there were any other issues, Trump quickly responded, “no issues.”Trump was also asked why reporters had been instructed to lower the window shades on the aircraft.He said it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight.”“They didn’t ask me to close mine, but if they did, I would’ve done it,” Trump added.“But if I go, you go. Right?” Trump said. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions”Trump ultimately landed at Joint Base Andrews and deplaned Air Force One at 1:23 am ET.“He saluted and quickly loaded into the Beast,” a pool note said.This story was updated with additional reporting.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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