West Virginia students owe an average of $30,545 in federal and private student loan debt, which is 17% less than the U.S. average of $36,689.
With the West Virginia Invests program, students could see their future debt minimized. The initiative pays up to the total cost of tuition and fees for eligible certificate and associate degree programs at public West Virginia schools.
And medical professionals repaying their West Virginia student loans could receive state help. Here’s what you should know about student debt and repaying loans in West Virginia.
West Virginia student loans: Borrowers owe average of $30,545 in federal, private debt — and more facts
West Virginia students could qualify for aid through the following programs:
- West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship: This provides eligible high school graduates with up to $4,750 to put toward the cost of tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions in the state. In 2019, $46.5 million in PROMISE scholarships was awarded.
- West Virginia Higher Education Grant Program: The program provides need-based financial assistance to West Virginia students. It is renewable for a student’s entire course of study, or up to three academic years after the first award. The award amount varies and must be used at postsecondary institutions within West Virginia or Pennsylvania.
- West Virginia Invests: This grant will cover the cost of tuition and fees for certificate or associate degrees programs at West Virginia public schools. Recipients must commit to remain in West Virginia for at least two years following graduation or complete community service each term if dropping below part-time enrollment.
- Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program: The program is targeted toward high school seniors or recent high school graduates who want a career in teaching. Each year, 25 recipients will receive an award of $10,000, renewable for up to four years. They must commit to service in a West Virginia public school in math, science, elementary education or special education for five years after completion of their degree.
Loan repayment programs for West Virginia residents
While there are many federal student loan repayment options, there are state options for repaying West Virginia student loans.
Mental Health Loan Repayment Program
For mental health professionals working in an underserved area of West Virginia who have $10,000 or more in student debt, the Mental Health Loan Repayment Program will award student loan repayment assistance in exchange for a service commitment. The award amount is at least $10,000 for one year of service or two years of part-time service. Mental health professionals must be a licensed graduate of an accredited program.
Recruitment and Retention Community Project
The Recruitment and Retention Community Project will help pay the cost of educational loans and expenses for health care professionals working in a shortage or underserved area. The program requires an employer-match. For one year of full-time service, the award is $20,000. The award is renewable for up to four years after the initial year.
State Loan Repayment Program
Health care workers in an area of shortage could receive loan repayment assistance through the State Loan Repayment Program. There is an initial two-year obligation, for which the award amount is $40,000. Further extensions can total $25,000 each year for a maximum of $90,000 total. Eligible medical professions include dentistry, family practice, pediatrics, pharmacy, primary care, gynecology and psychiatry.
Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Loan Assistance Program
The Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Loan Assistance Program is for teachers or counselors in underserved areas of West Virginia. Each specific county has subject areas that are of high need, such as math, science, special education, elementary education and counseling. Eligible teachers or counselors must commit to two years of service for each year of loan assistance. They can receive up to $3,000 annually, for a maximum of $15,000.
West Virginia federal student loan borrowers younger than 25 owe less than national average — and more comparisons
How to refinance West Virginia student loans
Student loan refinancing is a common approach to debt repayment, one that could be particularly useful to the 7.2% of borrowers in West Virginia who owe $100,000 or more in student loans.
When you refinance your loans at a lower interest rate, you save money in interest payments that you can then dedicate toward repaying the loan’s principal. Using a student loan repayment calculator can help you determine how much time this method will save you when repaying your student loans.
This strategy can be used to repay both federal and private loans, but keep in mind that when you refinance federal loans you lose any protections or benefits for student loan borrowers such as forbearance or deferment. Even though your new, private lender might have similar programs, they’ll be different from what’s available federally. You also won’t be able to qualify for federal repayment plans, such as income-driven repayment.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2020
- Anonymized My LendingTree June 2020 credit reports
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax as of June 2020
- mappingstudentdebt.org
Because the latter data is from 2015, researchers estimated the increase in student loan debt per borrower in the state using statewide data from anonymized credit reports.
Interested in refinancing student loans?
Here are the top 6 lenders of 2021!| Lender | Variable APR | Eligible Degrees | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.89% – 5.99%1 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.99% – 5.64%2 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.99% – 6.84%3 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.91% – 5.25%4 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.25% – 6.53%5 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.17% – 4.47%6 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
| Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Splash Financial. Splash Financial DisclosuresTerms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, income and other factors. Refinancing or consolidating private and federal student loans may not be the right decision for everyone. Federal loans carry special benefits not available for loans made through Splash Financial, for example, public service loan forgiveness and economic hardship programs, fee waivers and rebates on the principal, which may not be accessible to you after you refinance. The rates displayed may include a 0.25% autopay discount. The information you provide to us is an inquiry to determine whether we or our lenders can make a loan offer that meets your needs. If we or any of our lending partners has an available loan offer for you, you will be invited to submit a loan application to the lender for its review. We do not guarantee that you will receive any loan offers or that your loan application will be approved. Offers are subject to credit approval and are available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers will receive the lowest rates, which are available to the most qualified borrowers. Participating lenders, rates and terms are subject to change at any time without notice. To check the rates and terms you qualify for, Splash Financial conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit. Splash Financial and our lending partners reserve the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen and meet our lending partner’s underwriting requirements. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. This information is current as of Feburary 1, 2021. 2 Important Disclosures for Earnest. Earnest DisclosuresTo qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or possess a 10-year (non-conditional) Permanent Resident Card, reside in a state Earnest lends in, and satisfy our minimum eligibility criteria. You may find more information on loan eligibility here: https://www.earnest.com/eligibility. Not all applicants will be approved for a loan, and not all applicants will qualify for the lowest rate. Approval and interest rate depend on the review of a complete application. Earnest fixed rate loan rates range from 2.98% APR (with Auto Pay) to 5.49% APR (with Auto Pay). Variable rate loan rates range from 1.99% APR (with Auto Pay) to 5.34% APR (with Auto Pay). For variable rate loans, although the interest rate will vary after you are approved, the interest rate will never exceed 8.95% for loan terms 10 years or less. For loan terms of 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95% (the maximum rates for these loans). Earnest variable interest rate loans are based on a publicly available index, the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Your rate will be calculated each month by adding a margin between 1.82% and 5.50% to the one month LIBOR. The rate will not increase more than once per month. Earnest rate ranges are current as of October 26, 2020, and are subject to change based on market conditions and borrower eligibility. Auto Pay discount: If you make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic, monthly deduction from a savings or checking account, your rate will be reduced by one quarter of one percent (0.25%) for so long as you continue to make automatic, electronic monthly payments. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. The information provided on this page is updated as of 10/26/2020. Earnest reserves the right to change, pause, or terminate product offerings at any time without notice. Earnest loans are originated by Earnest Operations LLC. California Finance Lender License 6054788. NMLS # 1204917. Earnest Operations LLC is located at 302 2nd Street, Suite 401N, San Francisco, CA 94107. Terms and Conditions apply. Visit https://www.earnest.com/terms-of-service, email us at [email protected], or call 888-601-2801 for more information on our student loan refinance product. © 2020 Earnest LLC. All rights reserved. Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries, including Earnest Operations LLC, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America. 3 Important Disclosures for CommonBond. CommonBond DisclosuresOffered terms are subject to change and state law restriction. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900), NMLS Consumer Access. If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. All Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 0.15% effective Jan 1, 2021 and may increase after consummation. 4 Important Disclosures for LendKey. LendKey DisclosuresRefinancing via LendKey.com is only available for applicants with qualified private education loans from an eligible institution. Loans that were used for exam preparation classes, including, but not limited to, loans for LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE preparation, are not eligible for refinancing with a lender via LendKey.com. If you currently have any of these exam preparation loans, you should not include them in an application to refinance your student loans on this website. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents in an eligible state to qualify for a loan. Certain membership requirements (including the opening of a share account and any applicable association fees in connection with membership) may apply in the event that an applicant wishes to accept a loan offer from a credit union lender. Lenders participating on LendKey.com reserve the right to modify or discontinue the products, terms, and benefits offered on this website at any time without notice. LendKey Technologies, Inc. is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse, any educational institution. Subject to floor rate and may require the automatic payments be made from a checking or savings account with the lender. The rate reduction will be removed and the rate will be increased by 0.25% upon any cancellation or failed collection attempt of the automatic payment and will be suspended during any period of deferment or forbearance. As a result, during the forbearance or suspension period, and/or if the automatic payment is canceled, any increase will take the form of higher payments. The lowest advertised variable APR is only available for loan terms of 5 years and is reserved for applicants with FICO scores of at least 810. As of 02/17/2021 student loan refinancing rates range from 1.91% APR – 5.25% Variable APR with AutoPay and 2.95% APR – 7.63% Fixed APR with AutoPay. 5 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi Disclosures
6 Important Disclosures for PenFed. PenFed DisclosuresAnnual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Fixed Rates range from 2.99%-5.15% APR and Variable Rates range from 2.17%-4.47% APR. Both Fixed and Variable Rates will vary based on application terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. These rates are subject to additional terms and conditions and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. For Variable Rate student loans, the rate will never exceed 9.00% for 5 year and 8 year loans and 10.00% for 12 and 15 years loans (the maximum allowable for this loan). Minimum variable rate will be 2.00%. These rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. | |||
