PSLF approval rates below 1%

[obstinate]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/camilomaldonado/2018/10/05/pslf-approval-less-common-than-rhodes-scholarship/#792fe9706082

A lot of folks were really counting on public service loan forgiveness (PSLF). I know of stereotypical liberal arts majors who have said things like, "Well, at least my loans will be forgiven." Which seemed reasonable until I saw this news.

See, it seems people may have misunderstood the requirements. Just 0.3% of the folks who have applied this year have actually had their loans forgiven. I heard about this on Planet Money and I was wondering if any Mustachians had insight into what's going on with this program. Have people simply misunderstood what's needed, or is there a deeper issue here?

[fiteacher]

Well, I am on PSLF. And if you look into the numbers a bit there are some explanations to the less than 1%. Almost 30% of applicants filled out the form wrong. Moreover, many of the folks who got rejected did so on purpose to get a shot at the TEPSLF program, which is limited.

That is not to say there isn't a problem with it. But I suspect we will continue to see problems with it for at least a few more years. I mean it wasn't until 2012 that they got the forms ready for people. There are problems, but I am hopeful they will get better.