The Biden administration Student loan forgiveness plan opened the door to thousands of educators, but many were not accepted.

Initial figures show there was a 98% rejection rate, with more than 4,500 unsuccessful educators in 2,700 schools in all 50 states as well as Washington DC.

These Politico figures highlight the difficulties in gaining approval for the plan, and this is expected to continue for the most part in the years to come with an 80% rejection rate expected until 2026 by the Student Borrower Protection Center.

How to get approved for a student loan forgiveness

One factor that many applicants have fallen in love with is incomplete paperwork, where errors or missing documents have cost applicants dearly.

In order to have the best chance of being approved, an authorized signing officer from your employer must sign your Certificate of employment form.

It’s also worth asking a friend or relative to check your papers for typos or missing files or dates.

Another common story is that students do not realize that their loans do not qualify for the program.

Only direct loans are eligible, which means that private loans, Perkin loans and FFELP loans are not eligible, although these may be combined into one Direct consolidation loan.

Likewise, your loan should have an income-based repayment plan, which can be either an income-based repayment (IBR) or a revised payment as you earn (REPAYE).

Finally, another important factor is to keep in mind that it is your employer, not your role, that helps you qualify for the public service loan exemption.

Your employer must be a qualified public service employer and a private company that has a state government as a client would not qualify.