Student Loan Consolidation Lowdown

For 90 percent of Americans, a college degree comes with student loan debt. Fortunately, there are a number of occupations that allow students to work off all or part of their debts in return for a few years of service. These jobs, almost all in the public sector, are designed to attract qualified professionals to work in areas and professions that are short-staffed. Read on for a comprehensive list of jobs that can help you overcome your student debt.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED):

Students under the umbrella of Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), William D. Ford Direct Loan Program (DL) (Stafford Student loans) and the Federal Perkins Loans are eligible to have their loans forgiven by the U.S. Department of Education. If you’ve borrowed a Stafford loan, the various positions that allow you to clear your debts are:

1. Teaching in elementary schools that cater to the needs of children from low-income families ($5,000 in five years).
2. Providing child care in facilities that serve low-income communities for five years (20 to 30 percent).

If you fall under the Perkins loan, the jobs available are:

3. Teaching full time in elementary schools for low income students for five years (15 percent each in the first two years, 20 each in the next two and 30 in the fifth).
4. Teaching full time in secondary schools for low income students for five years (15 percent each in the first two years, 20 each in the next two and 30 in the fifth).
5. Taking on the responsibilities of a full-time Head Start staff (15 percent each year).
6. Teaching special education full-time (15 percent a year).
7. Providing early intervention services for the disabled (15 percent each year).
8. Serving in the Armed Forces in hostile areas allows you to clear 50 percent of your debt in four years (12 ½ percent each year).
9. Serving in AmeriCorps, you will receive $7,400 in stipends for a year and $4,725 that you can use towards loan repayment.
10. Volunteering in Vista allows you to clear 70 percent of your debt in four years (15 percent each in the first two and 20 each in the last two).
11. Volunteering for the Peace Corps alllows forgiveness of 70 percent of your loans in four years (15 percent each in the first two and 20 each in the last two).
12. Working as full-time law enforcement officers for five years (15 percent each in the first two years, 20 in the next two and 30 in the fifth). 
13. Working as full-time as corrections officers for five years (15 percent each in the first two years, 20 in the next two and 30 in the fifth). 
14. Teaching full time in areas where there is a shortage of qualified teachers for five years (15 percent each in the first two years, 20 in the next two and 30 in the fifth). 

Federal Agencies:

There are a number of federal agencies that offer student loan repayment programs. From the military to healthcare, check out these jobs that let you serve the greater good while earning back money for your student loans.

15. Working as a civilian in federal agencies for at least three years (Up to $60,000, up to $10,000 per year).

Under The Army College Repayment Program, you are entitled to debt forgiveness by:

16. Enlisting for full-time active duty in the Army for three or more years (Up to $65,000).
17. Joining the Army National Guard for six years (Up to $20,000).
18. Signing up for the Army Reserve for six years (Up to $20,000).

You can avail debt forgiveness through The College Loan Repayment Program (CLRP) for Auxiliary Loan Assistance for Students (ALAS), Stafford Student Loans, Parents Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), Consolidated Loan Program, Federally Insured Student Loans (FISL), Perkins Loans and Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) by:

19. Enlisting for active duty in the Air Force for four years (Up to $10,000 for non-prior service persons).
20. Signing up with the Navy Reserves for six years (Up to $10,000 for non-prior service persons).
21. Joining the Air National Guard for designated shortage Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) enlisted jobs Reserve for six years (Up to $20,000).

Under the National Institutes of Health’s intramural and extramural loan repayment programs, you can have your debt forgiven by:

22. Working as a clinical researcher for two years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover Federal taxes).
23. Signing up as a contraception and infertility researcher for two years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover federal taxes).
24. Working as a Health Disparities researcher for two years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover Federal taxes).
25. Working as a pediatric researcher for two years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover Federal taxes).
26. Working as an AIDS researcher for two years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover Federal taxes).
27. Working as a general researcher for three years ($35,000 per year of qualified educational debt and an additional 39 percent of the repayments to cover Federal taxes).
28. Working as a permanent employee or as a Title 42 employee serving on indefinite appointments at NIH.
29. Serving on term or excepted appointments at NIH with a minimum of three years of appointment left.
30. Serving on excepted appointments that may become term or career-oriented.
31. Working as a temporary employee under 5 C.F.R. 315.704 and serving appointments that may become term or permanent.
32. If you’re with the National Health Service Corps, you can have your loans repaid quicker by working as primary health providers in areas identified by the Department of Health and Human Services as facing a shortage of health professionals for two years (Up to $50,000).
33. Under the Nurse Reinvestment Act, you can have your loans forgiven by working as a nursing faculty for a certain period of time.
34. Under the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program, you can have your loans repaid by practicing as a registered nurse in areas that do not have adequate medical facilities as well as remote or economically backward areas.
35. If you’re with the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law (Boalt Hall), you can repay your loans by working at government jobs or public service jobs that use your law degree and pay salaries equal to or less than $58,000 annually over a period of 10 years (Up to $100,000).

Other law schools also offer similar, if not as generous, incentives for loan repayment. You can avail these benefits by earning $50,000 or less per year by working:

36. As a public defender
37. In non-profit firms
38. As a prosecutor
39. Full time for legal aid or legal services organizations
40. For the Judge Advocate General Corps
41. For an academic, law-related, non-legal organization that serves the public.

State Programs:

Different states have their own loan repayment programs that allow teachers and medical professionals to repay loans through their services. Some examples of these programs are:

42. California’s Assumption Program of Loans for Education allows up to $11,000 of your debt to be forgiven if you teach a designated subject four years in a shortage area.
43. Teaching Mathematics, Science or Special Education will allow you to cancel an additional $1,000 every year.
44. Teaching the above three subjects in the lowest performing schools lets you off the debt hook by another $1,000 each year.
45. Teachers in Mississippi who have their Alternate Route Teaching license and teach in shortage areas are eligible for the Teacher Loan Repayment program.
46. The American Federation of Teachers has loan forgiveness options for teachers in various states.

Other Programs:

47. The Office of Statewide Health and Planning, California, the Nicholas J. Pisacano MD Memorial Foundation Inc., the Indian Health Services and the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Foundation have various loan repayment programs for medical and health professionals.
48. The American Physical Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association allow debt forgiveness for occupational and physical therapists.
49. The Michael Murphy Loan allows forgiveness for students who study subjects like law enforcement, law, probation, parole and penology that allow them to work one-fifth of a year as a State Trooper or related law enforcement official in Alaska.
50. The Baker University’s College of Arts and Sciences allows loan forgiveness for students who complete a bachelor’s degree at the college.

When it comes to the college experience, it’s quality, not quantity, that matters. You’ll never be able to relive your college years, so it’s important to not leave things undone. Here are 100 things to do in college to make sure your experience will be unforgettable and without regret.

There’s no crystal ball, but it helps to look to the future…

1. Think about your life after college from the day you set foot on campus.
2. Learn marketable skills to get ahead in the job market. Pick up a few things about computers, take an accounting class, or learn something about scientific research.
3. Join a course that builds your leadership and team-building skills.
4. Hone your communication skills beyond “Wassup.”
5. Learn the art of short-order persuasion. The real world throws up opportunities while on elevator rides you only have a few minutes to convert possibilities to sure things.
6. Take on an internship position in your chosen career during your summer vacation.
7. Take a few summer courses. They help you graduate faster and reduce your tuition expenses.
8. Make a clear decision on whether you want to go to graduate school or find a job after graduation.
9. Set up an alternative plan (job/post-grad studies) as a backup measure if your original falls through.
10. Attend career fairs and visit your college career office regularly.
11. Take a crash course in microeconomics. No matter which field of work you choose, you have to know the business of making and managing money.
12. Enroll in a professional association of your chosen field of work.
13. Develop a network of associates and contacts in your preferred career.
14. Create a perfect resume.
15. Learn how to write a good cover letter.
16. Perfect your signature.
17. Develop your people and interpersonal skills.
18. Work out all of the ways in which you can search for a job once you graduate.
19. Read the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
20. Browse career websites.
21. Learn to get your point across in five minutes
22. Brush up on your interview skills.

Enrichment comes in small steps, at an affordable cost…

23. Pick up a skill that’s completely unrelated to your course of study.
24. Learn at least the basics of a foreign language.
25. Overcome a personal fear. If you’re scared of water, learn to swim; if you’re scared of heights, go bungee jumping.
26. Learn keyboard shortcuts to impress people watching you work.
27. Learn how to create a PowerPoint presentation that doesn’t take forever to complete.
28. Learn the names of all the 50 states in the United States of America.
29. Make it a point to read one good book every semester.
30. Take part in at least two extra curricular activities on campus.
31. Volunteer your services when they are helpful.
32. Learn how to have a formal telephone conversation.
33. Learn how to leave an effective voice mail message that gets your point across.
34. Practice and fine-tune the art of official correspondence.
35. Learn to write emails without using text message abbreviations.
36. Learn to accept blame for something that is not your fault with good grace.
37. Learn to choose which battles to fight and which to give up; it’s not worth fighting all of them.
38. Learn to be gracious in victory.
39. When victorious, allow the loser a way to exit the situation without losing face.
40. Learn to share credit with your team even if the effort was mostly yours.
41. Become wise enough to realize that older people may have knowledge that you do not. Seek their advice before you embark on what you may think is a brilliant idea.
42. Force yourself to do something you consider boring, at least for an hour a week. It will prepare you to stick to essential tasks that are sometimes thrust on you in the real world.
43. Visit your college library at least once a month.
44. Become a part of one or more student organization.
45. Spend a few minutes in silence every day.
46. Learn not to take rejection personally.
47. Get into the habit of writing thank you notes.
48. Learn to plan your days.
49. Stick to your plans.
50. Learn to figure out how to do things on your own. Use the Internet, your library, or any other resource at your disposal.
51. Don’t wait until the last minute to write a term paper.
52. Learn to write a concise and complete one-page document.
53. Work out regularly.
54. Fight with your best friend and make up as soon as possible.
55. Quit drinking/doing drugs.

What goes around comes around…

56. Teach someone something you know and they don’t, like how to play a guitar or format a computer.
57. Take a foreign exchange student under your wing.
58. Pay your own credit card bills instead of pushing them on mom and dad.
59. Make peace with a friend you’ve had a falling out with.

It’s a happier life ahead if you’re not in debt…

60. Work part-time to earn money for tuition or other expenses.
61. Avoid using a credit card for frivolous expenses
62. Spend a summer or spring break working at a job instead of partying.
63. Look for debt forgiveness programs that will allow you to work off your student loans while earning a comfortable living.

Totally goofy, fun things…

64. Summon up the courage to walk up to the object of your desire that you see on your way to class and say hello instead of assuming she/he is out of your league.
65. Give yourself a makeover; try a completely different look from the one you usually sport.
66. Write a journal or a weblog.
67. Go over every inch of your college campus.
68. Try cooking your own meals.
69. Go on a vacation with the bare minimum money.
70. Attend class in your pajamas one day.
71. Wake up in time to see the sunrise.
72. Attend class on time at least once.
73. Clean out your dorm room.
74. Visit a live theater.
75. Go to a theme park and enjoy yourself like a child. It’s a good way to blow off steam.
76. Go a whole day without using any electronic gadgets. Switch off your mobile phone, iPod and laptop and enjoy a day of peace and quiet.
77. Go for a walk by yourself.
78. Get drenched in the rain.
79. Try different cuisines.
80. Leave your credit card behind and go window shopping.
81. Change your regular weekend routine.
82. Show up unannounced at your parents’ house and watch the joy on their faces.
83. Remember your mother’s birthday.
84. Write at least one hand-written letter using pen and paper.
85. Stay awake throughout a lecture.
86. Restrain yourself from throwing a party when your parents are out of town.
87. Walk instead of using your car for a day a week.
88. Avoid eating junk food once a week.
89. Sing loudly at a karaoke bar, even if you can’t carry a tune to save your life.
90. Support a friend during a crisis.
91. Don’t use email to communicate with your roommate.
92. Delete your MySpace/Facebook profile.
93. Let your mom hug you in front of your friends.
94. Go into class without a smidgen of makeup.
95. Learn the names of all the people in your dorm.
96. Enter a hot-dog eating contest.
97. Eat an ice cream cone in every flavor.
98. Get a whole 8 hours of sleep in a night.
99. Stay awake an entire night.
100. Wear a wacky hat to class as a trial run for the day you graduate!