Student loan repayment for teacher

Doing good can actually do you some good. Graduate students willing to spend a few years teaching needy children, treating patients in underserved communities, or practicing public-interest law can trim or eliminate their grad school debt through a state, federal, or private loan-repayment-assistance program.

For lawyers

More than 80 law schools, 40-plus employers, and eight states offer loan-repayment assistance to lawyers who practice public-interest law for a nonprofit agency or who work as government prosecutors or public defenders, according to Equal Justice Works, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes public-interest law. Among law schools, loan-repayment-assistance programs vary dramatically. Those with meager budgets may offer repayment assistance to only a handful of students, may offer relatively low amounts, or may cap eligibility at salaries of $40,000 or less. Institutions with ample resources, such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and New York universities, can afford to offer loan-repayment help to more graduates and to those with higher salaries (as high as $82,000 for Harvard grads, for instance). If you're comparing loan-repayment programs when choosing a law school, ask how much funding is available and how many eligible students receive loans or grants. Be aware that you may have to cough up some or all of a repayment loan if you leave your public-interest job before you've completed your service commitment, and you may cease to be eligible if your income rises over a certain amount.

For doctors

Doctors who agree to practice certain kinds of medicine in which there are shortages or who work in underserved areas of the country can have significant portions of their debt forgiven. Through the National Health Service Corps, for instance, doctors practicing primary-care medicine in underserved areas can have up to $50,000 of debt repaid by the federal government during a two-year-minimum service commitment. An additional $35,000 a year in debt repayment is available to doctors who sign up for a third or fourth year of service. Many states have similar debt-repayment programs for doctors who live or are licensed in the state and who practice primary-care medicine there. Doctors in Massachusetts, for instance, can earn $20,000 a year in debt payments if they work a minimum of two years in a Massachusetts community health center. A listing of state programs is available at the website of the Association of American Medical Colleges (www.aamc.org/students/financing/repayment/start.htm). In addition, medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health can qualify for up to $35,000 in loan-repayment assistance.

For teachers

Teachers who work for five years in schools that serve low-income students can have all of their Perkins loan debt forgiven or up to $5,000 of their Stafford loan debt forgiven. And under a new law passed in 2004, math, science, and special-education teachers can qualify for up to $17,500 in Stafford loan forgiveness. In addition, many states have their own repayment programs. Under California's Assumption Program of Loans for Education, for example, teachers who serve four years in schools in low-income areas or who teach subjects--such as foreign languages and high school science--in which there are teacher shortages in California public schools can turn as much as $19,000 of their student-loan debt over to the state.