Community Service Ideas That Help Students Pay College Expenses

Many students who take out student loans for college hope to land high-paying jobs after graduation to help make their loan payments. However, several organizations offer repayment or forgiveness of federal student loans (such as Perkins, Stafford, Direct Loans, and FFEL loans) in exchange for a commitment to work in areas that need professional skills and services. Here are six community service ideas that help pay for college.

Community Service Project Ideas

• Who has a program? Working in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) allows you to use your knowledge and skills to help needy people in the United States and internationally.
• What will I do? AmeriCorps VISTA programs provide opportunities for people to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit organizations. During a year of AmeriCorps service, you might: 
  • Tutor disadvantaged youth
  • Fight illiteracy
  • Provide health services
  • Build affordable housing
  • Teach computer skillsClean parks and waterways
  • Operate after-school programs Respond to disasters

• How much can I earn toward college? If you have not yet gone to college, AmeriCorps VISTA will award you $1,200 that can be applied to your college expenses. Peace Corps members can receive scholarships, reduced tuition, and academic credit toward advanced degrees at many universities.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? When you serve full time with AmeriCorps VISTA after college, you’ll receive $4,725 toward payment of your federal student loans. Part-time workers get a partial award. In the Peace Corps, after a year of service, you can apply for deferment of Stafford, Perkins, and consolidation loans, as well as partial cancellation of Perkins Loans—fifteen percent for each year of service, up to seventy percent total.
• Where do I find out more? Visit www.americorps.gov or www.peacecorps.gov for complete details on applying for a service position.

Teaching

• Who has a program? The federal government created the Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program for teachers to encourage teachers to work in low income schools or schools in areas with teacher shortages.
• What will I do? Teachers who serve in certain low income elementary or secondary schools for five years and who have an outstanding Direct Loan or FFEL loan balance can apply for loan repayment after completing their fifth year of teaching.
• How much can I earn toward college? This program is only for repayment of loans after college.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? Teachers who qualify may be eligible for up to $5,000 repayment of their remaining student loan balances. Certain highly qualified math and science teachers working in eligible secondary schools or highly qualified special education teachers may qualify for forgiveness of up to $17,500. People with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education working in eligible nonprofit child care facilities could have up to one hundred percent of their student loans repaid.
• Where do I find out more? The federal student aid Web site has a page with extensive information about the Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program for Teachers, including a list of eligible low income schools and the application for loan forgiveness.

Medicine

• Who has a program? The National Health Service Corps and the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program both offer loan repayment programs for medical professionals who work in areas that need medical help, which are called Health Professional Shortage Areas. Some hospitals and health care facilities have loan forgiveness programs for occupational and physical therapists.
• What will I do? Medical professionals can either apply to work at eligible medical sites or check the national database to see if their current employer is on the list. These people commit to working at the site for at least two years in order to qualify for loan reimbursement. Current or prospective medical students can apply for scholarships in exchange for service commitments.
• How much can I earn toward college? The National Health Service Corps Scholarship provides several scholarships for students in training to become primary care physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants who agree to provide two to four years of service in an NHSC approved site in a Health Professional Shortage Area of greatest need. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, and a living stipend.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? Medical professionals who work for two or more years in areas with critical medical shortages can have as much as sixty percent of their student loan balances forgiven. Doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists, dental hygienists, mental health professionals, and physician assistants who agree to work in areas that lack adequate medical care as identified by the National Health Service Corps could have up to $50,000 in student loan repayments in exchange for two years of service.
• Where do I find out more? Check out the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program and the National Health Service Corps. The American Physical Therapy Association and the American Occupational Therapy Association have information on loan forgiveness programs, and the American Association of Medical Colleges has a database of state and other non-federal repayment programs for medical school students.

Law

• Who has a program? Many states, law schools, and employers have loan repayment and forgiveness programs for law school graduates who work in public interest or nonprofit positions.
• What will I do? People working as state or local prosecutors, public defenders, civil legal aid, or legal advocates in low income communities at nonprofit organizations may qualify for loan repayment assistance. Criteria vary by program.
• How much can I earn toward college? These programs assist law school graduates who are working in lower-paying public interest law positions. The Equal Justice Works Web site (see below) has a list of law schools that offer grants and scholarships to those studying public interest law.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? Loan repayment amounts vary from program to program. Proposed national repayment programs may pay an average of $2,000 to $10,000 per year for qualified service in public interest law.
• Where do I find out more?Equal Justice Works, formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law, has information about law school loan repayment assistance programs, including a list of participating schools. It also has information about employer-based and state-based loan repayment assistance programs and the Higher Education Reauthorization Act loan repayment assistance programs.

Military

• Who offers a program? Each of the five branches of the military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) offers tuition assistance, scholarships, and student loan forgiveness plans of various types.
• What will I do? Serve your country for a specified number of years through a branch of the military, the reserves, or the National Guard either before or after college to receive tuition assistance and loan repayment benefits.
• How much can I earn toward college? If you want to go to college first and serve in the military later, the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) has merit-based scholarships in return for a three- or four-year military commitment upon graduation. If you want to serve in the military first, you can earn or save up to $50,000 toward college expenses. Students who serve part time in the Reserves can receive up to $24,000 toward college in exchange for a commitment of one weekend Reserve service each month, plus two training weeks a year.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? If you enroll in the military after graduation, the military will make payments directly to your student loan lender to help you pay for college. Each branch has its own criteria for loan repayment, so it’s important to ask a recruiter for information. For instance, soldiers can qualify to have one-third of their loan repaid for each year of full-time service, up to a maximum of $65,000. The Air Force’s College Loan Repayment Program has a maximum payment of $10,000.
• Where do I find out more? The tuition support page of the Web site Today’s Military explains many ways the military can help you pay for college or repay your loans.

Public Service

• Who offers a program? The federal government’s new Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program helps employees in public services jobs pay their student loans.
• What will I do? You may be eligible for this program if you work full time in a public service job such as a federal, state, local, or tribal government organization, agency, or entity; public child or family service agency; tribal college or university; organization that provides emergency management, military service, public safety, law enforcement, public interest law services, early childhood education, services for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, public health, public education, public library service, or school library services.
• How much can I earn toward college? This program is available only to college graduates.
• How much of my student loans will be forgiven? The amount will vary. The program forgives remaining student debt after ten years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments, as long as you are still working full time in an eligible job and have debt remaining after one hundred twenty qualifying payments.
• Where do I find out more? Visit Public Service Loan Forgiveness or The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid for additional details.

Bonus tip: Many states have loan forgiveness programs for teachers, medical and legal professionals, and other workers. Check with your employer to see if you qualify for any state loan forgiveness programs.


Elizabeth Johnson is a freelance writer in Lansing, Michigan, who is navigating the world of student loans for college with her teenage son.