Public Service Degree

Dear Joseph,

You raise an issue that comes up quite often—you want to get an education so you can go into some sort of public service line of work, but by getting that education you can’t afford to go into public service! What puts you a little ahead of the game is that you have already started thinking about this now, rather than after you have accrued all the potential debt.

There are a couple options you may want to consider during this planning stage of your higher education.

Can you attend a less expensive school for the first year or 2, and then transfer to your school of choice to keep the cost down? It is important to make sure all your credits will transfer, but this is a great option if they will.

Does it make sense to go to school part time? This will take a little longer, but maybe you will be able to pay as you go instead of incurring debt.

Are there companies in your chosen field that may reimburse you for your loans or classes? Of course you should apply for all the scholarships and grants you can, but in the end you should still make a solid estimation of your anticipated student loan debt, monthly payment, and anticipated salary.

Finally, you should know that Congress has included an economic hardship-based repayment option and public service loan forgiveness program into its recently passed budget reconciliation bill. The details of these programs still have to be worked out, but the idea is that if you make 120 payments on your federal student loans while working for 10 years in a public service job, any remaining balance may be forgiven by the U.S. Department of Education. This is a great program, but buyer beware—after making the 120 payments under this program, your loans will likely already be close to paid off

Regards,
Betsy