Can’t pay your student loans? This college will pay them for you.

After graduating college, many former students have difficulty finding jobs that allow them to afford their monthly student loan payments.

If you graduate into a low-paying field, you may find yourself barely scraping by–even before you pay your student loans. The lowest-paying major for 2013, Child and Family Studies, has an average starting salary of just $29,300.

Graduates struggle to repay student loans

Houghton College knows the economy is tough, and it can take new graduates several years to make enough money to pay back their loans, especially in smaller cities, job markets, and careers.

That’s why the small liberal arts college in Houghton, NY has decided to launch an innovative new student loan repayment plan for graduates.

Graduates of Houghton College have a new reason to smile: the school will repay their student loans if they can’t afford them.

Student loan repayment assistance

For graduates who earn $20,000, the new Loan Repayment Assistance Program will reimburse 100% of student loan payments until the loan is paid in full or the graduate earns a higher salary.

For graduates who earn more money, the college will reimburse portions of loan payments for graduates on a percentage-based scale up to $38,000.

The program will apply to incoming first-year students in the 2014-15 school year. According to college officials, the program is the first of its kind in the eastern United States.

To qualify, students will have to graduate from Houghton and work in the U.S. at a job that averages at least 30 hours a week.

Helping college graduates repay student loans

We believe this new initiative will have a positive effect on incoming students’ view of Houghton and will reduce stress for graduates worried about finding a high-paying job right out of college.

Of course, it’d be preferable for a graduate to earn more than $20,000, but it’s great that the college offers students a back-up plan in case things don’t work out the way they hope upon graduation.

We hope more colleges will follow suit and offer innovative programs like this one to help the next generation of college graduates repay their student loans.

But if you already have student loans and you’re struggling with repayment, it’s important to find a repayment plan that fits your situation to avoid defaulting on your loans.

What do you think of the initiative? What other steps can colleges take to ease the burden of student loan repayment? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter at @CFGCollege.

photo credit: ali.milteer via photopin cc