Your state might sponsor loan repayment programs. These often depend on what you plan to study. Some states, for example, will help you pay back your student loan if you enter specific career areas such as teaching, law enforcement, medicine, nursing or technology and find employment within the state. As long as you work within those fields after graduation, the state will help you pay back your student loans.

You may be familiar with Federal Work-Study, a program that provides jobs for college students with financial need. The employment often relates to a student's course of study and can be connected with community service. Some states have similar work-study programs. These programs subsidize your salary as you work either on campus or for a government or non-profit agency. Through work-study you can earn thousands of extra dollars while you go to school.

Some states or state university systems have agreements with other states, or specific universities in other states, which allow the residents of one state to attend a college in a neighboring state at in-state or heavily discounted rates. Paying in-state rates at another state's school can save you thousands of dollars. These relationships among states are often called reciprocity agreements.

Tuition Equalization Grant Programs provide funds to students who attend eligible private colleges. The non-repayable grants are designed to help shrink the difference in the cost of tuition between public and private universities. In Georgia, for example, residents who attend a more expensive private college can qualify to receive a tuition equalization grant of up to $1,045 per year.

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