The local college news has been depressing. One Globe editorial in particular sent Bostonist into a funk. While brainiacs with ordinary parents get denied at Harvard, the dumb but well-connected just waltz their way in, proving that the college admissions process is a skunky business.

But Tufts offered a ray of light this week with the announcement that it will help students pay off their college loans if they take a job in public service.

It's about time. As Linda Wertheimer of the Globe notes, law and medical schools have done this for a while. A lot of people want to do good in the world, but higher-ed costs are so massive that going corporate seems to be the only option for anyone with a student loan: "On average, Tufts graduates with bachelor's degrees earn starting salaries of $22,700 in jobs with nonprofits and $27,900 in government positions, vs. about $40,800 a year in private-sector jobs, according to the university's most recent data from 2005."