A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that medical students who graduate from Historically Black Colleges and Universities are more likely to practice primary care medicine in low-income communities, the exact area of care most needed in the country today. By 2020, six years after health care overhaul kicks in, there will be 35 million newly insured Americans, but a projected shortage of up to 100,000 primary care doctors. HBCUs like Morehouse, Howard and Meharry Medical College – the top ranked schools in the study – may be helping prevent the problem by training students to work in underserved communities upon graduation.

Recent college students are defaulting on their student loans in growing numbers. If default rates get bad enough, it can threaten federal funding for their alma maters. But a group of historically black colleges in Texas may have found a way to slow the default problem by counseling students about their financial responsibilities.