Every few months someone from Extremely Prestigious University calls me and asks me for money to support other teachers and scholarships, because we are “top ranked” and I am a “loyal alumni.” (Alumna?)
So every few months I have to bite my lip because whoever is calling me is some poor slob on work study and not, in fact, the person responsible for my $80,000 loans and the fact that I can never, ever do anything fun or go anywhere or buy anything because my loans per month are almost as much as my rent. (If I were being fair, I’d acknowledge that it’s partially my undergrad loans, but I am NOT feeling fair right now.)
So far I have managed not to scream “I AM A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER IN THE BRONX” at anyone, but it’s hard. Especially when they follow up my “I’m so sorry, no, I can’t donate this year” with “Many people in similar financial situations donate using a payment plan!” Well fuck those people. I need to buy groceries.
Teaching (smarter) 
Your monthly payment is almost as much as your rent? You either have very cheap rent, or you need to consolidate. My loans, with interest, are 100K (that’s undergraduate and graduate combined) and I pay just under 300 a month.
dude, DO tell them you are a teacher! I sometimes do that and they seem to understand. š
Or, you can tell them to send you the thing by mail, and then never send it back. that’s what I do nowadays to make the damn call go faster. š