The version of this that I've seen work is the "Northern Exposure" one (remember that TV show?).

I had a friend whose MS in Nursing was paid for by a state government and in exchange she had to agree to work for a number of years (I think 3) at a hospital in a low-income neighborhood that was having trouble attracting good nurses. Yes, she was paid, etc! It worked out great since she got a free education and found out that she enjoyed working with that particular population and the state had one more highly qualified nurse on its roster.

Win-win incentives like these have a fighting chance, "opportunities" that are heavily weighted in one party's favor tend to not do so well.