IO: I'm in Debt for the Next 30 Years!

[BonoIsMyMuse]

To lock in the current interest rate, I decided to consolidate all of my student loans. I just filed the application online now, and the grand total for four years of college and five of my six years of grad school is...















$59,875

At least the Department of Education is giving me a whole 30 years to pay it back. Now let's hope I can actually get a teaching job when I graduate next year so I can start paying this beast off, hopefully a lot faster than in 30 years. I'd like to be able to buy a house sometime before I'm old enough to retire.

 

[bono_212]

Thank you for scaring the living daylights out of me

<starts college in 5.5 weeks

 

[Lila64]

 

[SunBloc]

Tuition is staggering - but they've got you, what are you going to do? Just wanted to add something, BIMM. Check your state income tax rules. My sister was in a similar situation (different state). But she found out that she could deduct her tuition loan money owed (she is a teacher in the same state she was educated) on a scale, a little each year from her state income taxes. This helped her a lot.

 

[Bonochick]

I cannot even imagine having that much student loan debt!

When I went away to university, I made myself miserable for the semester because I worried so much about money. The thought of being so deeply in debt scared me...especially when I thought, what if I end up going through all of this schooling and don't even want to be in that field anymore? Or what if I can't get a job? I ended up transferring to a community college and getting a 2 year degree instead. 3 and a half years after graduation, I love my job...and I have less than $2,000 to go in paying off my student loans.

 

[meegannie]

That's actually not that bad. Mine is around $30,000 for three years of undergrad and one year of postgrad (fortunately I graduated from undergrad a year early and most British MAs are only one year full time), and I had full tuition scholarships for my undergrad.

 

[Liesje]

3 and a half years after graduation, I love my job...and I have less than $2,000 to go in paying off my student loans.

Congrats! Your post gives me hope. I finished last month. Four year degree tuition = $100,000. My current debt = $60,000 (and this is after several state grants, need-based scholarships, named scholarships, and merit scholarships). My fiance's current debt = $30,000. Grad school is NOT an option right now!

 

[Sicy]

College is overrated!

 

[meegannie]

College is overrated!

 

[Bonochick]

College is overrated!

I don't knock the experience I had...but I think there's just so much pressure, like you absolutely HAVE to go to college, or else there are no options for you. That's not true.

 

[Sicy]

I admit I'm not a millionaire or even making tons of money but I have a great job that I've had for 7 years, make close to $40k and not a drop of college education. The most I am in debt right now is a couple k, credit cards, car payment etc.

 

[redhotswami]

LivLuv, don't turn away from grad school just yet! If you wanna go, keep looking. My grad school program is actually PAYING ME to go, which includes not only my stipend, but my tuition is waived too! There's tons of programs that pay their students.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I'd love to go back to give myself more options, because I'd love to make more money and when I thought I was going to be out of work last summer, I saw that if I even got a 2 year degree I'd up my chances of that by a good percentage.

My only big regret in life is that I never saw college through. I think I'd be in a better place financially if I had. Not that I'm dirt poor now or anything, but I'd be a bit freer in some aspects.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

LivLuv, don't turn away from grad school just yet! If you wanna go, keep looking. My grad school program is actually PAYING ME to go, which includes not only my stipend, but my tuition is waived too! There's tons of programs that pay their students.

What I'm being paid wouldn't nearly be enough for me to actually live on. It came down to taking loans or working at least one other job to get by, and I decided having extra time to focus on my work and on the classes I teach for my stipend was worth the debt. I have enough stress to deal with--I definitely don't need money worries on top of it.

I went to a private college and my parents couldn't afford to help me too much, so even after scholarships I had to take out pretty many loans. That was my choice not to go to a state school, and I don't regret it one bit. I was really shy as a teenager and went to a very small high school, so a big school would've swallowed me up.

I agree that college isn't for everyone. It bothers me that the adults in many students' lives make them feel like they have to go to college in order to do well in life. Being educated doesn't always mean being smart, and the most valuable learning I've ever done hasn't been in classrooms (or it has been, and it's been things my students have taught me about life).

I've known since I was in fourth grade that I wanted to be a writer, so going straight through from high school all the way to PhD has never bothered me. What's stressful is not being guaranteed a job next year when I graduate. The academic job market is pretty brutal, and I'm going to feel like a failure if I went to grad school for six years, then can't get a job.

On a positive note, in the last few months, two of my friends have gotten university teaching jobs with starting salaries of at least $50,000, so maybe there's hope for me!

Jeez, I didn't mean to write this much. Can you tell I'm writing a novel for my dissertation?

 

[Liesje]

What I'm being paid wouldn't nearly be enough for me to actually live on. It came down to taking loans or working at least one other job to get by, and I decided having extra time to focus on my work and on the classes I teach for my stipend was worth the debt. I have enough stress to deal with--I definitely don't need money worries on top of it.

I went to a private college and my parents couldn't afford to help me too much, so even after scholarships I had to take out pretty many loans. That was my choice not to go to a state school, and I don't regret it one bit. I was really shy as a teenager and went to a very small high school, so a big school would've swallowed me up.

I think we're in a similar sitation.

Even if a grad school offered a stipend, that would likely only cover tuition. There's still rent, insurance, my wedding, etc. and if you're a full time student, it's hard to work full time or more without going insane. At this point, I can't even afford to take the GRE.

I also went to a private college because it's a really great school and I couldn't afford going to a cheaper but good state school somewhere else because of travel expenses. My parents didn't really pay any of it. I got some need-based, but based on my dad's income, we're OK, except I don't get any of it I worked really hard to get As and scholarships, but even that covers maybe 1/4. Everything is too competitive these days. My mom got a full ride to the same school with only a 3.4. I ended up with a 3.9 and also had some awards from the gymnastics team and all I got was the scholarship you always get based on the GPA brackets. These days, you've got to be president of five clubs and have a 4.7 to get anything worthwhile

I also agree college is not for everyone and people should not be made to feel ashamed because they didn't go, but for some professions, it's impossible to go anywhere without a masters. I also want to go into veterinary medicine, not necessarily as a vet, but even to be a vet tech there are additional associates degrees required. I can't go back to school right now because Phil really wants a teaching degree and since he knows exactly what he wants, he can go first.

Ah well, at least there is comfort in knowing I'm not the only one who's screwed.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

There are a lot of programs that help to lower or forgive loans for teachers, so that's definitely something for you guys to look in to. If I can't find a college-level teaching job next year, I may look into a high school teaching job that could help defray the cost of some of my loans. There are also programs like Teach For America that can help you to get extra funding for grad school later or provide you with a bit of a grant or stipend to put toward paying off loans.

Some people I go to school with work full-time and take one or two night classes a semester. If you can get in-state tuition, it's actually fairly affordable, I think, but it takes longer to get a degree this way. I get a stipend on top of my tuition waiver, but it's ridiculously low, even in my area, where the cost of living isn't too high.

I have no debt besides loans, and even though I feel really freaked out about them now, I know they're the best investment I can make for my future, based on what I want to do with my life. A master's was only going to qualify me to teach at a community college, and while I wouldn't mind that, I'd really rather not have to teach 5 classes a semester, which is the usual load for CC's.

 

[Liesje]

I have no debt besides loans, and even though I feel really freaked out about them now, I know they're the best investment I can make for my future, based on what I want to do with my life.

Yes, this is true for us as well. I've never had a car, cell phone, credit card - nothing that would incur debt. Phil got a credit card to start building credit, but we're so anal, we go into the account online and pay off any charge the same day. I took out two seperate student loans (two of my ten total, five gov't and five private) exclusively for the month-long study I did in Tanzania, and I don't regret it. In fact, if we don't get to move away from here, I'm thinking of going back in Jan. 2007 with the same professors since they always have trouble getting enough participants and I'd gladly pay that tuition again for such a valuable experience.

He wants to go into elementary special education and everyone keeps saying he would get a job easily because hardly any guys do el ed, let alone special ed, so I hope he can go back for the teaching degree soon. He actually started out an el ed major and passed the state exam to continue, but did not qualify for our college's program, which has much higher standards. Hopefully he'll get the full time job he wants at a YMCA and be able to chip away at classes during the evening.

It's just disheartening to have to pay so much, and even worse, the amount of stress, illness, and depression that this causes for myself and a lot of other students, when in many countries you can go to school for almost free.

 

[Dismantled]

fun isn't it ...college is SO worth every penny ............

not trying to discourage anyone new college goers its a great time

best $100,000 dollar party you'll ever have.....

 

[meegannie]

I want Sicy's job.

 

[zoney!]

Don't forget a MORTGAGE!

That could be pretty heavy (but positive?!?) debt.

I paid off my undergrad education a while ago...and am looking forward to adding post-grad debt soon!

 

[Sicy]

I want Sicy's job.

We're hiring

 

[meegannie]

We're hiring

 

[Salome]

I did smile the day I paid of my student loans