Paying for degree - Student Loan

healthyboy

Hey guys,

I was just wondering and it seems like alot of people have degrees here but are you guys still paying your student loan off?

Also does it look like you guys will pay it off for the rest of your lifes or?

Does it affect your living when you have a big debt?

higherho

*raises hand*

I will be paying mine off for the next 15 years sadly. Unless I get a six figure job by the time I'm 35.

Qord

I am paying on a few student loans, but luckily I only owe about 9K. I lucked out and got a job in a college, so now I'm going for free. Tuition remission is a wonderful thing!!! I'm not sure I'd be able to finish a degree if I hadn't gotten this job. I have enough debt, any more and the monthly payments could get overwhelming.

MickQ

I'm paying mine back in taxes. Different style of how you pay it back in this country.

Valsacar

I owe nothing, my BS was paid for through military benefits and my MS is being paid for by my companies education program.

For those without such benefits, there are other ways to have little to no school debt. CLEP/DANTES/ECE and other ACE approved programs (like StraighterLine and ALEKS) allow you to get basically all of your electives and lower level (so basically half, if not more, of a 4 year degree) for very little (around 100USD/3cr). That assumes you have a school that will accept a lot of transfer (and specifically ACE) credits. WGU, of course, is another alternative for cheaper education.

sratakhin

Go to a state university, get a part-time job or start your own business and you won't need any loans.

Devilry

Yes there will be a little bit of debt, maybe $10k total. However, don't let it be a factor for getting a degree.

Iristheangel

No student loans for me. My job's tuition reimbursement paid for it all.

Slowhand

I'm taking a slightly different approach. I've been doing the college thing on and off for YEARS, and even managed to rack up a few thousand dollars in debt in the meantime. While I'm just about ready to take two different Associate's degrees in CIS, what I really want to do is finally push through the community college level once and for all, transfer to a very specific four-year university, then go on to do some graduate work. The trouble is paying for the right to go, as it generally tends to be. So, I'm just going to fund for the damn thing for myself.

What I plan on doing is putting it all on the shelf for a couple of years as I work, pay off every last penny of my debt - student loans and otherwise - then basically live like a college student for two or three years after that, saving up money. After that, I'm going to return to school full-time, budget out my nest-egg and whatever grants/scholarships I can get, and enjoy my time in school without the looming storm-clouds of debt and "oh geez, where is next semester's money coming from?". I may end up taking a class per semester in the evenings at the community college, as I work, to speed up the process a bit, but once I'm transferred it's back to wearing hoodies and complaining about two or three days of classes a week.

Iristheangel

I just wanted to add: I wouldn't have minded taking 10-40K in debt if I had to because when you look at the statistical breakdown of what people make on average when they just have a college degree vs. HS degree, it's significantly more. These statistics might be a little dated: Fast Facts

Example: A friend of mine graduated from UC Irvine with an EE degree and about 30K in school debt. His first job out of college without any certifications or experience was at a networking company in San Jose for about 70K for an entry level position. That's significantly more than most would make on average with a few certs, no experience and a HS degree.
I just finished my BSIT and got a new job over 6 figures. I have about 5 years experience, a degree and several certs but it was still a significant raise from my last position.

College debt can be balanced by average earnings. The trick is not to go too far in debt so that your raise in salary doesn't cover the difference.

Akaricloud

I have a couple student loans, pay about $100/month for them and could lower them if I want.

Instead of paying them off I decided to buy a car with the cash. The interest rate on my student loans is much lower than any car loan I could get plus has better deferment options if I do ever become unemployed.

In short: I keep my student loans not because I need to but because they're a lower interest rate than any auto or home loan I'll get plus it helps build credit.

ptilsen

I repaid the loans for my AAS for about a year, until I enrolled at a new school to pursue my BS. My loans are in deferment now. Before I deferred my loans, I can tell you that they had a huge impact on my life. At just shy of $600 a month, I was paying more for student loans than for my new, financed car and insurance. Putting the loans in deferment has allowed me to pay off my car almost three years early, saving a whole bunch on interest. I had just happened to take a new job along with a ~$20K raise when my loans entered repayment, and the loans basically ate half of my take-home raise.

Once my car is paid off, I'm going to make premature payments to my higher-interest student loans. I don't need to, but it will ease the burden a lot when everything else enters repayment. My goal is to have my AAS loans paid off by the time I start into any graduate program, and be close to paying off undergrad by the time I finish grad school

Additionally, when I first went to college I was 18 or 19, and as a result of my parents' financial situation I not only failed to qualify for subsidized loans, but at some points failed to qualify for federal loans altogether. So half my debt is owed to Chase at outrageous interest. I'm actually taking out the max federally subsidized I can now that I'm 24 (parents' finances no longer matter at 24 for student loans), and using the extra money to pay off the private loans.

stlsmoore

Paid a little over $30k out of $45k off, hoping to have the rest paid off by this time next year and then starting paying off my car.