Student Loans

[Rebecca]

Wow...wow...

[Rebecca]

One thing (well, there are definitely more than just one thing) that I wish I had done differently while in school was watch my living expenses. I could have lived at home while I went to school, but I didn't. I could have lived with a roommate to save $, but I didn't. I could have brought my lunch to school, but I ate in the cafeteria everyday. Stuff like that.

Fortunately, I didn't take out any more loans to pay for my Bar Exam review course, but I know a lot of people who did.

[Julie Rains]

The more I learn about student loans, the more I realize how misleading the information provided to students is.

I was wondering though Rebecca if you might have a nice pension and/or lifetime health insurance through your employer after a certain number of years. I know many former state employees who are doing very well (better than average) when they retire (a long way off, I know) because 1) they have a forever stream of income not dependent on the market and 2) they lived somewhat frugally when working. One person I know someone who retired after 20 years as a district attorney and now has a small private practice (criminal law in another town); he's not incredibly wealthy but he does what he wants!

[Rebecca]

Julie

I do currently have incredible health benefits and a very good pension plan (which until now I hadn't been contributing to), and I really use my medical benefits to the max. So that helps, a lot.

I just wish that someone would have sat me down before I signed my life away and made me think about the consequences.

As soon as I get my credit cards paid off, my student loans will be my only debt.

[Michelle Dawn]

I have $14,000 left in student loan debt. I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom for a year (starting in March) and then I want to work for a year to bring my debt down a little (hopefully a lot) before returning to school to get a degree (another 3-4 years) in nursing. Currently I have a practical nurse college diploma. Basically, I'm not going to be out of studen loan debt for a long, long time. *sigh*

Most of my SL debt was for a two year college photography program I finished ten years ago. I was fresh out of highschool and didn't have a clue what I wanted to do. I spent the two years doing too much partying and not enough work. There was only a very minor digital component to the course and I didn't learn much really. I could have learned more if I had seriously applied myself to self-study for two years. A year later I changed direction and went into health care, studying for another year on student loans.

I lived with my boyfriend during my college years and paid for all my living expenses by borrowing more money. Boy oh boy. If only I knew then...

[Annie]

Guh. You guys are killing me with this stuff. I'm currently in an out-of-state, private art school and the tuition bills are already keeping me up at night. I mean, I'm not even in grad school yet and it's worrying me. I thought this thread was going to offer some lovely tips on how to calm those feelings, but I guess there's never good news with student loans.

All the more reason to work harder and make the best of my education, I guess.

[Rebecca]

Originally Posted by Annie

Guh. You guys are killing me with this stuff. I'm currently in an out-of-state, private art school and the tuition bills are already keeping me up at night. I mean, I'm not even in grad school yet and it's worrying me. I thought this thread was going to offer some lovely tips on how to calm those feelings, but I guess there's never good news with student loans.

All the more reason to work harder and make the best of my education, I guess.

If I could go back in time and do it all over (with the exception of not taking out the loans in the first place) here are some things I would do that would put me in a better position:

1. start living frugally NOW.
2. if you can live at home, DO IT. Don't waste $$ on rent.
3. bring your lunch, don't eat on campus
4. watch how much you spend on alcohol!!!!!!
5. I wasted an INCREDIBLE amount of $ being in a sorority. stupid.
6. get your textbooks on amazon or half.com
7. i wish I had worked part time during the year on the weekends, that way I could have paid some of the interest that was accruing
8. work your butt off over the summer and put it in a high yield savings acct, like ING
9. watch the credit card offers. they are like leeches on campuses.
10. if you do plan to go to grad school, try to be a student rep on one of those Kaplan or Princeton review courses - I think you get a huge discount on the cost of the GRE or at least on the GRE prep classes that way.

Most importantly, take at least a year off before going to grad school. TRUST ME ON THIS. you can defer your student loans if you have to, but it would be better just to get a job and at least do income-contingent repayment plan. Figure out what you REALLY want to do with your life. If I had taken a year off, I KNOW I never would have gone to law school. I thought I knew everything my senior year of college, but I was really clueless about the long-term impact of the decisions I was making.

if you do take time off and then go back to school, you will do better in school. the top students are often the more mature ones. at least, that was my experience. and I wasn't one of the mature ones

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by FightinTxAggie98

I took out loans to go to medical school, but had to withdrawal because I couldn't afford to continue. I now have about $350,000 in student loans and no marketable skills. Consider yourself lucky!

*GASP*

WOW!

I think when Im finally done it will be around $170k.

Im concerned but Im not...well somewhat....

My plan is to use my salary to pay down our student loan debt and live off my husband's salary in that time. He makes six figured so it wont be that hard but at the same time who wants to be paying that much for student loans? UGHH!!! Education, ANY education should be free! Ya I know Im out of pocket for that lol

[Anthony Marrone]

Rebecca:

I'm currently a second-year law student and I'd conservatively estimate my overall student loan debt after this year is finished at around $150,000; it will probably be will over $225,000 after the bar exam and my third-year. I don't stay up late at night worrying about this, simply because I recently woke up and smelled the roses of frugality, and now live well below my means.

The pitfall of student loan debt that you aren't informed of before you sign your life away with the Master Promissory Note is that you will basically be paying off two mortgages for the 15-30 years after you graduate, the mortgage on your house, and it's moral and financial equivalent, your student loan debt.

It sounds like you've taken positive steps to not let the debt control you. I think student loan debts are one of the rare things in life that we should not pour-over again and again in our minds. You went to school, presumably got a great education and do what you love. The cost (even at a whopping $1000+per month) is quite small in comparison.

Thanks for the post, as this is something I think about often. I also sometimes wish I had stopped after undergrad and had only minimal debt. Then I remember my long-term earning potential should far outlast the balance of my student loans and enable me to live comfortably.

[purplefdu]

Ouch, over 300k and you didn't finish. And my mom said I was the worst story she has ever heard. you're gonna prove her wrong. I only owed 45k after 102/132 credits towards my BS in chem. I was ok until they lost my paperwork for a financial deferrment during the spring floods (a disaster throughout New England that involved federal funding) and put my loan into default and its now been sold to at least three other companies. I am currently looking into ways to get out of default, but the best I have come up with is a lawsuit including asking for proof of holding the loan. Finding someone to do this for free or cheap isn't easy though.

As for tips, make sure you really apply yourself. Don't settle for a C because its better than half the class. Only learning at a C level is like only getting half a loaf of bread after paying for the full thing.