Too much student loan debt?!?

[eron1027]

I am in my second year at the University
of Arizona. I am paying out of state tuition solely through student loans,
most of which are private. My parents' income places me out of reach of many
government sponsored loans, grants, and scholarships but they will not pay for
my college expenses. They do cosign for my loans but the realization that I
will be near $100,000 in debt upon graduation has been weighing more and more
heavily on me. I am not sure of how unique my situation is but I
feel like I have a lack of options. I am very aware of scholarships and have
been pursuing several through sites such as Fastweb. What do I do? Do I have any other options? Thanks for any advice.

[Xin Lu]

I think you should see if your degree is worthwhile for the amount of debt and see if you can get in state tuition. In California I know the UCs will grant you in state status after you live in California for a couple years and get a driver's license. The difference is pretty big. I'm not sure if you are an undergrad or graduate student or what you are studying, but if you can get a job that pays reasonably well with the degree that you're getting then go for it. You should look into internships if possible and earn some money to pay off the debt. Beyond that, I guess you can transfer to a less expensive school if the degree programs are comparable and one school is significantly cheaper. Just keep your options open and be flexible, and I think you will be okay.

[Kathryn]

You do have options, like Xin says, but you have to accept the fact that they may entail some sacrifice now in order to reduce the amount of sacrifice you will make later (and believe you me, unless you're going into a very lucrative field with very sure job prospects, $1,000+ loan repayments will be a BIG sacrifice that will go on for a very LONG time). A couple other things: it may make sense to take an overload and finish early, or take some time off after this semester until you can qualify as financially emancipated, which would both help you qualify for in-state tuition and change your grants/loans picture in your favor.

[gt0163c]

I was fortunate to graduate from college debt-free thanks to a combination of education accounts set-up by my grand parents and working as a co-op while I was in school.
If it's feasible and available at your school and in your major, I would definitely look into getting into a co-op program. The basic idea with a co-op is that you alternate academic terms between work and school. So, if you go to school for the fall semester, you work full time, for a company in your field, in the spring. Co-oping worked really well for me, as I didn't have to work while I was studying or study while I was working. Some quarters, I was able to work a lot of overtime, which helped with the finances. Additionally, I graduated with 18 months of real work experience, which allowed me to hire in to my first job at one step above an entry level engineer. And I learned a whole lot about my field and, especially, about the jobs that I did not want to have. The networking that I did while a co-op directly helped get my job, even though it was at a different company than where I co-oped.

Looking into getting in-state tuition is an excellent idea. I'm not certain what it takes in Arizona, but that would certainly help with tuition. It might require working while not being in classes for a summer or a couple of terms, but that would also allow you to earn money that could go towards your school expenses.
A work study program on campus might also be helpful. Often times these jobs pay more than jobs off campus and you're usually able to schedule around your classes fairly easily.

As for the fundamental question of whether it's okay to go into a big debt to get a degree, there's lots of different opinions on that. As I said, I graduated debt free and that's been really great for me. I have a number of friends and coworkers who have had large amounts of student loan debt. For many, that has negatively impacted their lives, especially early in their careers. Some of them are still paying off student loans 10+ years after graduation. Others have sacrificed savings, home ownership or other financial goals so that they can get their loans paid off. Some says it was worth it. Others, not so much.

[purplefdu]

I feel for you, my parents' income placed me out of alot of funding as well, but they did not want to help me pay for school which made me $6k in loans every year on average after scholarships and grants from the university. I was fortunate to have each school I applied to offer me direct scholarships and grants yearly which helped offset the rest of the $35k a year cost.

My best advice is to go to the financial aid office and sit with a counselor and find ways to work on lowering your loans. They are there to help find scholarships to apply for, grants and such and help you find ways to finance your education.

Trying to get instate status can be hard. I know for NJ where I was I had to have my primary residence be in NJ to claim residence. Which mean NJ wouldn't fund me, and ME wouldn't either because I went to college out of state. Find a friend who won't mind sharing their address and letting you crash there sometimes to help it along. Transferring to a cheaper college might be good, but if you are betting on connections through the college name for a good job it might not as well. Its a choice only you can make unfortunately.

[lucille]

I think there are many things that need to be changed with Sallie Mae. The one I found so disturbing was that it was being marketed to investors has having something like a 20% profit for investors because they were having record years. I always thought student loan was supposed to be a self generating fund to help people go to school and the pay back of loans plus interest assures there will be money there for the next student, not a get rich quick scheme for investors.

Right now I am struggling with paying off the last of my loans while trying to figure out how to send our high schooler to college. He has looked at private culinary schools that range from $40,000 to $100,000 for a four year degree. When looking at real average wages in the industry only the very lucky are going to have the generated income to make paying those loans back an easy thing to do. I don't want him saddled with a huge loan debt his entire life. We did find some apprentice plus college combo programs that he is considering. He also initially was sure he was going to get his own apartment while he was going to school. When we sat him down and asked him how he was going to juggle all of this (apartment, job, tuition and school) he started seeing how difficult it was going to be. So now he is looking at hopefully living at home for at least the first few years while in school. We should be moved by then making this possible.

I have notice that there is such a disparity going on right now. I see administrative assistant jobs that require a bachelors where the job requirements are basic secretarial and pay lousy. With those kind of qualifications for a basic job vs. the cost to get even a basic degree it just doesn't line up financially. So you have employers expecting more than they probably should in some jobs and the cost of an education becoming out of reach for many unless the job is extremely high paying in the end.

[iarenoob]

Education is sure becoming a crutch on finances isn't it. I feel the same as you. I've been focusing too much on financing my education that I fail to recognize that I have developed so much knowledge from my education. Keep working hard and you'll soon find yourself paying it off with a great career.

[Rebecca]

I have $150,000 in school loans (that are from law school, college was already taken care of). You are definitely not alone. But from my experience I've becomd somewhat of an anti-student loan/expert. If you have any specific questions, please pm me. But in general, if you end up staying with the private loans, I would start budgeting and looking for a part-time job. And I hope you have a major that will lead to employment? (and not more school, like mine did).

[Julie Rains]

I love all the ideas, esp. in-state tuition. I would make sure that taking time off wouldn't make you ineligible for loan/interest deferment or you could pay off loans while you worked.

I'll mention that you might be able to get a public service type job that will help pay off loans though that would depend on your major and career interests. I think Rebecca mentioned being eligible for that soon in her job. I am thinking about teaching jobs or positions in the healthcare field. I had a friend who got dental school paid for in exchange for working in an underserved area.

[Night Runner]

To the original poster:
You said that you pay for the entire tuition bill with the loan money. Why couldn't you get any scholarships? I'm fairly certain that the Arizona U has a strong financial aid department.
Secondly, have you filled out your FAFSA yet? You can find it on www.fafsa.ed.gov. It's a really long form, but once you fill it out, you'll receive a Pell Grant from the feds. Depending on your family's financial situation, you can get up to $4,500 in aid.
Thirdly, I know that you're paying the out-of-state tuition, but how long would it take you to become a state resident? If you can save more money by becoming a resident of the state, look into it. This may mean taking a year off from school, but you can spend that year traveling, pursuing your dreams, learning more about the subject you want to study, or working and saving up money.
Fourthly, go talk to your school's financial aid department. Explain your situation and have them work something out for you.
Finally, see if you can graduate sooner: this means taking summer classes or, if you're still in your first or second year of school, taking lower-level classes from a community college (and then transferring them to your school), or taking the advanced placement tests - they only last a few hours and will save you a lot of time and money if you pass them and can get a college credit that way.

Let us know how everything works out for you.