# What is your amount of student loan debt?



## Glacial (Jun 16, 2010)

I only have my A.A.S degree, but really want to further my education; however, I am terrified of the weight of debt on my shoulders.

How much debt have you incured on your loan/loans?


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm lucky in having parents that always placed priority on school, and who didn't shower me with gifts in my youth, but did save up for my education. They covered my undergrad (at a cheap state school, so it wasn't too bad). They are helping me with grad school now, but it is too expensive for them to cover completely so I've had to take out loans. I think I'm at $17K so far for this year. My dad lost his job though, so I don't imagine they'll be able to help out as much come next year though, and with tuition at $34K/year and growing every year, and 3 years left, I'll be in a mess of debt regardless.

Anyways, I've heard a good piece of advice that says you shouldn't incur more than double your expected annual salary in student debt, because at that point, it is really hard to climb out from underneath.


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## thankyouberry (Aug 11, 2011)

According to this slip of paper I owe $15,000, and I'm a college sophomore. :sus


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## Laith (Mar 20, 2009)

I was fortunate enough to get a discount on tuition because my dad worked at my university and I worked full-time during most of my undergrad years so I was able to pay the amount each semester on my own... Graduated with 0 debt. Tuition kept going up too, my uni is like 10k a semester now for undergrad. When I started it was about half that. Theres no way Ill be able to pay off grad school on my own though, its crazy how much education costs these days.


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## chris11757 (Dec 20, 2010)

Lets just say that I am one of the most fortunate college students ever. One of my parents works at the college so I got a tuition wavier and then I also got a scholarship to cover tuition so I actually have money left over for gas and food during the semester. I am getting paid to go there so I will be graduating debt free.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

It's going to be more than $40,000 by the time I'm done with my B.S. Even living with roommates and having no car, I still need at least $1000 a month to survive.


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## blue the puppy (Jul 23, 2011)

zero.
credit card debt, on the other hand ....


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## Hexakosioihexekontahex (Feb 11, 2012)

None. Scholarships are pretty awesome. 
Student loans aren't a bad deal. That is, so long as you didn't get a joke-major.

At least we live in a country that gives us a chance for loans and puts enough faith in us to better ourselves. So what if you're in debt for the next three years? You have a higher education and you've exponentially bettered yourself. 

You'll have a college education. Do something with it.


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## SuperSky (Feb 16, 2011)

LOL three years.


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## Glacial (Jun 16, 2010)

Hexakosioihexekontahex said:


> None. Scholarships are pretty awesome.
> Student loans aren't a bad deal. That is, so long as you didn't get a joke-major.
> 
> At least we live in a country that gives us a chance for loans and puts enough faith in us to better ourselves. So what if you're in debt for the next three years? You have a higher education and you've exponentially bettered yourself.
> ...


Yes, student loans are good, as long as the graduate is able to get a job that pays well enough for the individual to repay them. Also, I think most people take much longer than 3 years to pay off their loans.


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## aanner (Jun 20, 2011)

$9000 to get my AA and probably $20000 more for my BA -_-


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## mathman (Jan 20, 2009)

With a scholarship and some money I've saved up over the years, I have zero debt of any kind.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

I had no debt. My parent's saved up money for both and my brother to go to school. My dad had a good union factory job at that time. He was earning a base rate of $30 per hour. He worked tons of overtime. He set up an account at the Credit Union to use for my schooling. I would go in and hand them a check for my tuition every semester. He did the same for my brother.


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## MeggieGirl (Jul 8, 2011)

This makes me glad I live in Canada, 5000-7000 a year undergrad. Looks super cheap compared to US.


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

MeggieGirl said:


> This makes me glad I live in Canada, 5000-7000 a year undergrad. Looks super cheap compared to US.


That was what my undergrad was like at a public school here. Now the poor out of state students at my grad program, they get raped. Just in tuition and fees, they pay $63,000/year. Throw in living expenses and that can reach to $80K/year. That's +$300,000K for 4 years of debt, and with the 7% interest they pay, that'll be $21K/year in interest payments alone, and they won't even be able to seriously pay until after they finish residency - which at minimum are 3 years, but can be 6 years in length!


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## GaaraAgain (Oct 10, 2011)

$4000 after getting my BA.


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## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

40,000 CAD :cry

I try not to think about it. :hide


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## Laith (Mar 20, 2009)

Laith said:


> I was fortunate enough to get a discount on tuition because my dad worked at my university and I worked full-time during most of my undergrad years so I was able to pay the amount each semester on my own... Graduated with 0 debt. Tuition kept going up too, my uni is like 10k a semester now for undergrad. When I started it was about half that. Theres no way Ill be able to pay off grad school on my own though, its crazy how much education costs these days.


Look at this guy. Laith in 2012 eh?

Well good sir my prediction for you is that you'll get into med school in 2013 and will graduate with an estimated 200k debt by 2017. But don't worry. Residency is ~40-60k a year and of course triple that when you're done. So as long as you keep living modestly and make big payments you should be debt free by, lets say, 2022

I await your response, future Laith.


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## Marko3 (Mar 18, 2014)

hey friends from states.. i feel sry for u =(
bankers milking u on every step...

here school is free... i didnt have to pay a single euro to get my bachelor degree...


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## Cheesecake (Feb 2, 2007)

I don't have any debt. Scholarships and government aid paid for everything and I never accepted any loans.


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## cybernaut (Jul 30, 2010)

With my bachelor's, I'm debt-free. My good grades from high school gave me a free-ride from the government. Next year, I'm going for my Masters.If I don't get any scholarships,then a loan might have to happen. I also might resort to get my Masters overseas, since it's cheaper than American schools.


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## jjj21 (Feb 24, 2012)

Including interest, I have about $9,000 of debt. I first went to community college and then transferred to a university to get my BS degree, so my debt is relatively low. My parents paid for everything, but I applied for some financial aid, so I’m basically paying it back.


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## ev29 (Feb 12, 2013)

Think mine's about $57000 by the end, that's if I'm not affected by the new budget. If it does affect me then I have no idea... maybe 120k with interest.


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## calichick (Jul 30, 2010)

$80k with interest 

Paid off half of it myself, so $40k remaining.

Don't regret a thing because I graduated @ the top of my class and employers love that.

Got a really decent job out of college, but looking for higher at the moment. I hope to break $80k in two years and be one of those really annoying 20 something year olds who make way too much money for their age.


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## chinaski (Mar 1, 2010)

~$8,000


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## number (Oct 1, 2011)

27,000 for 3 years


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## Pancho1990 (Sep 30, 2017)

Reached $14,000 in student loans during 8 years of college at a California State University.

Had a few part-time jobs along the way, along with a full-time job later on, plus a couple scholarships to keep that loan amount from getting any higher.


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## Mlt18 (Jun 29, 2016)

Nothing. I'm paying it with money I have saved up.


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## AlixWW (Sep 26, 2017)

$0 debt and $25,000 in the bank.


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## Combine (May 8, 2017)

Undergrad at a reputable state school paid for by my parents (thanks!). Currently in graduate studies at a european uni, which is really cheap and required no loans on my part, only savings from when I worked after my undergrad. Although it's definitely better than seeing my balance in the red, it's still a bit depressing to see my hard work slowly being drained.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

The problem isn't so much the tuition (if you go to a public school), it's the rent/food/living costs that incur while you are not working.

Interesting how people with little to no debt keep bumping this thread. Is it to brag? Similar to the thread about weight. Only skinny/underweight people post in it. None of the fatties do.


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## Cam1 (Dec 4, 2011)

Still 20,000 between my federal and private student loans, and it was all for nothing as I dropped out after one year of living on campus. Complete waste of money, but oh well. I've been making the minimum payments because that's all I can afford since I'm now paying out of pocket for college and working and it's not even making a dent. Private loan interest rates ****ing suck. 

Anyone who tells you not to worry about the debt and get your degree is an idiot, it's really expensive and no one should take out large loans to go to college unless they know specifically what they are going for.


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## BAH (Feb 12, 2012)

1 Cent


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## potato420 (Oct 11, 2017)

Zero, I live at home and go to community college. It's not fun like a university tho.


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## RickandMorty100years (Oct 6, 2017)

It's gonna be about 40k when I'm finally done, could be worse I guess. At least my loan will be forgiven after 10 years because of the profession I'm going into so I have that to be thankful for. 

I don't worry about it too much I figured I would go into debt for something in my adult life, might as well be for my education instead of a new car


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## pillarsofcreation (Sep 14, 2017)

UK uni here 
When I graduate I will have a debt of £27750 of student loan and probably another £33000 of maintenance...Oh my god! £61000! I hope I'll get a good job after uni!


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

30K


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Cam1 said:


> Still 20,000 between my federal and private student loans, and it was all for nothing as I dropped out after one year of living on campus. Complete waste of money, but oh well. I've been making the minimum payments because that's all I can afford since I'm now paying out of pocket for college and working and it's not even making a dent. Private loan interest rates ****ing suck.
> 
> Anyone who tells you not to worry about the debt and get your degree is an idiot, it's really expensive and no one should take out large loans to go to college unless they know specifically what they are going for.


$20,000 just for one year of school? Was it a super expensive private school?


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## Virgo (Jun 27, 2016)

None. My dad covered my community college, so I now have an AFA in Visual Arts. And, when I get my BFA, I get that for free because my dad works at our state school. Believe me when I say I wouldn't be going for it if it wasn't free. Damn, I'm really lucky.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Virgo said:


> None. My dad covered my community college, so I now have an AFA in Visual Arts. And, when I get my BFA, I get that for free because my dad works at our state school. Believe me when I say I wouldn't be going for it if it wasn't free. Damn, I'm really lucky.


Yes you are lol. Congrats .


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## Cam1 (Dec 4, 2011)

komorikun said:


> $20,000 just for one year of school? Was it a super expensive private school?


Yeah, it was a private school. I was told that they give more money to students to put towards their tuition, which isn't a lie, but it doesn't make up for the ridiculously high tuition rates. 20,000 was just slightly over 50% of their full year tuition.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Cam1 said:


> Yeah, it was a private school. I was told that they give more money to students to put towards their tuition, which isn't a lie, but it doesn't make up for the ridiculously high tuition rates. 20,000 was just slightly over 50% of their full year tuition.


$40,000 a year tuition? Yikes. I just don't see the point of going to an expensive private college unless you get a huge grant from the college to cover the tuition. I also hear about how many go to school out-of-state to experience life in another area of the US. But since they aren't residents have to pay out-of-state tuition.

I'm surprised the parents don't put their foot down since usually they are the ones paying for it with their own money or borrowing it in their own name (not the student's name).


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