# How much did you/will you take in loans?



## JEmerson (Mar 25, 2010)

If you already finished university, how much did you borrow in loans? Do you wish you had borrowed less? Or if you're still going, how much are you taking out? 

Sometimes I really wish I had wealthy parents who could pay my way for college. haha But unfortunately, it's all left up to me. 

Basically, I just found out that the university I was planning on attending this fall is giving me less in grants than I originally expected. They say they give out a lot less to transfer students than to incoming freshman (I'm coming from comm. college) Therefore, the loans I'll need to take out to go there will be $$$$. And I don't know whether it's worth it.


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## Catlover4100 (Feb 10, 2009)

That is one of the few problems with community college. All of my family kept telling me to go to cc and then transfer as "it will be so much cheaper!". Well, if you attend any college as a transfer, they almost always cut your merit schlorships by at least half, if not more, at least that's what I've seen from all the colleges I've researched. I'm going to a small private college next year. The tuition is $20,500 and I'm getting the maximum amount of scholarships possible ($13,500 per year). After need-based aid, my tuition is almost covered without loans. Unfortunately, all of those textbooks and sneaky fees pile up quickly, so I'm taking out a subsidized Stafford loan for $3500. I'm really hoping to keep my undergrad spending to a minimum, as I will probably end up in $150,000+ in debt after grad school:/


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## Steve123 (Sep 13, 2009)

Luckily I finished 100% debt free. Unfortunately so far it means nothing as my degree has done nothing for me.


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## JEmerson (Mar 25, 2010)

Catlover4100 said:


> That is one of the few problems with community college. All of my family kept telling me to go to cc and then transfer as "it will be so much cheaper!". Well, if you attend any college as a transfer, they almost always cut your merit schlorships by at least half, if not more, at least that's what I've seen from all the colleges I've researched. I'm going to a small private college next year. The tuition is $20,500 and I'm getting the maximum amount of scholarships possible ($13,500 per year). After need-based aid, my tuition is almost covered without loans. Unfortunately, all of those textbooks and sneaky fees pile up quickly, so I'm taking out a subsidized Stafford loan for $3500. I'm really hoping to keep my undergrad spending to a minimum, as I will probably end up in $150,000+ in debt after grad school:/


Wow, it sounds like you've got it worked out really well. Is that including living on campus or do you commute?


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## JEmerson (Mar 25, 2010)

Steve123 said:


> Luckily I finished 100% debt free. Unfortunately so far it means nothing as my degree has done nothing for me.


Ah. What's your degree in? Plus I see you're in Canada. I thought I heard that college was a lot more inexpensive for you guys, is that true? Costs are rising like crazy here in the US.


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## melissa75 (Feb 16, 2010)

After getting my graduate degree, I now owe $55k. I had scholarships, but they didn't cover much. I couldn't get any grants. Oh, and that's not counting the interest that is accruing. I still think it was worth b/c I thrive on gaining knowledge and the challenge of it. I couldn't see myself stuck in a low-level job bc I didn't get my degrees. Some people do really well without a degree, but I probably would not have.


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## imt (Sep 22, 2008)

I refuse to take out more than $2,000 in loans. I hate owing people.


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## Steve123 (Sep 13, 2009)

JEmerson said:


> Ah. What's your degree in? Plus I see you're in Canada. I thought I heard that college was a lot more inexpensive for you guys, is that true? Costs are rising like crazy here in the US.


Sociology (some of it interesting, some of it not, none of it worth it). Costs are rising here as well but my last year of tuition was only about $6000 (CAD of course), then there's books with were God knows how much (too scared to keep count). The fact that my parents paid my rent for me was a HUGE help. Also, I'm a pretty cheap guy and of course with SA I didn't incur a lot of the costs other students do (namely, clubbing).

It varies quite a bit from province to province I hear. In B.C. tuition is supposedly something like half the cost of Ontario (where I went to school).


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## Perfectionist (Mar 19, 2004)

BC is like 2500 a semester I think? So about 7500 a year. Then books. If you live on campus it's really expensive.

I have never had to take out a loan. I am ever so thankful. It looks like I will finish my undergrad loan free.


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

I'll owe about 70,000$(U.S). I've borrowed too much since I was delayed because of sa and changing my majors,but I hope that I'll manage somehow :sigh Not going to borrow anymore now since I only have one semester left.Guess I have to find alternative ways to pay if I decide to take extra course or a master.
Maybe I'll just have to become a teacher since finding a job with a bachelor in english will be hard..:|
No,I'm not looking forward to applying for jobs and I can't say that I think that any employer would be happy to have me..
Asking my parents wasen't an option at all here,they didn't save up anything for that purpose and I've only asked them for serious help once.Hate asking for money.


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## ryanb (Nov 16, 2009)

*


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

I am less than 2 weeks away from completing year 3. So far, I have taken about 90,000 in loans (actually more, my parents paid 10,000 towards the principal and I lived very cheaply so I was able to pay some back myself). 
I am expecting another 40,000 for year 4. So a total of 130-140,000 before I graduate.
Then, interest will accumulate for 4 years at 6.8%. After then when I am able to start paying back, it will probably be 200-250,000 in total.


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## cakesniffer (Nov 11, 2003)

$0. Thank God. My education probably cost over $50,000, but I paid for it all with settlement money. I know quite a few people who have taken out loans, and I'm so glad I'm not in that situation.

I agree with buying all of your books online. If possible, even borrow them from the library if they're available. I can't tell you how many books I borrowed from the library during college. It saves a ton of money.


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## gopherinferno (Apr 7, 2009)

I will be about $12-15,000 in debt when I finish. I never even needed the money to pay for tuition because I had a full paid scholarship and grants, but my mom basically made me get loans to help her pay bills and for car repairs and spending money :/ 

I like having the money to spend but at the same time it's really gonna suck to have to spend the rest of my life paying off money from only four years. Hopefully I'll buy a car with the last big chunk of it, at least.


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## caithiggs (Jan 11, 2009)

I plan on finishing uni this year. I will have only needed to take out two loans, I think they will add up to approximately $17,000.00. Thankfully not more, but still a lot, because I want to pay it off before I go on to do anything else, and I know my degree won't do much for me, I'll want to move on to greener pastures which will be more expensive.


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## Justonekitty (Apr 12, 2010)

I grad in 98 w/ two Bach degrees cost about 50 or 60,000. In 2000-2002 I went to Grad school for about 20 or 30,000. Total about 80,000. I got a great deal at 3% when rates were low. I pay almost 400 a month in student loans. I just went back for post grad and had to take out a 3,000 loan which hopefully is all I need to borrow. I make a little over 20.00/hr which is about 38,000 a year.


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## sparkationsgirl (Oct 25, 2008)

20,000. I wish I took out less. I would have much rather preferred working a year or 2 before heading to university.


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## huh (Mar 19, 2007)

Too much. It's depressing to even think about it. One of the worst decisions I've made.


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## broseph (Jan 18, 2010)

Gonna end up with about 25,000 by the time I finish. Then I got grad school so I'm not sure what exactly is gonna happen then.

It'll be worth it though in the long run. Engineering pays pretty well and I'm a good student so I'm not worried about not being able to find a job, which won't be for a long time if I end up trying to get a PhD.


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## subzero0 (Jun 18, 2005)

taking out loans is probably the dumbest thing you could do


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## TheCanadian1 (Sep 14, 2009)

My loans will amount to about $35,000



i love seinfeld said:


> taking out loans is probably the dumbest thing you could do


You're quite WRONG.

I have trouble with studying, focus, attention and need the extra time that would otherwise be taken up by a job. A loan for me is going to cover my education fees and living costs.

I get the added benefit of a provincial retention program. If I stay in Saskatchewan for 4 years after I graduate I will receive between 30-50% of my student loan back in tax credits.

I can't afford an education, and I've made mistakes in my life... poor financial decisions. A loan is allowing me to move forward in life. Yes I will additional costs after school, but with a well paying job, the only drawback is I can't afford an awesome car for a few years.


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## Squizzy (Dec 21, 2004)

Probably $80,000 just for my undergrad but I did do 5 years and I did make a horrible, horrible financial mistake when choosing my school. I am hoping that with a career as an RN I will be able to manage the payments. It is depressing to think about


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## Magical Delusional (Apr 28, 2010)

I'm getting about $7500 a year for undergrad, and my parents get a loan for about $15,000. After undergrad, I might go to grad school. I'm about 90% sure that I'm switching my major (just switching my major and minor around, so it's not too complicated) and the new major would make it much more likely that I'll get a job right out of college, unlike my current major. So if I don't go right on to grad school, I'll be much more likely to start paying off the loans. But my ultimate goal is to get a doctorate (either Ph.D or M.D., or both if I'm driven enough) and the career field I want to work in pays pretty well. So even if I accumulate a lot of dept, I'm confident that I will be able to pay it off.


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