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Student loan debt taking a mental toll on young people
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Bobo Dakes
Member
25K + a parent plus loan my mom's been ignoring and refuses to look into since she's still in school.
Been out 3 years, paying on and off again, but I'm basically treading water because whenever I defer, interest is building up.
Hope to be making regular $500 monthly payments this time next year. To goal is to have it done by the time I'm 30, but if the last three years were any indicator, that shit ain't gonna happen.
Been out 3 years, paying on and off again, but I'm basically treading water because whenever I defer, interest is building up.
Hope to be making regular $500 monthly payments this time next year. To goal is to have it done by the time I'm 30, but if the last three years were any indicator, that shit ain't gonna happen.
Yes, yes, and yes.
Good! They should really make programs geared towards teaching cheaper, specifically. You should not have to take out $100,000+ to teach.
Mango Positive
Member
I've got about $24,000 left. My wife has $60,000. It does suck a bit to be 40 and to have just started making middle-class money a few years ago.
A private law school in 1960 cost (adjusted for inflation) $3,419 per year. Today, a private law school is $36,000 per year. That's a PRIVATE law school. Public law schools were half that.
Our politicians and parents just don't fucking get it. At all. I'm Gen X, but to hear the baby boomers whine about Millennials when they had fucking easy street (provided they were white) is infuriating. The baby boomers are the fucking worst generation and it's going to be quite a challenge to fix their shit when they're gone.
A private law school in 1960 cost (adjusted for inflation) $3,419 per year. Today, a private law school is $36,000 per year. That's a PRIVATE law school. Public law schools were half that.
Our politicians and parents just don't fucking get it. At all. I'm Gen X, but to hear the baby boomers whine about Millennials when they had fucking easy street (provided they were white) is infuriating. The baby boomers are the fucking worst generation and it's going to be quite a challenge to fix their shit when they're gone.
The Illiterati
Member
I'm 35, choosing to go back to college and then get a Masters. This thread is discouraging.
My dad went to school at a prestigious University in around the mid 70's. Was $2,000 per year. He was able to graduate with no debt by working nights at a supermarket (busted his ass, but still). Now, that same school is more like $60,000 per year. It is fucking...bananas.
I got my bachelor's in 2005. At that point, the University I went to was about $5,000/year. Right now, it is about $15,000/year. ...In 12 years!!
Prices are just out of control; it's really sickening.
DeadPhoenix
Member
Got below $50k a little while back. I picked the wrong school and the wrong subject, which on top of my personal issues, leaves me with a shit job where if i weren't living with my parents, I would be probably be fucked. However, I'm not having any nightmares about it... Probably because I've gotten pretty good at forcing myself to not think about how fucked I am.
curiouscharles
Member
as a retired actor who moved into small business to pay off his student loans [BFA UVic, MA CSSD], i completely agree [seriously, don't go to art school artists, it won't help you].
brianjones
Member
whats the alternative? work in retail/service industry?
being an adult blows
also the fact that kids are expected to know what they want to do with their lives at 18 is insane to me.. im 30 and still dont know
This sucks and the idea we are still charging people like this for any amount of University here is chilling.
That said, I didn't get my degree, have had a string of odd jobs and now am an apprentice electrician and it's all garbage on this end. If you're passionate about anything, even something people say doesn't pay or lead to anything, you should just pursue it and figure it out as you go. Not that everyone would otherwise end up miserable, but this pushing of trades always seems slightly irresponsible.
That said, I didn't get my degree, have had a string of odd jobs and now am an apprentice electrician and it's all garbage on this end. If you're passionate about anything, even something people say doesn't pay or lead to anything, you should just pursue it and figure it out as you go. Not that everyone would otherwise end up miserable, but this pushing of trades always seems slightly irresponsible.
Aztechnology
Member
whats the alternative? work in retail/service industry?
being an adult blows
also the fact that kids are expected to know what they want to do with their lives at 18 is insane to me.. im 30 and still dont know
I'll never know. I don't know how I could get to a place where I would go. "Yup, I'm content doing this for the rest of my life."
Tuturu Jones
Neo Member
Can't help but feel sorry for anyone with a student debt, got an amazing degree in my country, found a job straight out of class in less than a month and my education cost me less than a dollar. That's the third world for ya.
Dark Ninja
Member
I recently got out of student loans. It took me living at home, eating ramen and cutting my spending to the bare minimum with everything else going to my loans. Its doable if your willing to make the sacrifices. At this point though young people should know what they are getting into as its too well documented that people are suffering through debt.
Same. I put the whole thing in the back of my mind with the possibility of having an aneurysm, developing cancer or climate change destroying us in the next twenty years. I can't afford to pay the principal so it'll never go down.
Let's just say I have a shit ton of student loan debt, a couple times more than that average tbh. I'll probably be in my late 40s before paying it all off if Congress and co. doesn't save my ass in those intermediate years, and it isn't looking pretty.
BUT I'm lucky in that I'm in a career that offers some great salary and I have loving parents that have offered to help as much as they can, so obviously I can't compare myself to most others. Frankly, I'm spoiled as hell. But student loan debt in general is a long-term problem for the USA and I feel if we don't smartly address this jumbo-sized elephant in the room in a couple years (not to mention the separate problem of every boomer being retired and earning their SS/Medicare), 2007/2008 will look like a boom economy in comparison.
Cause how the fuck are we supposed to take care of our aging parents when we can't even afford avocado toast once a week due to paying off a mortgage amount of student loans?
BUT I'm lucky in that I'm in a career that offers some great salary and I have loving parents that have offered to help as much as they can, so obviously I can't compare myself to most others. Frankly, I'm spoiled as hell. But student loan debt in general is a long-term problem for the USA and I feel if we don't smartly address this jumbo-sized elephant in the room in a couple years (not to mention the separate problem of every boomer being retired and earning their SS/Medicare), 2007/2008 will look like a boom economy in comparison.
Cause how the fuck are we supposed to take care of our aging parents when we can't even afford avocado toast once a week due to paying off a mortgage amount of student loans?
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
Are junior colleges not an avenue anymore? I managed to cut my costs by 1/4 by going to a junior college my first 2 years and all of my credits transferred. I dare say that I had better teachers at the Junior College than I had at University where the lecturers were really only there for research.
balladofwindfishes
Member
They're 17/18 year olds whose entire support system is pressuring them to go to college.
Expecting them to make smart money decisions isn't a good solution.
BuddyTheBestPuppy
Member
They are in Canada, Sheridan, Seneca, Centennial. I went to Sheridan for Software Development and Network Engineering(but I also have a degree). In three years you pay like $6,000 tuition (no books or anything else needed), you have three co-ops. In each co-op one makes about 11k, so you graduate debt free. And if you are a good programmer, most companies hire you right after graduation.
One of my friends was in the same program, RBC hired him during his first co-op for 65k. But the dude did a lot of self learning! Angular, node js, java spring etc.
I think sites like Udemy, edx, coursera and youtube are the future of education. I am GLAD I chose Sheridan, I have a really good friend to thank for that, he is very wise
They are in Canada, Sheridan, Seneca, Centennial. I went to Sheridan for Software Development and Network Engineering(but I also have a degree). In three years you pay like $6,000 tuition (no books or anything else needed), you have three co-ops. In each co-op one makes about 11k, so you graduate debt free. And if you are a good programmer, most companies hire you right after graduation.
One of my friends was in the same program, RBC hired him during his first co-op for 65k. But the dude did a lot of self learning! Angular, node js, java spring etc.
I think sites like Udemy, edx, coursera and youtube are the future of education. I am GLAD I chose Sheridan, I have a really good friend to thank for that, he is very wise
What degree did you have to supplement that? Dope stuff.
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I'll have like USD$17.5k/CDN$22k when I finish up this year.
Luckily my province changed it so I won't be required to pay right away unless I have a job that pays me decently enough. I've also saved a lot of what I've made since I started working part time in 11th grade, so I've got a nice cushion. If I pursue anything beyond my undergrad, though, I dunno.
Bobo Dakes
Member
They do, but thinking back, when everyone was announcing what school they got into, it was about prestige. Anyone that mentioned going to the community was met with "yeah ... good for you, you'll get into something good after that". And in Florida, if you meet certain requirements most students got Bright Futures scholarships. Of course, I did terrible my first semester and didn't do well enough my second semester to average out the first so I lost mine quickly.
If I made better decisions, my loans would easily be half or even a third of what they are, but I can't change the past.
This thread is already giving me nightmares, never mind actually being in this situation...
This might be an ignorant question but could anyone explain to me why americans don't just buy a plane ticket and go study in Germany or France for free and have a blast the whole time, instead of getting tens of thousands of dollars in debts and burying themselves in some campus town?
Personally I'm european and I left to study in China just because they pay me to study instead of it just being free, I feel like it's working ok for me.
edit: Ha Entroyp had the same idea
This might be an ignorant question but could anyone explain to me why americans don't just buy a plane ticket and go study in Germany or France for free and have a blast the whole time, instead of getting tens of thousands of dollars in debts and burying themselves in some campus town?
Personally I'm european and I left to study in China just because they pay me to study instead of it just being free, I feel like it's working ok for me.
edit: Ha Entroyp had the same idea
Angelus Errare
Banned
If only this same "logic" was applied to the housing loan crisis...
17/18? Hey you should totally be completely knowledgeable in student loans, and the ramification, societal indoctrination be damned
30? Oh man these poor people didn't understand the subprime loans, so predatory! Shame! Empathize!
brianjones
Member
yeah and even if its a field you might like, one bad class or professor could potentially turn you off an entire career path..
im in community college right now and theres a lot of bad professors
Komatsu
Member
I find it incredibly callous to say that 17 year old teenagers should have known better than to take on the financial load to go to college.
Student debt is usually crushing to working class kids, many of which grew up in homes where no one else has a college degree and not overly developed financial skills.
As someone whose entire undergrad education cost less than $4000 and who came to the US as an adult, I find it absolutely boggling that even public schools cost tens of thousands. Did I say boggling? Scratch that. We all know why education is so expensive here. Any midsize US university has layer upon layer of "administration" staffers and execs, many making six figures.
Student debt is usually crushing to working class kids, many of which grew up in homes where no one else has a college degree and not overly developed financial skills.
As someone whose entire undergrad education cost less than $4000 and who came to the US as an adult, I find it absolutely boggling that even public schools cost tens of thousands. Did I say boggling? Scratch that. We all know why education is so expensive here. Any midsize US university has layer upon layer of "administration" staffers and execs, many making six figures.
O yeah. I wanted to do computer science at my local CC but the first CS professor I got was a total ass and he was one of those weed out professors. Basically said go fuck yourself if you can't figure out how to program out of the gate. Scared me off for years until this year. I decided to go to the other nearby CC and now I'm excelling in my CS class.
Phrynobatrachus
Neo Member
I'm half tempted to say fuck it, leave the country after I graduate, and never pay mine back.
My biggest fear is that Ill finish repaying my loans right before the country wises up and implements sweeping changes to student debt.
Like healthcare, I think the general idea is that young Americans are basically indentured workers until they break a certain pay grade, and a lot of old white dudes like it that way. Its very frustrating seeing what other countries do for their citizens.
Like healthcare, I think the general idea is that young Americans are basically indentured workers until they break a certain pay grade, and a lot of old white dudes like it that way. Its very frustrating seeing what other countries do for their citizens.
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
Some countries are considered as being dial a degree. China and India are two of those countries. That is changing. But not by the time you graduate.
If you decide to come back, expect a discerning eye on where you got your degree unless it's an "ivy" league place. You'll have to prove yourself.
Obviously for China or India you can only go to the top schools in the country if you want a meaningful degree. I studied my master long distance in France virtually for free while being paid to study Chinese (actually translation and interpretation) in China. I chose to come back to China to do my Phd in cognitive science because I had access to the top laboratory in the country.
But if you go to a european country the schools are equivalent to the schools you can find in the US.
edit: a couple of (younger, smarter) friends managed to save 40k EUROS between them while doing their master in China, with their scholarship money and the million of part-time jobs you can get while studying in China especially if your Chinese is good. Now they're fluent in Chinese and English and back to studying in some of France's best schools (respectively Sciences po and the Sorbonne). They had been living in China for a few years before that not doing quite so well, but I think you could say their investment paid in the end.
I had probably racked up around 30k Student loans, mind you that was in Canada so actually pretty high. Honestly, looking back it seems so stupid, but I just treated Student loans as spending money. Like, I would take some for tuition and books obviously, but alot of it was just random spending money, stuff for food and extra stuff like constantly buying new Computers etc. First few days of semester was always like "payday" as silly as that sounds, as the money would hit my bank account. I was also getting around 2k a semester in free grants or something as well, so I was feeling pretty good.
Seems weird now, but at the time I was actually never really worried about the loans, something that my friends and family now find hilarious. Shows how secure I felt in knowing that, first of all, I figured I would prob get a decent enough job, and also that worst case, my family would help me pay it off anyway. I was a pretty spoiled kid, but I also knew I had a great family that would always, if need be, bail me out on the off chance things didnt work out. In the end, it wasnt necessary and I payed it all off myself, but I can def sympathize with those with huge debts and no real way of paying it off in the foreseeable future.
Seems weird now, but at the time I was actually never really worried about the loans, something that my friends and family now find hilarious. Shows how secure I felt in knowing that, first of all, I figured I would prob get a decent enough job, and also that worst case, my family would help me pay it off anyway. I was a pretty spoiled kid, but I also knew I had a great family that would always, if need be, bail me out on the off chance things didnt work out. In the end, it wasnt necessary and I payed it all off myself, but I can def sympathize with those with huge debts and no real way of paying it off in the foreseeable future.
hey_monkey
Banned
It's all going to pay for dumb things, too. I'm a grad student and an instructor and it's sure not going to salaries for about half the university's faculty and staff. The administration and select departments, though... and let's not talk about building and rebuilding the most ridiculous amenities and buildings.
But at the same time, cutting down on essential services. Bigger classes, fewer advisors, less, less, less.
Something has to change.
Wish this had been an option for me.
It's not exactly common in my experience. Americans overall rarely leave the US to begin with. If you're a scientist no one cares what country you got your degrees in, but for other majors or professions, local businesses prefer resumes that look as least foreign as possible, in my experience.
Lagspike_exe
Member
Finishing my Masters in finance with 0 college debt. I live in Europe though and was always an excellent student.
Exiting the college with 100-200k of debt Ive seen some JDs / MDs in America though is a terrifying thought.
Exiting the college with 100-200k of debt Ive seen some JDs / MDs in America though is a terrifying thought.
Had 35k. $450 a month. Was fucked up. That right there was a potential car payment for a really nice car. Or the rent needed to upgrade my pad. Or making it rain at the strip club. Literally any use of that money would have felt better than spending it to do what felt necessary simply to get a job and get paid. Felt like a permanent siphon of money for shit I couldn't see or value.
You really feel it about 7 years into payments. That's long enough to have changed your life completely from your college days. You probably have new aspirations and goals. You are part of the real world making things work. And you are paying for something that you did what feels like a lifetime ago
You really feel it about 7 years into payments. That's long enough to have changed your life completely from your college days. You probably have new aspirations and goals. You are part of the real world making things work. And you are paying for something that you did what feels like a lifetime ago
I understand it all too well. Mine wasnt anywhere near as bad as others but Im glad I didnt end up sticking around all four years for my music degree because even just three semesters (with scholarships) is still, like, somewhere around 14-18k. Ive whittled it down to about 6k now. My new job at the state university actually has loan forgiveness but by the time it kicks in I would have already paid it off.. lol. My poor sister is paying over a thousand a month though. Shes lucky she found a good job. All my friends that went through college are now broke and making the same Im making. Thats nuts.
I did a BSc and a MSc here in Europe in good universities for my discipline with a total debt balance of 0. They actually gave me money to help with rent.
I genuinely feel sorry for people who have to endure such crippling debts and the years of stress that surely come with it.
I genuinely feel sorry for people who have to endure such crippling debts and the years of stress that surely come with it.
Muppet of a Man
Member
When I graduated I had about 5000 student debt.
It took me little over 2 years to pay back and even that sum was making life difficult because back then work situation was not good and I only had seldom part time jobs.
I can imagine how stressful it can be If the debt is tens of thousands.
It took me little over 2 years to pay back and even that sum was making life difficult because back then work situation was not good and I only had seldom part time jobs.
I can imagine how stressful it can be If the debt is tens of thousands.
Chinbo37
Member
I pay 1500 a month. And I still have a lot left, 6 figures.
It sucks cause on one hand but the education that i paid for definitely benefited me. I dont have any issues making the payments (although it was a lot tougher a couple years ago). I have had tons of opportunities that I got due to that education, and I made the best of them.
Now I am doing fine financially so the payments arent horrible but it still sucks. I could have a nicer car or I could have bought a house much sooner than I did. It really blows actually.
I pay down extra when I have some extra cash, but mostly I just pay the minimum and consider that I will be paying that for a long ass time.
It sucks cause on one hand but the education that i paid for definitely benefited me. I dont have any issues making the payments (although it was a lot tougher a couple years ago). I have had tons of opportunities that I got due to that education, and I made the best of them.
Now I am doing fine financially so the payments arent horrible but it still sucks. I could have a nicer car or I could have bought a house much sooner than I did. It really blows actually.
I pay down extra when I have some extra cash, but mostly I just pay the minimum and consider that I will be paying that for a long ass time.
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, my student loan debt indirectly destroyed my marriage and has pretty much ensured I'll never own a house or have children. It's awesome.