Student Loans

[jonriber]

Doing some research on people with outstanding student loan debt. Can you let me know if you have this type of debt, and what is the biggest issue you have.

Thanks. jonriber

[bjl584]

I do. From Grad School. My biggest issue is that I have student loan debt. lol. But it is more than manageable. My plan is to have it paid off in half the time. (10 years as opposed to 20.)

[dczech09]

I have student loans myself, but I do not really have too many problems. I have an amount that is more than manageable with my income.

I can tell you issues that are common for this type of debt though...

First of all, many people get really deep into student loan debt because it is really easy. It is extremely easy to get deep into student loan debt because of the easy credit, the ridiculous myths surrounding college, and the constantly increasing costs in college education.

Another issue is that only about 38% of students actually graduate from college. This suggests that less than 50% of students (or former students) probably do not make enough of an income to manage the debt they incurred. A lot of people who do actually graduate may not make enough to pay back the loans. Perhaps they have a low paying job out of desperation or maybe a low paying job because of a worthless degree. Degree is "gay studies" anybody? :P

Finally, student loans are guaranteed by the government and are not bankruptable. They cannot be cleared in bankruptcy. This issue is pretty obvious, however I believe that bankruptcy is a crummy concept anyway.

[NetSkyBlue]

I have student loans, but no real issues with them. I guess I worked hard and got lucky, because I got a 4 year degree with only about $8000 in loans. (That's half of what it cost - I paid half, my parents paid half)

I should have them paid off in February, assuming I get enough income from my part time jobs over the next couple months, and barring any financial emergencies. That will be < 8 years. (I'm spoiled, my monthly payment has only ever been around $65, most people's are in the hundreds).

[Slug]

My wife and I have loads ($63k) of it from grad school, but the rates are well below 4% right now so it's not hurting us too badly. We pay more than the minimum and will increase it if our take home increases. Mostly I'm attacking the variable rate loans because I expect inflation to kick in within a few years. That will just leave low fixed rate debt that is far more tolerable to me.

[ecoadapt]

One of the advantage of a student loan is that you do not need to repay before you graduate if you are getting a federal loan. As a matter of fact, you do not need to repay immediately after graduation either. It will let you have some time to seek for a job before you have to repay. You will start repay about 6 months after you graduate.