Cost of your education

**jIM_Ohio** · 08-13-2008, 06:34 PM

Me-

College cost about 84k
starting salary was 39k with a 10% bonus, paid each quarter, based on organization meeting profit and revenue goals.

**disneysteve** · 08-13-2008, 06:55 PM

I actually don't recall how much my education cost. I do know I graduated with $102,000 in student loans. That was after 4 years of undergraduate college and 4 years of medical school.

After med school, I did a 1-year internship and a 2-year residency. During those 3 years, I earned in the neighborhood of 30K/year. My first year in practice after residency, I earned 65K.

**JinCO** · 08-13-2008, 07:04 PM

For tuition only I think the total was about $100K. About $70K undergrad and $30K grad school. Starting salary was around $70K.

**cptacek** · 08-13-2008, 08:03 PM

You know, I don't even know how much my college was. I had a lot of academic scholarships, civic/volunteer based scholarships, and played two sports in college, and my family was poor so I got the maximum Pell grant. I actually got money back from the school for two years (and it was a small private school) after all the scholarships were applied. The other two years, it must not have been much out of pocket...so little I don't even remember.

Grad school was paid for by being a TA, plus I got a $13,000 per year stipend.

Sorry! Not much help.

My first job out of grad school was $68,000 in 2001. Others starting that same job without the Masters degree were getting $58,000.

**atomicrc11** · 08-13-2008, 08:33 PM

My education cost $150k, most of which was grants and scholarships. It was 4 years undergrad. I ended up with 20k in loans after the grants and scholarships. I paid for most of the living expenses with a job I had from Sophomore year onward. Starting salary was $42k. Four years out of school I'm now up to $90k.

On a personal note, I went to a private school that cost a lot of money. I probably wouldn't have gone there without the scholarships and grants. My next choice was a state school that would have cost me around $50k total.

**Coleroo** · 08-13-2008, 08:54 PM

Im 25 and live in South Carolina...I earned 2 associates (business and marketing) for free off of our state's life scholarship program (I was valedictorian in my high school class). My degrees had no effect on my salary - Before graduation, I was already working in payroll/HR, earning 22k per year.

My husband (who is also 25) did not attend college. The starting salary at his current job was 19k per year, and has almost doubled since then.

I am now a stay at home mom (so my full time income is gone), but I do run some online businesses which do fairly well. Hubby also does lawn work as a part time job.

So essentially, we currently live off of roughly 45k - 50k per year after paying nothing for an education, in a nice, low cost of living area... and hubby's pay is steadily increasing each year. I kinda like the way that has turned out.

On the flip side..... My 23 year old cousin just graduated this past May, married, and "started life" - her college costs at a private university was in the 100ks. Her starting salary at a job she just took is around 100k per year - but she will be living in Maryland and working in DC.

**Fizgig** · 08-13-2008, 09:10 PM

I think the other relevant part of this thread is how much was financed through loans. A rule of thumb is that your total student loan debt shouldn't exceed your first year's starting salary, and there's some debate about whether that's truly possible or realistic. I think it's a good goal, but there are certainly times when it makes sense to finance more.

My college education cost about $50k, rough estimate of tuition and books only. The 1st two years were at a community college so I saved major bucks there, and paid as I went. (None of it was paid by family)

Cost: ~$50k, Loans $22k, 1st salary $43k

**DebtFreeMe2** · 08-13-2008, 11:13 PM

Well,

After 3 years of being in college, racking up $30,000 in loans I dropped out, realized that as a physics major that when I couldn't find the dumb kid in class, I was in trouble.

So Joined the Air Force and got a $19,000 a year job as an A1C (Airman 1st Class). 2001 got out and went back to school, this time with the GI bill. Middle of my first semester back came September 11th. Went back into the Air Force, and am still doing it because the world is not a safe place for our country or any democracy.

With the rise of mainstream colleges having online degrees, just this week I have signed up to start taking classes again in business. This time with a scholarship and the Air Force tuition assistance program it won't cost me anything to go to school except for books, which are paid in cash.

Only advice I have is to do it right the first time, get your degree and move on with life.

DebtFreeMe2

**savingmama** · 08-14-2008, 06:31 AM

I definitely think there is no hard and fast rule about how much debt you should go into compared to your starting salary. I do think you should be wise about it. Why go to an IVY league school, spend $40,000/year for tuition and then do elementary ed and start at $30,000/year? There are other options such as community college and in-state schools or seeking scholorships.
For me, I have a bachelors and came out of college with no debt. I was able to get scholarships, my mom paid my rent until I was married and during the last year and a half when I was married my husband and I both worked, both got scholarships and got a wonderful thing called grant money.
After undergrad, though, my husband did medical school. There are no community college med schools. There are state schools, but they can be extremely difficult to get into and there may be some scholarships, but they are few and far between. We were lucky that he got to go to a state school where the tuition cost was only $11,000/year. I know other people where in order to make the dream of being a doctor happen they have to pay to go to an out of state school $50,000/year or go to a DO school and pay $50,000/ year. It would be easy to get into debt in the $200K to
$300K for medical school. And depending on your speciality you can start in the low $100K (after residency). But sometimes you go into a field not just because the financials are going to work out exactly right, but because that is REALLY what you want to do.

So here are our stats:
Undergrad debt: $0
Med school: $110K debt- all government loans with interest rates locked in at 2.77% (for $85K) and 4.5% (for 25K)
Currently my husband is in the middle of his 5 year residency where income is in the low $40k. Fortunately you can defer paying on your student loans until after residency and fellowship, but your interest keeps accuring. So our debt will be about $130K when my husband finishes, but in his specialty (orthopedics) he will start out around $300K.

**Caoineag** · 08-14-2008, 06:31 AM

Probably $60k for college expenses (total for everything, 5 years spent on a bachelor's), $20k in student loans, first job paid $20k (did this for 6 months) and second job paid $27k. My work recently paid for a certificate related to my work field which saved me $1200.

**MonkeyMama** · 08-14-2008, 06:59 AM

Education - $1k per semseter + $500 books/semester = $3000year.

5 years = $15k. Graduates 1999. State college.

My last year was paid for (scholarships), but I took some summer courses (1 community college and a couple at school - so probably works out to about $15k out of pocket).

I was going to pay my own room and board regardless of college, but even in the most expensive area of the U.S. my room and board only ran $500/month. (OFF campus - much cheaper). I don't count that as a COLLEGE expense though.

I took a Masters course at my alma mater for $750 (entire program was EXCELLENT and only $7500, for 10 courses). I took one private online course for $1500 when we moved. It didn't affect my pay.

Starting salary was $30k. Accounting is an odd duck where experience is far more important than education. So the best route for the long run is to go get paid pennies at a big firm and be worked to death, for the experience. That's what I did. The salary sucked (as I mentioned, expensive area) BUT that experience was far more important to my career than my actual college degree.

Since there is such a shortage in the field, today the degree cost little more but starting pay is an easy $60k, for the same route. As such I am grossing $75k after only 9 years. My pay rose 50% in the last 5 years alone. (We even moved somewhere cheaper with lower salaries). Which sounds grand, but I get paid little more than the new kids out of college in the end. CPA firms biggest cost is their employees, and the pay has doubled in a few very short years. So the people at the top don't see much of it. But no complaints about the pay raises either.

I share this because not sure how relevant starting pay is. My spouse graduated from same business program - different concentration and started $28k/year in marketing. BUT when we both worked his raises mirrored mine. Experience is an important factor in business & your pay rises very rapidly the first few years. We both could have found jobs in the $60k range but went different routes that were better for our careers in the long run. But we were both up to $60k within 2-3 years anyway.

My college was worth every penny. I don't agree that all education is worth every penny. But I wouldn't have minded paying more for a degree I could have paid off quickly after school. (Like this one). I feel blessed my college cost pennies, really.

California - excellent, cheap education. I just paid as I went - no loans.

**red92s** · 08-14-2008, 07:25 AM

My parents "deal" with me was that they would pay for an in-state, public education . . .beyond that I was on my own. This was made quite clear during the college visitation and selection process.

I was eligible for a "HOPE" scholarship for ANY in-state public school in GA, funded by the Georgia Lottery. All tuition and fees paid, and a book stipend, as long as you maintained a 3.0 GPA (not easy in a tough engineering curriculum).

My parents covered most of my major expense (rent). I worked in a sorority house kitchen for spending money, a free meal plan, and the obvious perks of the job. I studied abroad for one semester at a cost of about $12,000, which was paid via a trust fund my grandparents established for education. In total, my entire degree (5 years) cost less than a single year for an out of state student in the same program.

I graduated with a couple hundred dollars in credit card debt, but no school loans. My initial salary was $50k/year, and now stands around $62k/yr two years later. Still primarily debt free, working towards setting my kids and grandkids up with the same educational assistance I had.

**skydivingchic** · 08-14-2008, 07:50 AM

I would estimate that my college education cost about $30k including books, tuition, living expenses, etc. That is for a 4 year degree at a State University. It was paid for using savings, scholarships, part time work during the school year, full time work during the summers, and some help from my parents. The last year I did have to take out a loan, but I graduated with less than $3k of student loan debt. My starting salary was $40k.

Since graduation my company has paid for me to get several professional certificates/licenses. I would estimate that they have paid about $15k worth of prep classes, test fees, and license fees for me over the past 8 years.

**jIM_Ohio** · 08-14-2008, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by MonkeyMama View Post

Starting salary was $30k. Accounting is an odd duck where experience is far more important than education. So the best route for the long run is to go get paid pennies at a big firm and be worked to death, for the experience. That's what I did. The salary sucked (as I mentioned, expensive area) BUT that experience was far more important to my career than my actual college degree.

I share this because not sure how relevant starting pay is. My spouse graduated from same business program - different concentration and started $28k/year in marketing. BUT when we both worked his raises mirrored mine. Experience is an important factor in business & your pay rises very rapidly the first few years. We both could have found jobs in the $60k range but went different routes that were better for our careers in the long run. But we were both up to $60k within 2-3 years anyway.

I would agree 100% on experience factor- I would agree more, but 100% is as high as I go.

I left off my post some other money numbers:

1) Tuition 84k over 6.75 years. Most of this was from first 4.5 years where I was full time.

2) Every year from Freshman year on I co-oped. Probably earned between 10-15k as Freshman and was earning close to 30k per year by the time I was a senior.

During Freshman-Junior year the money was saved (lived at home) and I paid my room&board (fraternity house) and interest on the debt, plus also set aside enough to make my car payments while at school (360 miles from home).

During 3 senior years I moved around the country, so the co-op wages paid my living expenses (food, room, board) and I saved enough to make my car payments while in school and pay for room/board while in school too.

3) The co-op experience got me the job I have now. I was offered more to do same job a few other places, but I did not know enough about sub contracting to know how to handle 1099 taxes and similar.

My choices were 39k working for company which developed the software I was using in Ohio
OR
contract at Ford for $50/hour and handle all my taxes on my own teaching same software and working with many of the people I work with now, just handling Ford specific issues.

If I would have known more, I would have taken the Ford offer because the money would have incremented up from about 60k per year rather than the 39k. But within 3 years I was at 50k salary anyway (I received excellent raises).

Cost of your education