College peeps. Do you have student loans?

[Danoz]

So, I'm graduated, and I just pushed to get my loans deferred (which worked, thanks to my relatively low salary and the cost of living in D.C.) Through college, I really took advantage of the student loans. Summers and winters I worked full time between semesters in a paper factory (tough, yet enjoyable manual labor at 50 hours a week) which gave me a fair amount of semester spending money for all the semester's food and social expenses. Tuition? Living? These things I covered on loan.

I always thought it was cool that some students worked full time, went to school part time, and stayed out of debt... but I don't think I could have done it and had the same experience. I was involved in dozens of extracurricular activities (two choirs and barbershop), Intermediate Japanese and coffee hours, volunteering, additional graduate-level research (which helped me get this job) and two majors (pol.sci and public comm). I often studied late into the night and early morning, and I did ample reading. I played racquetball three times a week and lifted/ran daily. It seemed like, to me at least, that college was about having a diverse, well-rounded experience both academic and social. I miss college. It helped that I had the factory job for seven years to supplement my income and cover most of my food and expenses (and even things like textbooks, which were literally some 500 dollars a semester).

All of this, however, was made possible by taking out new direct loans every semester. While I've heard some people get angry and criticize this, I don't regret it one bit! It was a diverse background of research and language that helped me get my first job.

I'll start my life in a little (or lot) a bit of debt. Luckily, student loan debt IS the only debt I have, and I'll be able to get it consolidated when I finally start paying the Leviathan back for all its help.

 

[John Picard]

I'm on the "Pay as you go" plan and get tuition reimbursement from my employer. Oh yeah, I'm 40 and building up from an AAS to get my BA

 

[farmkid]

I just finished a Ph.D. in Biochemistry a few months ago. That was the culmination of 14 years of college (5 for BS, 2 for MS, and 7 for Ph.D.). In that time, I got married and had 5 children. I worked part time while getting my BS and MS, and my wife did daycare in our home part of the time. I was paid as a GSR (Graduate Student Researcher) while getting my Ph.D. and I also delivered newspapers for about a year. I had to get some loans on occasion, but my total for the 14 years was only about $25,000. I'm not too worried about paying that off.

 

[Danoz]

I just finished a Ph.D. in Biochemistry a few months ago. That was the culmination of 14 years of college (5 for BS, 2 for MS, and 7 for Ph.D.). In that time, I got married and had 5 children. I worked part time while getting my BS and MS, and my wife did daycare in our home part of the time. I was paid as a GSR (Graduate Student Researcher) while getting my Ph.D. and I also delivered newspapers for about a year. I had to get some loans on occasion, but my total for the 14 years was only about $25,000. I'm not too worried about paying that off.

That's highly impressive. I'm at $17,000 for five years of undergrad (partly because I could only take so much out.) I'm looking forward to going back to getting an advanced degree in foreign policy or post-conflict reconstruction.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Nope, no loans. All scholarships and grants. For undergraduate I got a $10,000 scholarship each year from the California Masons. It came as a shock and great surprise to me. My mom was crying when she heard about it. It covered all of my tuition and living expenses, so I didn't work except during the summers. I went to a CSU (California State University) so tuition was only a little over $3,000 a year. I lived in the dorms the first two years and in an apartment with two other girls (one of them my sister) the last two years. I just graduated in May and now I'm going to graduate school.

I'm going to a different CSU for grad school so my tuition is still pretty cheap (the other state university system, UC, is a few thousand more expensive than a CSU but still much cheaper than a private university). I have a grant from the department for this year (not sure if I'll get it again next year) which covers about 75% of my tuition.

I also get a $1,000 scholarship every semester (undergrad and grad) from the Choctaw Nation because I am part Choctaw. That added to my grant means that I get about $500 back after paying tuition, so I use that for books and other expenses. Though now that I'm in grad school buying books is WAY cheaper. No textbooks, just cheap little books.

I feel really lucky to have gotten these scholarships. I have no debt, I don't even have a credit card, and sometimes I'm amazed by how lucky I've been thus far.

But I worked my ass off in high school, which is why I received the $40,000 scholarship (academic reasons). I also worked my ass off in my senior year of high school to get financial aid. I applied to tons of scholarships, probably around 50. I wrote a billion essays and bought all of those "get money for college" books. And it did pay off...I found the website for my large scholarship in one of those books and applied online.

My sister did all the same stuff that I did but only got the Choctaw scholarship. She has had to take out loans for tuition, but they aren't much at all since the tuition is so low (she went to the same undergrad as me). So really even if you do all the right things it still comes down to luck. But if you don't try you'll never get anything.

Anyway, good job on getting through college with so little debt. I know a lot of people who can't say the same.

 

[Crewman47]

I was just thinking about this as I'm about to start making my repayments here as I've now reached the income threshold for repayments. Over here, in Scotland anyway, you get your loan which can be up to £6,000 plus any interest added on it which does you for the Higher National qualification courses, lasting for two years. Once you're done you only need to start repayments once you earn over £15,000 a year and I've just learned that repayments are made at 9% of Gross annual salary of the amount over that £15,000 (that's if I understand it right). Anyway for me that's going to work out at around £90 off my salary every month. Now if I do have the figures right then I'm going to grudge making these payments but I'm hoping that I'm totally wrong and my repayments end up being a lot less than I think.

And to think I was starting to feel happy for once because I'm going up a few pay grades.

 

[Danoz]

Anyway, good job on getting through college with so little debt. I know a lot of people who can't say the same.

Congratulations .

This is how my fiancee was in high school, and she got a lot of help at university.

Me? I was so convinced I was going to be an 3D artist for video games and Pixar animation studios that I shirked most of my high school responsibilities for creative writing, web design, reading, computers, speech & debate and football. I had actually never been a good student to that point. Even in first grade I was diagnosed with ADHD and brought home incomplete grades. It wasn't until college that I learned organizational skills and time management, and by that time I was resigned to paying full tuition for five years.

 

[Lindley]

Fortunately I never had to deal with student loans. The trust fund set up by my grandparents took care of my education.

 

[Hermiod]

I had loans, I have paid them all off now but I get a statement every year telling me I owe £0.00.

 

[TheBrew]

I have loans, but they will be wiped out in short order after I graduate. Where can I get international experience for graduate school AND save enough to pay for said school?

Kuwait, baby.

 

[John Picard]

I had loans, I have paid them all off now but I get a statement every year telling me I owe £0.00.

What's that in Euros

 

[Hermiod]

I had loans, I have paid them all off now but I get a statement every year telling me I owe £0.00.

What's that in Euros

These days ? About €1bn.

 

[LunarYoma]

i am working full time & have been going to collage part time. at 1st i took out several student loans to pay for all my bills & other dept i had to pay off. a defered 5% interest for my loans is better that any other on going interest i had at the time. past 3 years i have gotten no student loans at all, past 2 years i payed off all my student loans, plus past 3 years i have been paying for all my classes myself, while i got the ocational grant. aside from my regular monthly bills, i have zero dept to my name.

 

[RoJoHen]

so tuition was only a little over $3,000 a year.

I hate you.

My tuition was almost $40,000 a year.

I have loans coming out my ass.

 

[Nobody]

Do I have student loans? Me?





I got through undergrad without them but there was no avoiding them for law school.



-nobody

 

[trampledamage]

so tuition was only a little over $3,000 a year.

I hate you.

My tuition was almost $40,000 a year.

I have loans coming out my ass.

Where were you studying? Mars?

 

[iguana_tonante]

Nope, no loans. All scholarships and grants.

Same here, plus I lived with my parents so home and food weren't an issue. On the other hand, university fee in Italy are ridiculously cheap compared to the US.

 

[Holdfast]

I was fortunate enough in my family's income that I didn't have any debt on leaving university.

 

[Nobody]

That's how you can afford such awesome shoes.



-nobody

 

[RoJoHen]

so tuition was only a little over $3,000 a year.

I hate you.

My tuition was almost $40,000 a year.

I have loans coming out my ass.

Where were you studying? Mars?

A private liberal arts college.

I wish I could go back in time.