How much student loan debt are you carrying?

[Orrex]

Poll question: How much student loan debt are you carrying?

[geekgrrl]

1. more than $30,000 ? How about WAY MORE (like $100,000) than $30,000 before I finish my phd nt.

[NightWatcher]

2. I just crossed the 8500 mark. woohoo

[carlyhippy]

3. we are in the 2nd year of college for my kid

well over 40,000 by graduation.

[wellstone dem]

4. same here, I paid off mine

and now have about 30,000 for my college junior. And she has her own too.

[carlyhippy]

9. yep, my kid has her own loans too, the 40,000 is our plus loans

then I get to start all over with the younger kid in 3 years

[SheilaT]

5. None. But then I went to college

back when a typical summer job could earn enough to pay tuition, books, and fees at most public colleges and Universities around the country.

When I tried to explain that to my now 21 year old son a couple of years ago, he simply couldn't comprehend that.

Now personally, I do not understanding going into significant debt for a private school when public ones do cost a great deal less, but it's possible to run up pretty good debt at a public University.

[TahitiNut]

15. Yup. "I worked my way through college" is regarded by today's youth like ....

... "I killed dinosaurs to eat" or "I walked a mile to school in the snow." :shrug:

[phusion]

17. I disagree with you...

Most of my friends worked through college, including myself (public uni). Except it's working for ~$9/hr which barely pays for food, insurance, etc...

[Selatius]

19. Wish I had a time machine and went to university in those days. Oh well. I got 25K in loans.

And they gonna take a while to pay off.

[OhioChick]

6. Far more than 30K...

By the time my kid gets into grad school and finishes......well over 100K EASY.

[LWolf]

7. I paid them off a few years ago.

I need to take out more, but can't afford to, so I'm putting off the next degree.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

8. probably the smartest thing i ever did

was NOT accept loan based financing of college. i worked my way through...taking classes when i could afford them and living in a rathole for a few years (not like MOST of the college dorm rooms :-) )

sP

onEdit : to save my marriage...marrying my WIFE was the smartest thing i ever did...the loan thing is second or third...i will be told exactly where later...

[mnhtnbb]

10. Our son received a scholarship that will just about cover his tuition

at UNC Chapel Hill (in-state) for 4 years. We pay his living expenses (dorm/food). His grandmother
left him some money that is being used to pay for books. He gets summer jobs to earn spending money.

With any luck, he will graduate in 4 years with NO student loans.

[SmokingJacket]

21. THAT'S the way to do it:

Have a smart kid!

My oldest just started middle school... I can only hope he's smart enough to get a scholarship somewhere.

[librechik]

11. $195,000

more than my house mortgage.

[stranger81]

12. started with about $160K, now down to about $35K [n/t]

[stranger81]

13. deleted - dupe

[chaska]

14. Yeah, most of us that would check the last option have left the country already...

Mine is over $80,000. No possible way of ever paying it off, and yet I pay $500 a month (under threat of garnishment ... and worse).

And what did my English degree get me? I drive a truck.

Someone please remind me why I love America.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Zip. G.I. Bill and the swing shift at the Post Office paid for it...along with food stamps.

But, that was in the late '60's/early '70's. A whopping $2.50 a semester at community college, then $170.00 a quarter at Cal State. Books were a bitch though.

[kick-ass-bob]

18. Well, for 2 of us it is 30K+

which is what I put down.

But, they will be paid off by the end of next year. :bounce:

[juno jones]

20. Mr Feb has loans for around $12000

that have ballooned to around $30000. For a tech school that wound up going bankrupt. Can he even get a job in his field?

Resounding 'no'. He's competent in his field but he went to THAT school.

I think we need some sort of amnesty or forgiveness for student loans. I'm surprised anybody can pay them back.

[Blue Belle]

22. I'm still in school...

and still acquiring loans - although I have more scholarships than loans.

[mizzuzmojorizin]

23. $19,000 for a BA...Should I get a Master's? I haven't been able to secure a job (I am 42)

I went back to school and thought that getting a BA would open all these doors but then the bottom fell out and it's not such a piece of cake. I just sent in my first loan payment from a certain lender, but am deferring the others. And when I contacted them, they were very cool about it, too.

I would never get an unsubsidized loan, though.

[taught_me_patience]

24. 150k between me and the wife

She's an M.D. and I'm getting my mba. It's worth it in the long run.

[Chisox08]

25. I have about 18k in loans

It's going to take a while to pay those off.

[supernova]

26. None. Was able to go on Veterans' Scholarship

as a child of a WWII veteran, I was able to get a scholarship to a state school. It paid for my tuition and board for all four years.

If I want to get a graduate degree, however, I'll have to take out loans for that. So far, I've been unwilling.

[MountainLaurel]

27. $17,000 remaining for my master's degree

And I've already paid off my undergraduate loans -- I think it was about $12,000. And that was at a state university while working the entire time, plus scholarships every year I was there.

[Horse with no Name]

28. I paid mine off years ago

Thankfully.
My daughter is in her last year of college and we have tried keeping up on her loans and expenses.
At this moment...she owes around $2k and I will probably have that paid off by the end of this year.