I graduated in 2001 and finished paying it off a couple years ago. And my parents paid for my first two years so I only had 2.5 years of loans to pay off.
I had $20,000 in loans when I graduated in 2000. Shortly thereafter, though, my grandparents passed away and left me $20,000, so I was able to pay them off in full.
It was really hard, at 22, not to do anything fun with the money. But they'd left it with the instruction that it was to defray the cost of my education, so there you have it. I feel very lucky.
I don't think know anyone who went to college who didn't have to take out any student loans.
Post by fuckyourcouch on Jan 1, 2013 18:20:40 GMT -5
My university cost, at the time, was about 80k for four years. I got scholarships, my parents paid about 10k, and I had 5k in loans. I also worked full time and graduated early to reduce costs. My graduate school was paid on assistantship except for something like 120 fee/semester.
Post by Jalapeñomel on Jan 1, 2013 18:30:36 GMT -5
We have a lot. Getting a Ph.D in literature for DH and a second bachelor's for me was a major financial commitment. We decided to have student loans over owning new cars or a home for the next 15ish years.
$46K. 4.5 years of undergrad (swapped majors halfway in and graduated a semester late) + 2 years of grad school. More than it should have been, honestly. I used student loans to pay for my move to where I started undergrad (deposit, 1st month's rent, utilities turn-on). Looking back, I wish I had been smarter about how much I took out.