Student loans - They suck

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Beaniebon

Pepe, a symbol associated with white supremacy
kiwifarms.net
Unless I come into a shit load of money or get a super good job, I'll just make minimum payments I suppose. I (by the time I graduate) will have enough to where saving up and just paying it all off by being frugal for a couple years isn't going to do shit (ie I'm in more than just a few grand). I'm in no rush to pay it off even if in the end I pay more.
 

Arkangel

Computer Science and Computer Violence
True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
I took out student loans to help jump-start my current time in University. I signed my name on the contract knowing full well what I was getting into. I view my education as an investment, and being a STEM major, while not a guarantee of landing a good job, I feel will provide a greater chance to pay them off relatively quickly.

I don't think student loans are inherently bad. Just don't sign your name on something you know you won't be able to deal with in the future.
 

Yellow Yam Scam

not the kind of boy you're looking for
True & Honest Fan
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I signed the papers without thinking twice about them. Part of it was my parent's fault for not explaining to me the gravity of what I was signing up for, but eh, I take the blame.

Fortunately, thanks to a skill that had n o t h i n g to do with what I learned at college, I was able to make some very large lump sums of cash two years ago. It really wasn't that much money, basically just a year or two's salary that I got upfront. I used that to pay the loans off in full. That was the first and only payment I ever made towards them. All things considered, it worked out pretty well as far as 18 year olds taking $30,000 worth of loans of go.
 

idosometimes

kiwifarms.net
Student loans are a really safe bet if you stick to government loans. The rewards are much higher income than non-college grad (statistically). The cost is a portion of that income for 10 years or nothing other than potential taxes on forgiven money. Income based repayment allows people with loans to pay nothing for like 20 years and then have debt forgiven. Forgiven debt is taxable unless you are insolvent, which someone who can't afford student loans would be.

In short, the complaints over student loans are a lot of bunk.
 

KatsuKitty

Stone-Cold Bitch
kiwifarms.net
Graduated with some $28,000 in student debt in late 2013. After an initially aggressive payoff schedule, this sum was reduced to $8,795. The remainder is low interest so I make a minimum payment now and invest the difference.

If you have student loans, the groups greater than 3.5% interest need to be paid off aggressively. Under this amount, it makes far greater sense to invest the difference between an aggressive payment schedule and the minimum. This is because 3.5% is around the point where you can expect better returns in a mutual fund, "returns" being defined as increasing your net worth, which paying debt does.
 

Bassomatic

True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
Wait your school didn't pay you to go there? If not doing it wrong fam.

I'm only partially joking, with how much schools have as well as 3rd parties and companies, it's not insane to find a way to greatly reduce the cost of education even more so graduate schools. There are so many ways to avoid borrowing for school, but it's "the fastest" and what's scary "the easiest" so most people are younger and not aware of other options and not quite aware it'll bite them down the road. So they jump on the loan train.

The ease of getting credit for education has caused it's own bubble screwing over, the people who pay out of pocket. I paid for undergrad working and was at a state school, I couldn't do it now because the inflation. I'm not that old either. I got in just under the wire.

There are some social aspects too, less college students work than before. day to day costs have increased, quality of life has gone up on campuses passing the cost on to the consumer.

I've been on both sides of the education system and if you really care about my two cents, I fully totally and un abashed fault the gov in this case. School has always been expensive and people want/need it. The gov started making toxic loans a thing, then they took the industry over. They saw how big this gen is and wanted to make sure they started bleeding them dry from day one.

The schools were getting basically blank checks so when you can charge anything, why wouldn't you charge more? When costs started to increase the campuses and programs had to expand to lure people in. I can't tell you how many flat screen TVs are just in hall ways I saw last time I was around my UG campus, when I went it was kinda like Iraq, more shooting less desert. I'm not at saying I'm upset the college hasn't improved and cleaned up and become safer. I'm pointing out when a school or any sort of company etc, wants to get people who have these blank checks that the loan industry was handing out, they will work hard to get them.

I also think this is why college education is taken a hit in it's seriousness and challenge. When you are spending this much, you can't afford to fail and feel entitled to something. I can't blame you at 50k a year I'd want something out of it come the end of that too. So now the colleges have to nearly hand the degrees out, and again with social mind set of have to do college, more people who are unsuited, unready or unwilling end up going.

Personally I think the community college system is a great start for 95% of people, unless you plan on being a medical professional or acquiring a JD it's cheaper and just as good, many CC's have almost all the programs full schools do for next to a fraction of the price, plus after 2 years for say 5 grand.. if it's not for you, you walk out with a smaller hole in pocket an AA/AS and free to move on next step in life. Perhaps a bit of a tin foil hat but the rap CC's get I think is unjust and made to keep people pouring cash into the loan system.

Sorry for being so wordy on this but I was just in time to beat the bubble and watched it happen to many people. As I said before search around the amount of money offered to educate people is huge. I'm only half joking when I say suckers pay. With out power leveling too much with all of my education and out of cost pockets I paid maybe 25% if that. I worked my ass off to get my scholarships, so it wasn't like I got freebees. I don't mean to brag I'm wanting to point out, to make a school/company/charity think you are a worthy investment you have to earn it.
 

Jan_Hus

Czechnuts roasting on an open fire
kiwifarms.net
Well, I'm currently getting a Master's in Teaching. In my state, teachers are in such high demand that if you teach for 5 years, they'll cut your debt in half, ten years they'll discharge it completely. Ultimately, I want to go back and get a PhD in Medieval Literature and History so I can teach that in college!
 

melty

True & Honest Fan
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Fortunately, thanks to a skill that had n o t h i n g to do with what I learned at college, I was able to make some very large lump sums of cash two years ago. It really wasn't that much money, basically just a year or two's salary that I got upfront. I used that to pay the loans off in full. That was the first and only payment I ever made towards them. All things considered, it worked out pretty well as far as 18 year olds taking $30,000 worth of loans of go.
Ok I'm kind of curious what your skill was
 

AnimuGinger

Schmuck in Scrubs
True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
I'm going to have 31k for 6 years of education. Changing majors screws over a lot of people. I'm expecting a decent wage out of graduation, so I don't have much to worry about, I suppose. It sucks, but I'm going into something people are actually hiring, so I can't complain.

The big problem is that people just go to college and get a degree with no real plan.
 

Picklechu

kiwifarms.net
My undergrad was completely paid for by scholarships, but I took out loans for my MA. I paid off a small chunk a few weeks ago with the consulting fees I collected from some municipal elections. I've thought about getting my PhD, since I've already done a lot of the research I'd need (assuming I do a dissertation on American political history), or maybe a law degree, but both seem like too much work, plus I'd have to take out loans for those. Besides, I don't want to be a college professor, (not to mention that I don't need a PhD to be a researcher) and there are very few realistic legal careers that interest me.
 

ERROR_ENTRY

Hall of Fame wrestler
kiwifarms.net
I'll have no debt when I graduate, I can't believe the costs students in the US have to pay. The amount of money these colleges are making is criminal.
 

Kind Regards

kiwifarms.net
The other issue is that college is years out of your life. If you get something not worth your while not only are you potentially spending tens of thousands, you can't get that time back either.

I think a lot of people underestimate how helpful it is for retirement to invest early into an IRA and 401k.

Also there's a Public Loan Service Forgiveness Program that's supposed to forgive federal student loans in after 10 years of service in certain occupations, but I don't know anything in depth about it.

http://www.military.com/money/perso...-loan-forgiveness-and-discharge-programs.html
 

Male Idiot

Das rite!
kiwifarms.net
I rather dropped out of the university than go to the loan sharks... I mean banks. I took a college education supplied by the goverment to fill jobs instead.

All the people I know and who took loans are selling everything they have and moving into the slums. No thanks.
 

John Furrman

Become chaos
True & Honest Fan
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My grants cover the cost of my schooling and then some, but I took out subsidized federal loans because I need supplementary income because a part time job as a student worker doesn't quite cut it. So far, I've taken out several grand in loans and have spent not even a fraction of it, meaning that the money is just sitting in a savings account. Whatever I had left in loans after I graduate will go to paying them off.
 
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