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ArielCapers

651

01/05/20 at 12:41PM UTC

Money

How much were your student loans?

FGB’ers! Last night I had one of the most eye-opening money conversation with a group of friends. We each talked about how much our student loans are/were after college and some of which also went to grad school. The amount of debt ranged from zero to over $150k worth! I’d love to keep the conversation going by asking what your students loans were at the highest amount. And also, are you still paying off loans? Thanks for sharing!

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Emily Hagen

141

Content Writer and Freelancer

01/17/20 at 1:52AM UTC

About $33k and, unfortunately, still paying.

Francesca Vanderwall

610

01/14/20 at 9:30PM UTC

What a great conversation! I left undergrad with $16k in credit card debt because I had no financial support from my family and some bad money habits. No student loans though, I was on a scholarship and not eligible to apply for FAFSA. (That's a story for another day.) I left my MBA with $35k in student loans because I had tuition reimbursement cover the other half and I went to an affordable school. We paid this off several years ago; my in-laws paid off my husband's grad school debt so I threw myself into repaying mine. Big lessons I've learned about student loan debt: only take out as much as you will make in your first year after school and get out of it as fast as you possibly can.

Anonymous

01/09/20 at 9:25PM UTC

I paid for my school with an ROTC scholarship so I graduated with $0 in debt but my husband had over 130k in predatory student loans which he's still paying off almost 10 years later.

Anonymous

01/07/20 at 7:23PM UTC

$33k for my MBA. My parents paid for my Bachelors degree and I paid for the first year of my MBA with money saved from my past job. I took out student loans for the last 1.5 of my MBA and I'm still paying them back, while unemployed. :(

Kelseyannb

Communications-oriented professional.

01/07/20 at 6:39PM UTC

I have 35k left and I've been paying dutifully for 5 years now. I just refinanced mine with a company called Earnest to get the interest and monthly payments down, highly recommend. And kudos for opening the convo, I'm a big believer in being open. I especially appreciate the folks who've shared and admitted to their fortune in having none. That helps alleviate shame for those of us who didn't have the option to incur no student debt.

Anonymous

01/07/20 at 6:14PM UTC

$0. In full disclosure, I did have the privilege and good fortune of money-saving parents who started a college fund for me, which they used for my undergraduate degree (I also had a scholarship which helped to pay for it, and commuted to school rather than staying on campus, which allowed for additional savings). I also had my own savings which could have been used. If we couldn't afford the school I went to with that funds, I would have gone to the lower priced city university rather than gone into $100K of debt.

Sue DeRosier

172

Experienced communications professional

01/07/20 at 5:46PM UTC

I did community college and finished through University of Phoenix and my employer paid the fees for that portion, so zero. However, I have a graduating senior coming in May and depending upon where he gets accepted, the fees will be anywhere from $15k -- $70k per year. We have told him that we have saved roughly $100k which will cover any of the Cal States and UC's, but if he chooses a private institution he will get stuck with at least 2 years worth of loans which could be $150k. I honestly do not want to see him in that situation as I really don't think its worth it. The economic professionals have admitted that the college loan "crisis" has affected all other areas of our lives -- buying homes, cars, moving out, having kids, etc. I don't believe in free college, but I do believe in reasonable costs.

Katie Malone

1.28k

Social Media Manager + Mother to two daughter

01/07/20 at 5:03PM UTC

$55k grad school only. Very lucky to have parents who paid for college. Happy to say 12 years later, I have almost paid off all of my loans... AND am working in a field where I actually use my Masters in Journalism (a lot of my classmates are not using theirs).

Maggie B

983

Business and Data Analysis Consultant

01/07/20 at 3:40PM UTC

This one's tough. My parents rolled a few of mine and my sibling's loans together, so I'll never know what the full commitment was there. I think the total under my name was in the $18k range, and I just paid them off in November! Goodbye loans, hello lower credit rating somehow?? Time to start applying to grad schools, I guess.

Kimberly Buonomo

Passionate about inclusivity!

01/07/20 at 3:23PM UTC

My student loan is over $100k and I am currently on an income driven plan to repay. This gets assessed every year and may increase or decrease depending on the income status. It will take a while to pay off this debt especially with having a mortgage, car, other bills etc. My first student loan payment was last month in December.

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