BlogHer - student loans - Comments

Luck and strategy

Nina Smith — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:16:23 -0600

Heather B: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 50% of recent college graduates have student loans. So yes, you are one of the lucky ones!

Sassymonkey: I'm always surprised to learn when students don't work during college. Like you, I had jobs during school and summer breaks. This pay-as-you-go method certainly eased the final loan tab for me.

Leslie: That's a great suggestion. I poked around for other information on well-endowed colleges and here's some more info on that thought from SmartMoney:

Many parents who haven't saved enough for college tell their gifted high school seniors not to consider pricey private schools. Ironically, those colleges may actually be the more affordable alternative. "The more expensive and prestigious the school," says Bedford, Mass., financial planner Tom Brooks, "the more likely it is well endowed and can meet 100% of need," thanks to alumni donation campaigns. "You might be sending your kid to a state school that [for you] costs more than a Harvard or an MIT or a Stanford."

To estimate how likely it is that your preferred schools will give you substantial aid, check a few statistics with the colleges themselves or using the annual "America's Best Colleges" survey in U.S. News & World Report, available at usnews.com for $14.95. Look for two figures: the percentage of undergraduates receiving grants meeting financial need, and the college's average discount, which is the percentage of a student's total costs — including tuition, room and board, and books — covered by grants. If they're both 50% or better, you can feel assured that your needs will be fairly met.

Kaddi: Congrats on making it through debt-free!

Nina Smith
Queercents
We're here, we're queer, and we're not going shopping without coupons.

Debt-Free College

Kaddi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 06:48:14 -0600

I don't have any college debt, and I agree with the Ten Ways Anyone Can Go to College With Zero Student Loans List, except No. 5 like you said. My parents told me they were not going to be able to help me at all and unfortunately their salaries were too high for me to be considered for financial hardship grants or scholarships. In some form or other I used 6 of those 10 items:

1. Do well in high school - got me scholarships at state universities.
2. Find scholarships - took the classes, got the test scores needed for same state scholarship programs.
3. Take college classes in high school - took English, and Calculus I & II and Biology in advanced placement for college credit.
6. Work for it - I worked part-time/full-time the entire 5 years it took me to get my BA in engineering.
7. Forget four-year; think two-and-two - first year I knocked out general Ed classes at a less $$/credit hour community college.
10. Be a frugal student - I went on vacation, had fun, but I studied more than I partied. Wore the same clothes, not new ones all the time.

Seek out well-endowed colleges

Leslie Madsen Brooks — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:13:20 -0600

I think people too often overlook the benefits of attending those few colleges whose exceptionally large endowments allow them to be more creative in financing students' educations.

Some colleges are truly phenomenal about helping students keep down their debt loads. I read recently that Amherst College, for example, recently replaced all student loans with grants. And my alma mater, Grinnell College, has a need-blind admissions policy that includes packages that meet 100% of students' financial needs with a combination of loans, work-study, and grants. In addition, the college is considering buying down students' debt upon graduation. Currently the annual tuition at Grinnell is more than $40,000, but students themselves graduate on average with only $12,000 in debt. What kind of debt their parents carry, I'm not sure, though ten years ago, my parents took out huge loans to pay for my tuition there.

Is Grinnell or Amherst education right for everyone? Not by a long shot. But students and parents need to think outside the "we're working or middle class so we can look only at local state schools and community colleges" box.

Leslie

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Research and Academia
Proprietor, The Clutter Museum
I also blog at MuseumBlogging

My debt isn't as high as the examples

sassymonkey — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:07:45 -0600

But but Canadian standards it's pretty darned high for a Bachelor's degree. I worked through the summer and during the school year. There was one year when I had 3 part time jobs. I had scholarships and bursaries. I couldn't live at home because the best university that I got into was halfway across the country and I wasn't going to turn it down to save a buck.

I think my debt load sucks. I think it rots that most entry-level jobs that you are eligible for right after college don't cover student loan payments AND food AND rent.

I made sacrifices for my education. I don't regret it. Some things are worth more than my networth.

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

I guess I got lucky

HeatherB — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:15:56 -0600

Any student loan debt that I incurred is being paid by my mother. She didn't care where I went to school and said that she would pay for it but when it comes to any graduate school then that would be on me. In fact several of my friends are in the same situation where we are fortunate enough to have parents that were able to help in that regard, thus leaving us time to go forth in the world without higher education debt looming over our heads.

I had one friend who isn't in the same situation and is now forced to live in a very expensive city, while supporting herself and her husband while paying off a large amount since the university we attended isn't really known for being cheap.

For as much complaining as I do about debt and money over the years, I'm now able to fully understand how very lucky I am not to ever have to think about how school was going to get paid for or how I was going to pay off my debt.

Heather B.
Personal Blog: No Pasa Nada
BlogHer CE: Business, Career & Personal Finance