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What was your undergrad debt?

How much student debt did you have when you graduated from college?

  • Total voters
    28
not finished yet but i should have 0 debt and actually have saved decently

seeing some replies that look suspiciously like the low debt is due to their parents covering the cost. I think that should not count if the point is to gauge what the working class has to deal with
 
About half of it was covered by the military, so I actually got off fairly easy as far as the "typical" amount of Millennial college debt goes - around $19,000 or so.

Unfortunately, however, I opted to defer my payments when I went overseas with the Army, and found out first hand just how steep the interest rates on these damn things tend to be. By the end of year, the total amount had shot up well past 20k. lol
 
Winchester said:
It's gotten a bit more expensive for the student since then. Don't know if the overall cost has gone up or if the bulk of the increase is the decreased state funding since then (for state schools). I was able to work summers to cover the bulk of the tuition and work 20ish hours/week to cover room/board and beer. Textbooks were a ****pile cheaper back then too.
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The reason things have gone up is because the schools know that the government is handing out money and they can charge whatever they want. The schools don't have to worry about if students can afford it, they know that they'll just put themselves in debt.

I honestly don't know that textbooks were any cheaper back then. Today, you can get textbooks in electronic form that are much cheaper than physical books. My oldest daughter is in college right now and I'm footing the complete bill, she'll go all the way through without owing a penny in debt, just like I did.
 
Undergrad, zip. Thanks Uncle Sam.

Grad school, paid my way. Worked part-time and then full time and then part-time during grad school. Finished with no debt for grad school. Finished grad school flat broke and divorced. Worked two jobs after grad school. My ex-wife took everything but the blame.
 
chromium said:
not finished yet but i should have 0 debt and actually have saved decently

seeing some replies that look suspiciously like the low debt is due to their parents covering the cost. I think that should not count if the point is to gauge what the working class has to deal with
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My parents didn't pay a red cent of my college. They could have, I didn't want them to.
 
no debt. i had a scholarship and help from my parents for living expenses. that was twenty years ago, though. it's different for kids these days.
 
Winchester said:
It's gotten a bit more expensive for the student since then. Don't know if the overall cost has gone up or if the bulk of the increase is the decreased state funding since then (for state schools). I was able to work summers to cover the bulk of the tuition and work 20ish hours/week to cover room/board and beer. Textbooks were a ****pile cheaper back then too.
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Greetings, Winchester. :2wave:

I did not go to college right out of high school. I wanted to go to Pratt Institute in NY to study architecture and interior design, but my Mother had other ideas...like "no way is any teen-aged daughter of mine going to be allowed to run around NY without a chaperone, etc," and why not consider Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland instead? Nope, I had my heart set on Pratt. Soooo, I was told to get a job instead since I was not going to Pratt! I did get a job, and spent my entire working career there. I got married and started to raise a family, and forgot about Pratt. Many years later I did attend weekend college, going every weekend Friday at 1800 through Sunday night at 2000, year round, and earned a 5-year degree in 3-1/2 years of very hard work, graduating cum laude! I spent more hours in the classroom on weekends than most full time students did going to school Monday through Friday, and I damn near killed myself doing it, because I still worked full time, plus I had homework papers to turn in, but I had a week to get them done for all the classes I was taking, and I did it! :thumbs: My employer paid all the tuition for me to attend, because they wanted me to get a degree, and I was promoted as soon as I graduated, so it worked out for everyone.

Note: I just got very tired thinking back on those days, because the only college partying I did was going with my classmates - who were going through the same thing I was - to the local pizza shop for dinner on Friday night! I drove home every night, and drove back every Saturday and Sunday morning, a 55 minute drive each way, but my hubby insisted that he wanted me sleeping at home! :mrgreen: My parents helped him with the children during those years, so I wasn't the only one who worked hard!
 
Greenbeard said:
I'm curious 1) how much debt most folks graduated from college with (undergrad only) but also 2) roughly when folks graduated (just the decade will probably be insightful enough).

With all the discussion today of higher education costs and debt burden on recent grads, this seems like a timely topic.
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Debt?

There weren't that many student loans available when I went to college. I had worked and saved through the summer, and then got two part time jobs through my first two semesters. That summer I landed a well-paying construction job earning lots of overtime, doing everything from carrying brick, to laying roofing tiles, to drywall and painting. I also worked a winter for Molson Breweries in shipping. Over the course of three years I had those jobs as well as grocery delivery driver, warehouse worker, parking lot attendant, and forester for a summer. I actually took a pay cut to become a radio reporter.

Looking back they were some of the best years of my life.
 
Roughly 20k in debt from undergrad. Graduated with my bachelors in 2012.

I had a PELL grant, an academic scholarship, and a state scholarship. Still had to borrow about 2k a semester for books and remaining tuition. Also worked for 3 out of the 4 years in undergrad too. Did 8 regular semesters and 2 summer semesters.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Undergrad, zip. Thanks Uncle Sam.

Grad school, paid my way. Worked part-time and then full time and then part-time during grad school. Finished with no debt for grad school. Finished grad school flat broke and divorced. Worked two jobs after grad school. My ex-wife took everything but the blame.
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Now that's one helluva' quote!
 
polgara said:
Greetings, Winchester. :2wave:

I did not go to college right out of high school. I wanted to go to Pratt Institute in NY to study architecture and interior design, but my Mother had other ideas...like "no way is any teen-aged daughter of mine going to be allowed to run around NY without a chaperone, etc," and why not consider Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland instead? Nope, I had my heart set on Pratt. Soooo, I was told to get a job instead since I was not going to Pratt! I did get a job, and spent my entire working career there. I got married and started to raise a family, and forgot about Pratt. Many years later I did attend weekend college, going every weekend Friday at 1800 through Sunday night at 2000, year round, and earned a 5-year degree in 3-1/2 years of very hard work, graduating cum laude! I spent more hours in the classroom on weekends than most full time students did going to school Monday through Friday, and I damn near killed myself doing it, because I still worked full time, plus I had homework papers to turn in, but I had a week to get them done for all the classes I was taking, and I did it! :thumbs: My employer paid all the tuition for me to attend, because they wanted me to get a degree, and I was promoted as soon as I graduated, so it worked out for everyone.

Note: I just got very tired thinking back on those days, because the only college partying I did was going with my classmates - who were going through the same thing I was - to the local pizza shop for dinner on Friday night! I drove home every night, and drove back every Saturday and Sunday morning, a 55 minute drive each way, but my hubby insisted that he wanted me sleeping at home! :mrgreen: My parents helped him with the children during those years, so I wasn't the only one who worked hard!
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I really love hearing second chance stories! Not just in education, but in everything in life.

Congratulations! :thumbs:
 
Chomsky said:
I really love hearing second chance stories! Not just in education, but in everything in life.

Congratulations! :thumbs:
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Greetings, Chomsky. :2wave:

Thank you! Would I do it again? - probably! When your employer asks you to do something that will benefit you in the long run, it's difficult to say no, and I loved my new job very much. I had to have a degree to be eligible for consideration, and that helped me make up my mind. :thumbs:
 
Cephus said:
The reason things have gone up is because the schools know that the government is handing out money and they can charge whatever they want. The schools don't have to worry about if students can afford it, they know that they'll just put themselves in debt.

I honestly don't know that textbooks were any cheaper back then. Today, you can get textbooks in electronic form that are much cheaper than physical books. My oldest daughter is in college right now and I'm footing the complete bill, she'll go all the way through without owing a penny in debt, just like I did.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the common perception amongst certain segments, I'm not sure it's entirely true though (at least for schools in the state university systems).

This is just from 2008-2015, this trend has been going on a lot longer than this. Today's student (and their families) are picking up a larger % of the tuition bill than in day's past.

5-12-15sfp-f1.png
 
Cephus said:
My parents didn't pay a red cent of my college. They could have, I didn't want them to.
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i'm talking about a certain poster who was born with a golden ticket and went to an ivy and came on here saying 'no debt' like it's entirely self funded
 
Winchester said:
That seems to be the common perception amongst certain segments, I'm not sure it's entirely true though (at least for schools in the state university systems).

This is just from 2008-2015, this trend has been going on a lot longer than this. Today's student (and their families) are picking up a larger % of the tuition bill than in day's past.

5-12-15sfp-f1.png
Click to expand...

if anything that chart underestimates the problem thing. Certain states, especially michigan, started gutting college appropriations *long* before the recession and even with a democrat in office...talking around 2002. Lo and behold the uneducated voters didn't consider education a priority, even when there was plenty funding available
 
Yet state spending per capita for higher education has been rising. I think the difference is that although states are increasing funding, not all of the increase is going to students:

HigherEdInfo.org: State and Local Support for Higher Education Operating Expenses Per Capita


Winchester said:
That seems to be the common perception amongst certain segments, I'm not sure it's entirely true though (at least for schools in the state university systems).

This is just from 2008-2015, this trend has been going on a lot longer than this. Today's student (and their families) are picking up a larger % of the tuition bill than in day's past.

5-12-15sfp-f1.png
Click to expand...
 
polgara said:
Greetings, Chomsky. :2wave:

Thank you! Would I do it again? - probably! When your employer asks you to do something that will benefit you in the long run, it's difficult to say no, and I loved my new job very much. I had to have a degree to be eligible for consideration, and that helped me make up my mind. :thumbs:
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And while employment considerations are important, I'm sure the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment also rank high! :thumbs:
 
Greenbeard said:
I'm curious 1) how much debt most folks graduated from college with (undergrad only) but also 2) roughly when folks graduated (just the decade will probably be insightful enough).

With all the discussion today of higher education costs and debt burden on recent grads, this seems like a timely topic.
Click to expand...

Graduated in 2005 with a Bachelors: $0 Debt
Graduated in 2014 with a Masters: $0 Debt
Graduating in a couple of months with another Masters: $0 Debt.

It can indeed be done.
 
Cephus said:
The reason things have gone up is because the schools know that the government is handing out money and they can charge whatever they want. The schools don't have to worry about if students can afford it, they know that they'll just put themselves in debt.
Click to expand...

Boom. That right there.
 
I graduated in 2007 with a little over $60k in debt. That was with some significant scholarship money, some money from my parents, and working part time during the school year and full time during the summers.

I went out of state for school though. If I could go back and re-do it I'd stay in state at a cheaper school for sure.

My wife graduated the same time from an in-state school with about $40k in debt.
 
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akrunner88 said:
I graduated $20,000 in debt. Took me a year and a half to pay off, I got a job right out of college and a second job at a restaurant, clocking in 80 hours a week while living with my parents to pay it all off. Wasn't easy, nor was it fun, but was definitely worth it.
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I admire that. Too many sit around and whine about it instead of getting off their ass.
 
Zero. My parents paid for my college. My husband went to the same college on a full hockey scholarship.
 
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