catpower1980: ...
Now, what always baffles me in this type of topic are the amount of student loan debts (like 100K$) and how it seems like completely normal in general in USA. So for the fellow Americans: did you graduate after high school? Got in debt? And how much (if it's not too intrusive)? Would you rather have done differently?
Those debts are quite believable these days; what is most unbelievable is that there was a stipulation to make these "student loans" unforgivable, like they could do with a person who files for bankruptcy.
My story of going to college was an interesting one; there was a close relative of the family who helped me with tuition the first year of college. However, I was a resident of the state where I went to college and I lived with my parents and commuted every day for several years before I graduated.
What I typically had to pay for was books and lunch up until my final year. I think the first year I was in school, it was roughly $640 per quarter (every three months) for up to 21 credit hours (it was around $820 per quarter my last quarter in school). Books were rather expensive, being anywhere from $250 to $300 a quarter depending on the class, book and if I could get it used or not. I figure about $480 per quarter went to lunch, snacks and the occasional Ben & Jerry's (that's estimating about $8.00 a day for 5 days a week for 12 weeks). Transportation was roughly $2 a day, bus with transfers and the train (roughly $120 a quarter).
Of course, there was also the $250 that I spent on my HP calculator (I actually went without eating lunch and selling back some books I wish I kept) to buy it.
Worst case scenario (including my calculator) was going the first four full quarters for one year, spending roughly about $6410.
Had I not been a resident of the state in which my college resided (which had considerable discount for residents), had to pay for rent and utilities instead of living with my parents, joined a fraternity, went out partying, etc. I would probably have had an extremely large bill.
I'm sure people who go to ivy league colleges, become lawyers and doctors (which are highly paid professions) probably end up getting either scholarships or these particular loans which are more or less guaranteed to the person who loaned the money.
Having worked with a person who went to law school and started out as a legal assistant, they were quite a bit in debt since the day they graduated... very close to the $100,000 and I certainly did not envy them.
It's bad enough I have a mortgage; however, I wouldn't want to graduate college knowing I would have the unforgivable debt about the size of a mortgage and still take on the debt of owning a car and home.
So.... my words of advice for anyone still in high school thinking of going to college: a) consider a school in your area of residency, minimize travel expenses if you can; b) if you still live with parents, get a part-time job and help contribute, I'm sure they will help you with room and board while you commute for your education; c) sell back any books and supplies you don't need (you might be able to find better return for investment online than selling back to the bookstore or hunting out those who need them at the last minute); d) organize your courses in such a way you can maximize your credit hours per dollar (I had 1 hour labs which took 5+ hours of my time and 5 hour courses which affected my grade more.); and e) turn over every stone to see if you qualify or can get any scholarship you can, even a little help goes a long way.
I have heard about and know people who have large outstanding student loans. Some of them catch that windfall one day; however, I wouldn't want it looming over my head when there are much more important things for which to be concerned.