Do you/did you take out student loans to live?

[singin'intherain]

Like everyone else, I dread going into debt. I'm going to school so I can pay for my kids' education- I don't want to be too busy paying for my own to be able to afford it! But now I'm finding that the income I had (child support) has disappeared, and my choices are not too plentiful. Also, I have a long way to go- I don't plan on graduating finally for another eight years. I'm at CC, and so far my tuition and books are paid for through grants- it's just living expenses. Will I have access to more financial aid after I transfer, or less? Same thing with student friendly work- will I be more able to work a little here and there, or will I just be more and more loaded with school work? Right now I'm considering borrowing the maximum I can- $10,000 which will allow us to scrape by until next fall. If I have to keep borrowing like that- and even more as time goes on- will it be worth it? What are your experiences with this?

I'm going into Dentistry, which assuming I can make it through eight years of schooling, will pay really well.

[Rockies5]

no I didn't. I don't just dread going into debt, I refuse to. If you go into that much debt while in school and without an income, it will simply snowball. If you think you can work while going to school later to pay it off, then do so now...and don't go into debt.

I know this won't be a popular choice. But debt is just plain dumb, always.

It won't make things easier ever and will only grow over the years. Take a job. Yes its hard to work and go to school with children (I'm full time, two jobs and five kids) but I go debt free and if it came down to it would work the night shirt again rather then go into debt.

dh loans that we took out for living expenses while HE went to school FT are still following us 10 years later. His income never increased because of his education, and the cost of staying on top of that debt has meant NO extras for that same amount of time. If we didn't have those payments each month we'd have a home by now, or the kids could do karate or go to space camp or take a vacation or even put tires on the truck when needed. No kidding it's hand to mouth, and until you have that job or degree--- you cannot count on the new, great income that you might have had from it.

[Drummer's Wife]

Isn't Dental school pricey? I just mention that b/c I wouldn't spend the next four years taking out 10 grand year - not only will you have a ton of debt total if you did that - but if you are looking at government loans (subsidized and non) they cap it at a lower amount than you would need (I think anyway). There is a limit, unless you go private - which are often higher interest and of course you have to qualify for. I don't really know about Dentistry - so maybe there are other ways to pay for schooling besides reg. fin aid (like med schools).

Definitely do a loan calculator to see what your monthly payments would be based on projectetd borrowed amounts. Dentists might make six figures - but don't forget about other expenses like malpractice insurance and such.

[JessieBird]

I did and I always regretted it. It took me 12 years to pay it off and the repayment was a huge stress to me. However, I am in an entirely different field from you. I am an artisitc entrepreneurial person and having that debt really limited my ability to take risks with my creative business ideas. Because I am seriously stubborn, I did manage to live off my own business and pay down my debt without getting a "real" job (ironically I decided on a career change into a more mainstream and higher-paying office profession after I'd paid off the debt!!) but there were constant sleepless nights worrying about money. In hindsight, I really wish I would have gone to school part time and worked for my living expenses instead. Even though it would have taken more time to get my degree, overall it would have taken a lot less time to get to my current financial position (finally owning a house, finally paying into retirement savings, etc).

However, if the end result of your studies and debt is a profession with a stable income and that you will enjoy, then I think your situation is different. My advice would be to check in with your future self (iykwim) and do up a budget for what your finances will look like in a few years once you are done school, have a paycheque, and have debt payments to make. Then decide if that scenario it is worth it to you. The mistake I made was never thinking about the future and choosing to ignore the consequences of taking those loans. Ugh, I still feel sick about it.

[singin'intherain]

Rockies5, I'm with you on going into debt, but when do you have time for a job? I'm single, and I have four kids. It seems like I would have to give up sleeping or seeing the kids if I got a job. I'm applying for a student job at the school, but that's only going to bring in less than $400 a month.

If I can stay in school, my income will increase exponentially. Right now I'm capable of making about $20,000 a year, and if I can get all the way through dental school, I can make around 100,000 right out of school. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but it's an investment.

If I can't handle the workload because I'm busy all the time, I might as well not bother, right? I get A's, but I put a lot of time into my school work. And I need A's, because dental school is very competitive.

Drummer's wife, I am worried about the loan cap. I think graduate school loans are handled separately from undergraduate, and that I won't have "used up" that potential. This is something I need to sit down with a FA adviser about.

As far as working later on, my thinking is that with a couple more years of education, I will be able to do tutoring at $15-20 an hour instead of flipping burgers at $8.55, which will make better use of my time. Also, my youngest is 51/2 now- in a couple more years, she'll be the only one who needs child care while I work. At this point there's still no way for me to make more than my babysitter.

I've heard that when I transfer to a four year, I will have more financial aid available to me, as well... but I don't know about that.

Thanks for the feedback!

[pixiepunk]

it doesn't seem sustainable to me because you'll be in school so long. if it was just a year or two I could see it making sense on some level, but even making a really huge salary after school it would take a loooong time to pay off that amount of debt.

i'm about to go back to school myself, but i'll only be in school for about 18 months before i'm in the work force, and my tuition isn't very high but DH is under-employed (one of the reasons for the decision) so we will probably have to do some borrowing if i don't get tuition covered from grants. luckily in the field i'm going into, there is a shortage and a lot of employers will pay off your student loans for you if you agree to work there for a set amount of time, so i suspect that it won't be too big a deal. but the absolute maximum i'd need to borrow if i got no grants at all and borrowed enough for tuition, books and a bit of living expenses would be about $15,000. i would definitely not feel comfortable borrowing much more than that.

[SophieAnn]

I did not, and I'm very glad for it.

I chose a co-operative program for my degree (so did dh - we were at the same school). I did Actuarial Science, he did Engineering.

With the co-operative program we did 1 term school (4 months) followed by 1 term of co-op (paid internship), back to 1 term school, 1 term co-op - all 12 months of the year, for 5 years. At the end of 5 years we had done 8 terms of school (4 year degree) and 6 terms (that's 2 years!) of work experience... plus we each had job offers before graduation.

In one 4 month co-op term I could earn enough to cover my living expenses while working, and save enough to cover my tuition, books and living expenses for the next school term... so in the end I "broke even".

If there are any colleges or universities with a similar program, I would highly recommend it.

[mammastar2]

We did take out student loans to live, basically for 3 years (spouse and I). I was in a professional program, and began earning a very good salary afterwards. I was grateful that I'd been able to make it through with small kids, and couldn't have done it without the loans - but even 3 years worth, on a good salary, was a big constraint when I was done. It shaped the kinds of jobs and opportunities I could take up, where I could live, and everything! I would be very wary of doing 8 years' worth.

Right now, making $100K a year will seem like a lot to you, because you're getting by with much less. But $100K a year, less taxes and payments on $80,000 of student loans, will not be as much as you may think.

That said, if there's no other way for you to do it, better to get loans and make $100K the rest of your life than be scared to do so and end up making only $20K instead. But I'd look at every alternative, grants, co-op programs, etc.

[ss834]

I have had to take out about $4500 for school loans this year because I HAD to get back into school and the grants didn't cover the entire cost. At this point, I am working part time to cover living expenses and my husband is staying home full time with my son.

Next year I am hoping to get scholarships to cover the rest of the cost of school and after that point I won't need to take out anymore loans. I currently have about $16k in loans (I took out A LOT for my first two years of school at a private college). Ultimately, I think loans are alright if you make paying them off your NUMBER ONE priority as soon as you have the chance. When I took some time off, I was able to pay down about $6k in loans in 2 years. When I get out, I expect to pay my loans off within 3 years and I won't take anymore out.

I wouldn't recommend taking out loans for living expenses unless you absolutely have to. I don't regret the loans I've taken out for school, but I do wish I would have looked at my "needs" differently and taken out fewer loans to cover living expenses.

[Thystle]

Bumping to hear more as I am in the same boat now.

[Heavenly]

Yes I am taking student loans and no, I don't feel guilty about it. I will have have about $50000 in debts but it will be worth it. We will be used to living only on my husbands income so all of my income will go to pay off the student loan which means it should be paid off fairly quickly and then we will be able to use the money to increase our standard of living.

Rockies5 - I think your post is a little rude, especially since many of this board DO have to have student loans to live. My family does and there is no shame in that. Also do you have a mortgage? Is that "dumb" debt too?

[Girlprof]

To the OP, I would definitely talk to some currently-working dentists about this question. I just have no idea. For some fields, and I suspect dentistry is one of them, it is completely normal to go into debt for professional school. Of course, if you are already loaded up with debt before you even start dental school, that is a lot tougher.

I had about $10,000 in loans from college - this was a zillion years ago in the 1980s. Going to a better college helped me get into a better graduate school. I had a good fellowship in grad school, but at one point, I needed to stop teaching and doing work for other people and have a semester to just write. I took out another loan. Best decision I could have made even though the loan isn't paid off yet. Those loans are a tiny part of our monthly expenses and we don't even notice them now. But without them - I wouldn't have graduated.

[AnnaNova]

all awesome posts and great different perspectives, i posted a thread with exact same topic in frugality and finances part of mdc.
good luck with school!!

[pinksprklybarefoot]

Unless you come from family money, it would be pretty impossible to go to dental school without going into debt. Huge debt. Assuming I get into pharmacy school (similar in cost), I'll be racking up close to $200K when all said and done. Professional/grad students are able to take out quite a bit. Some is credit-dependent, though.

singintherain, if you do want a job, one of the things I did when I was a young undergrad was be a security guard - the desk-sitting type. I was able to combine working and studying. That might be an option for you. For a few years I just did two long shifts over the weekend. I got a ton of schoolwork done.

I would not let loans deter you from school if you really think that you have a decent chance to get into dental school. Don't work at the expense of your grades. That will hurt you a lot more.

[BetsyS]

I finished undergrad with a minimum of loans (like $3000). That was circumstances, though. My state pays tuition for undergrad as long as you keep a B average, and I was young, and I lived at home for the first 3 years. Along with a part time job (cause I had no kids).

For grad school, I took out student loans for both tuition and living expenses. I underestimated my earning potential at the time (I was a nurse in a small town; I could have made more in the city an hour away), and I overestimated my earning potential upon graduation.

When I finished school, I had $50,000 in student loans (mostly tuition), and $30,000 in credit card debt (mostly living expenses). I could not make the minimum payments on my salary. It was a HUGE wake up call.

I'm 10 years out of school. The credit cards are paid off, but the student loans continue to drag on (cause I had to consolidate them on 30 year notes to afford the payments). It's not fun.

If I had to do it again, I would do it differently. I would do whatever I could to not take out the debt. I would change my life to take jobs that would have repaid the student loans quickly. Though I don't regret my degree, I definitely regret borrowing that much money. It definitely hangs on for a long time.

[Ceinwen]

Haven't read the whole thread yet - but I took nursing (I'm an RN & have my BScN) in Ontario, and I'm about 40K in debt.

Totally worth it. I'm a single mom to two, and I have a lucrative career in a field that's my passion. The debt is well worth my profession.

Having said all that - if I hadn't graduated, I'd really be up the creek. Plus, I knew with nursing that I'd be guaranteed a job when I graduated. Both important factors to consider...

[hildare]

I wouldn't...

I borrowed an extensive amount for student loans/ living off what was left after paying tuition, etc.
I owe for undergrad and two masters degrees, and the payments are very hard to live with. It's not as bad as it could be, but now that I have a tiny dd, I could have been able to quit my job to stay home with her were these debts not hanging over my head.
If you can make alterations in your lifestyle to be able to pay for school/make enough to squeak by, I would recommend that.
If you are seriously considering borrowing to live, you may want to contact a financial adviser. They can look at income/projected income/ interest rates and give you a very clear picture of what you'll be looking at.
I wish someone had advised me not to do what I did with the loans. It's so very easy at the time to get them and so hard to see what's down the road.
Also, I make a pretty good salary, have a good job, but I really don't feel what I earn minus my debt is worth what I spent to get there. Good luck with your decision, though!

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I am right now, but I am going into Special Education, and if you work for 5 years in the field you are eligible for HUGE debt forgiveances, so to me its seems worth it.

[prothyraia]

We did this.

My husband and I (combined) now have over 100k in student loans to pay off, a crap economy in this country right now, and haven't been able to find enough work to make more than around 30k a year. Throw two small children into the mix, and we're *still* not able to start paying even a smidge of the money back.

It was a bad, bad, bad idea.

[prothyraia]

Originally Posted by singin'intherain

Drummer's wife, I am worried about the loan cap. I think graduate school loans are handled separately from undergraduate, and that I won't have "used up" that potential. This is something I need to sit down with a FA adviser about.

There are two separate loan caps for undergraduate and graduate loans. You can certainly max out your undergraduate loans and then take out more loans for graduate school.