How much student loan debt do you have? - Page 2

[EFmom]

Dh and I never had any. Our parents paid for our BS degrees. For that, I will be forever profoundly grateful. It's the single best thing they did for us.

We each got masters degrees a decade later, but we worked full-time and paid it off as we went.

[Ms. Sisko]

I was one of the voted that included zero in the range. I completed my BFA at a state school paying completely by merit based scholarships. One of those was a state scholarship available to all students who met academic goals. Like an above poster, I eventually had over the amount needed to cover my tuition, books and housing coming in via internships and my scholarships.

My DP's school costs are very, very low. He went back to school as an adult therefore his parents income was no longer a factor on the FAFSA. He received financial aid, Pell grant and these, combined with in-state tuition have us at about 8,000 total for a very specialized BS + merchant marine license. We are not using student loans for his schooling.

[Mosaic]

I went to a private, out-of-state university for undergrad on a full-tuition scholarship and left with about $3k in loans for room & board, books, etc.

Then I went to a ridiculously expensive grad school, maxed out scholarships, grants, and work-study, and still walked out $50k in the hole. In hindsight, not my smartest move (especially to go into environmental science, which isn't known for fat paychecks).

FWIW, I knew my parents would not help me pay for school, so I took on all that debt with my eyes wide open and paid it all off (along with my husband's CC debt) in 8 years. However, they did help both my older and younger sibling but not me; that's still a bit of a sore spot.

[InMediasRes]

I have $0 in student loan debt. I worked my way through school.

DH has about $11,000 left. It was originally around $20,000 for his bachelors and masters (but I think the school was paying him for masters).

[mata]

Zero-thanks, Mom and Dad.

Hubby has BS, MS and nearly an MBA-all funded by scholarships or work.

[CatsCradle]

Undergrad: $0 (scholarships throughout)
Masters: $0 (teaching assistantship)
Law school: $100k originally but have worked that down over the years (my income level is proportionate to the type of degree I received) (professional degrees tend to cost more but the income range reflects that).

[CallMeMommy]

None, Uncle Sam paid for it all (sometimes have a dirt-poor mom has a silver lining!) But I only have a 2-year degree from community college, so it wouldn't have been very high in the grand scheme of things anyway.

[Italiamom]

I would, quite seriously, give a kidney to only have 10k in student loan debt.

I tell people now that school isn't worth it... By the time we realized that, it was too late to pull out. But having those loans basically means that we will never be able to realize our dreams. For some education may pay off, but it never will for our family. Very sad.

[an_aurora]

DH and I are both in school, and we each will have about $20-25K when we graduate (he is done this December--yay! and I am done next December). We have three small children, and I work part-time but he doesn't work or collect unemployment anymore. Loans were a necessity for us, but I hate the fact that we rely on them.

[lillian]

i graduated from a 4 year university with zero loan debt!

[Honey693]

I graduated with none b/c my parents paid my way (I know, I was lucky/spoiled) and DH had 25k from a private school that was 33k a year. He worked 3 jobs and had some awesome grants. Once we got married we paid it off in a year and we have none right now. I'm sure that will change in the future if DH decides to go back and get his masters though.

[mattemma04]

I had a total of about 26k and have about 8k left to pay.I worked nights at the school restaurant,and drove home weekends to work in a nursing home double shifts.

Sad thing is I never got to use my degree,and now to many years have passed to use it. I have tried getting a job and my educational background does not help me at all. I have to start over,but I refuse to add more debt until the old one is paid off.

If I could do-over I would get a 2 year degree with a specific skill(like LPN) instead of a 4 year BA/BS gerontology degree that provided no skills.Atleast my kids will learn from my mistakes.

[texmati]

dh graduated with 8k. he went to community college for 2 years, and then public school and worked most of the time.

[phathui5]

None. I've never had a student loan and have paid for classes as I'm able to afford them. One day I'll have a degree, but I'm not going to get in debt to have it.

[odenata]

None.

I had about $20k (private liberal arts school) and DH had about $10k (state school). Paid it off when we sold our house at the height of the boom in 2005.

[Fujiko]

$0. Went to a state university and loaded up on merit scholarships, and was an RA for a few years in the dorms. No grants or loans, and only about $1000 out of pocket my first year (but that went to room & board).

[_ktg_]

I have about ~18k left out of ~26K when I graduated with my undergrad degree. I'm not concerned as that has been a bill which will be with me for a long time.

Now for my masters - my work offers some tution reimbursement which is nice, but only pays for about 1/2-1/3 of the program. I've chosen not to take out loans and paying this off this degree semester by semester to have a $0 balance when I graduate.

For my next masters program I may have to take out a small loan, but I am hoping to avoid that.

[Mulvah]

None.
 

Edited by Mulvah - 1/29/11 at 4:00pm

[KristyDi]

I don't have any anymore, but I voted for what I had when I graduated.

Depending on how you look at it I either had $3000 or $6000 because I had one loan for $3000 that a portion was canceled each year I taught special ed. and it was all canceled after my 6th year teaching so I didn't have to pay it back.

I had a college fund started by my grandparents that I started contributing to when I started working at 12. My parents mandated that all money I earned was split 3 ways. 10% to church/ministry of my choosing, 40% to my college fund, and 40% was mine to spend.

I chose in state schools because GA has the lottery funded HOPE scholarship that, when I was in school, paid full tuition plus a small book stipend for public schools and $3000 a year at private schools as long as you kept a 3.0 GPA.

My 1st year I went to a private school and had partial athletic and academic scholarships. It wound up not being the place for me so I transferred to a public school for the rest of my degree. I lost HOPE the 1st semester of my Jr year, but earned it back for my Sr. year. The debt was from the time I lost HOPE and the extra summer semester I needed to finish up. My college fund paid for room, board and living expenses. Oh and I worked in the summers and for my Jr and Sr years during the school year.

ETA I graduated in 2001

[kanga1622]

I paid my way through school by myself and graduated with about $8000 in loans. Of course, it helped that I took college classes in high school that my district paid for and graduated with my B.S. in just 2.5 years.

DH had his community college paid for by his parents and took out loans to complete his B.S. so he graduated with about $8000 in loans.

We paid them off long ago.