Over and over, you probably have heard thousands of borrowers complaining about their seemingly never ending student debt. Millions of students struggle in choosing the right options and managing their payments. Some students have even given up and simply defaulted in the payment of their loans.
Don’t fret; if you don’t wish you be one of them, there are horrifying student loan statistics that will surely take you to the right direction.
According to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, we currently have $1.2 trillion outstanding federal loan debt. This doesn’t even include student loans from private lending institutions. If you are just looking into schools, then make sure that you enter schools that meet your budget or are at least worth your money. Be sure to try to avoid pricey schools which will only eventually bring you to financial trouble in the long run.
Be competitive. Try for scholarships if you really want good-value schools or even applying for jobs on-campus. If you are good enough to enter into these institutions and get financial aid, you are sure to have full financial benefits.
If you have already graduated college, and is thinking of taking up a graduate degree, maybe you should think twice before you pursue. Federal loans for graduate degrees account for almost half of the student debt. If you want to continue studying, there are other options like an online course or other courses that wouldn’t be as burdensome.
In 2012, a survey was conducted between 1,006 schools. It revealed that an average student loan costs $27,183.
According to John Collins, a managing director of GL Advisor, you must only take out or borrow money that you expect your starting salary to cost. If this is the case, $30,000 isn’t really much to worry about, since according to the National Association of Colleges and Employersthe average starting salary is around $45,237.
Collins advices that should you wish to borrow money, make sure that you assess the amount based on the salary per year of the jobs you are expected to have by the time you graduate. By doing so, you can calculate your expected monthly payments would be and the time it will take for you to repay them.
According to data gathered from 1,207 colleges and universities, for first-time full-time students, only 41% actually graduate in 4 years. This is a big no-no for students with loans. Aside from the fact that they would pay an extra year or more for college, this also means that their tuition and daily expenses would increase and it would be much harder to pay for these loans after graduation. According to statistics, students that take 6 years to graduate in Temple University-Philadelphia, have almost twice the student debt compared to those who finished within four.
To avoid this, make sure you also consider the graduation rates for the schools you pick, make sure that you not only create a good career path but also on the right academic path by consulting with others like your career counselor. Also, if you want to work, be sure you work for less than 15 hours a week, working longer can have negative effects on a person’s GPA, which could possibly result to another year in college, yikes!
This is the default rate for recent graduates. Federal loan default happens when a student fails to pay for a consecutive 9 months. This is harder to fix, and the risks and debts become bigger. Should this happen, American Student Assistance advices to never, ever take out a higher costing mortgage or any car or credit card loan that can easily size up your costs. Tax refunds and wages are seized by the federal government and in the end, you will virtually have no salary and will end up buried in debt.
To carefully plan the payment of your debt, be sure that in making decisions you always try to contact your loan servicer first. There are many options that can help you curb your debt such as student loan forgiveness, a deferment of your loans or you can try to consolidate your loans and see if this could make a difference in helping you manage your loans.
You read it right, your parents or even grandparents gain this much in debt. If you want to avoid paying your loan in your golden years, create a payment schedule that will help you pay your loans faster.