A few weeks ago we celebrated our son Collin’s college graduation At both the senior dinner and the graduation ceremony, graduates were encouraged to practice generosity – not forgetting the private institution from which they were graduating. Within six months over 70% of American graduates will begin their student loan payments.
In 2014, Wall Street Journal reported that the average student debt for that year’s class would be $33,000. And with an upward trend of over 70% of college students choosing to borrow money, coming out of college debt-free is really a minority position. In order to do so, students and their parents need to make tough and hard choices.
Some of those choices begin 18 years prior to the first year of college; some come during the college experience. Collin graduated with less than $5000 in student loan debt, and he worked hard to accomplish the task. I have asked him to tell his story, and answer the question, was it worth it? Collin was only responsible for the last two years of his college expenses, as we paid tuition, room and board for the first two years of college.
From Collin:
I looked down the paper towards the last line, as I have done every month for a few years, and felt relief, like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders.
I worked on and off campus all through college, and every year except for my senior year, I essentially doubled or tripled my workload. Freshman year was just five hours a week in the library, then sophomore year I worked as a Resident Assistant as well as ten hours a week in the library. My junior year I took a job opening a gas station, working 35 hours plus working at the library at 10 hours, and was Assistant Manager for a residence building. Senior year I continued the library position, quit the gas station job, and became a Hall Manager. All of this while being a full time student and ending with a cumulative GPA of 3.7.
I graduated a few weeks ago and felt happy that I finished in four years and had a degree. But it was nothing in comparison to looking down that paper, and knowing that my next paycheck would finish my payments to the school. Every year I worked jobs for the school, and I didn’t see any paychecks after my sophomore year. 100% of it went towards the school costs, as well as checks in the fall and spring from summer and winter jobs. Knowing that my bill would soon be done was like finally defeating an opponent I had been fighting for years.
But the war is not yet over. Over the course of the next few months, I will continue to work hard and live off very little in order to pay off the $3500 I have in student loans. Within the six months after graduation, a student must go through financial exit counseling with their school, consolidate loans and set up a payment plan so that at the end of the sixth months, they are ready to take full responsibility of the debt they gathered. Like my mom mentioned above, for the average student it’s usually quite a lot.
And that is the terrible thing about student loans: you want to get a good education so you take out a few loans, but when that education doesn’t grant a high paying job immediately, you are forced to opt for the income-based repayment plan, which seems like a good plan. It’s based on how much you make per year, so if you don’t make a lot, you don’t pay a lot. Those small payments are handy until you calculate how long you’re going to be paying them, because if you have a lot of debt, the minimum payment will usually only pay the interest gained on the mountain of debt.
Luckily I have great parents who taught me the skills of budgeting and to ask the tough questions and research what I was getting myself into. I knew that if I worked hard and paid off as much up front as I could, even if it meant 50 hour work weeks with school full-time, I would be able to evade one of the greatest tragedies of my generation.
Was it worth it? All the way. At 22 and a half, I will be completely debt free. I will no longer be a slave to the lender. So for all college students out there waking up at 4am five days a week to stock shelves at the local gas station before class, questioning why they are putting themselves through such misery, just know that when you are done, you will be smiling and enjoying those once terrible moments.
Collin’s junior year was tough. His 50 hour workweek plus school took a toll on him. The built-in school breaks were much needed, and as a mom, I was a bit concerned for his health. Not every student has it within them to work this many hours, or to live inexpensively, but every student and parent has it within them to plan their course. Our recommendation? Get an education as economically as possible. Whether you make sacrifices to save throughout the child’s life or if its during the college years, remember the ‘hardship’ is temporary and the benefit it reaps lasts a lifetime.
What questions do you have for Collin or me?
Next week, Collin and I have an interchange about his very tight food budget.
