How much student debt do you have?

[catsandscarves]

so fortunate to have no loans...had full scholarship to small liberal arts school

[marsmat]

Just shy of $30k which is about average or even a bit less than most people have here after a few years of undergrad. No tuition fees, but cost of living will get you into 8k of debt every year. Its OK though because student debt is so engrained in the culture and everyone has roughly the same amount, so post-graduation jobs pay wages that reflect this. Interest is only about 2,5 %.

 

However, it can be really tough for people who take huge loans to go to US or UK universities where they pay fees and have no chance of financial aid or reduced tuition (like EU citizens get). Especially in the UK, Norwegian students are viewed as a money-spinner because of their state-guaranteed loans and grants and are often admitted to programs they are clearly ill-equipt to succeed at. Its a bit of a trap and Im not sure how they ever really start paying those off when it happens.

[seeingeyeduck]

0 here. Got a small merit scholarship and parents paid for undergrad, thank goodness. Hoping not to get into any debt for grad school...

[kyjin]

About $23K here. Started around $26K after undergrad, but have slowly chipped away at it over the last couple years. Luckily after undergrad my language program abroad and MA were fully funded, and now in a funded PhD. Hopefully I can continue to slowly pay off during my PhD so that the payments won't kill me after deferment finally ends.

[deci:belle]

Only 7K for undergrad. Thank God for scholarships!

But I'm looking about $60K in government loans for grad school since my program (Au.D) is barely funded. Makes me want to switch to PhD! But I am still grateful because I know people who owe that much in undergrad sadly. 

[m-ttl]

$42.5k all government loans just for the BA. Parents can't pay for me, so two jobs, scholarships (small), pell grants and parent plus denial loans so I can go over the undergrad maximum and afford state school + living expense basics. Not looking forwards to a possibility of adding any debt, but at least it's all government loans. I just want my grad studies funded.

[RedPill]

zero dollars.

 

 

If you're paying for grad school, you're doing it wrong. 

[Boba felt]

$0 after undergrad and graduate degrees, and looks to be $0 after phd too. Yay me! Scholarships plus working full time while doing grad school part time allowed me to pay all owed each semester.

[microarray]

~30K, but I didn't work for 5 years and had to live on student loans. i get no financial support from my family. luckily i'll get a stipend in grad school so i shouldn't have to take on anymore debt.

 

I plan to slowly chip away at my student loan debt while in grad school. I'm so used to living on nothing, i see no reason why this wouldn't be almost paid off by the time i get my PhD.

[gellert]

$0 for undergrad.

 

I don't think I'll need to take out loans for grad school, either. I did just pay off a $12000 debt of medical expenses, though.

[toasterazzi]

Too much.

[juilletmercredi]

It's about $36,000 - $9,000 from undergrad and ~$27,000 from grad school.  I had a full merit scholarship in undergrad and full funding in graduate school, so even looking back I'm a bit confused about how I managed to get so much.  In undergrad I borrowed for books and to survive over the summers (I couldn't go home and my summer gigs rarely paid enough to fully cover housing).

 

I didn't anticipate borrowing any money for grad school because I have funding, but I borrowed some money to pay my moving expenses when I first got here (security deposits, furniture, flights, etc.)  and then borrowed some money to pay my exit expenses this year to prepare for leaving, and it ended up being more than I originally anticipated.  Also, my funding this year was much lower than previous years, so I borrowed a little to help me get buy especially in closing the gap between two funding sources, which happened a lot in Augusts.

 

I'm still a bit baffled, but it's really fine - my postdoc salary is enough to pay off the loans with some IBR.

[thenewgirl10]

0 for undergrad. I had a Louisiana program called TOPS that pays all public school tuition for anyone who had a certain GPA in high school. All I owed were fees, but I got a grant my freshman year that paid 3 years worth of fees. If I wouldn't have graduates a year early, may have been a different story. All I had to pay were sorority dues!

Hopefully 0 for grad if I get in!

[TheGirlWhoLived]

I had about $19k for undergrad, which is down to $16.5k now. I am fully funded for my PhD, so I don't plan to take out anymore money. I'm really surprised that a lot of people have no debt (I thought everyone took out student loans!). That's awesome though

[ezmeray]

Another $0 here.  Also, another "thanks, parents!"

 

And I don't intend on accumulating any during grad school.

[Macavity]

20k from undergrad.  I didn't need to take out loans for my MA, and will likely be able to live comfortably on my PhD funding with no additional loans.  Might need to borrow a couple thousand from my parents when it's time to move, though.

[Marycontrary]

30k for undergrad, now down to less than 18k !! 

 

Grad school will either be fully funded or cost about 30k total for 3 years (living expenses included).

[Maziana]

0 for undergrad due to a combination of scholarships and financial aid. UNC is truly the best when it comes to financial aid; I plan on giving back to them once I have a real job. I did take out a small loan, but I paid it back quickly after graduation.

 

I may have to take out a small loan due to moving costs/getting a car costs, depending on where I go to grad school, but hopefully not much.

[ss2player]

Undergrad: 0! I had a state scholarship (that no longer exists) that paid for my A.S. (lived at home during this time) and then my B.A. once I transferred (I lost that my 4th year, took out loans and paid them back post-graduation). I also had copious financial aid 'cause my family is poor and my biological father was nice enough to help out with living costs the last 2 years (my parents never married).

 

Masters: I'm using my employer tuition benefit, where they pay 90% and I do 10% out of pocket. No debt from this so far. I may have to pay some of it back if I leave this year however, but it will only be a few K and they let you pay it back over 60 months interest free!

 

PhD: I wouldn't go anywhere that wasn't funded. That's just silly.