Author Topic: Which year did you graduate in and how much debt did you end up with, if any?  (Read 30539 times)

hoodedfalcon

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Apparently I got dumber the older I got...

2000: BA in reading books/er...literature - $0 (scholarships, grants, the government)
2007: JD - $170K. I have no excuses. Current balance is $148K. Paying around $1100/month now, but that is a recent development (thanks MMM!) Previously used up three years of deferment on the federal loans (90K) so those basically haven't moved at all. On IBR now, paying interest only.

sleepyguy

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1999 If I recall... then again that was just HS :) so $0 debt

Then right to the workforce!

galliver

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2010: ~$25k to parents, now at ~$20k. Full tuition scholarship all 4 years at a small private tech school. I worked from fall sophomore year onwards (earliest I could); paid $15k worth in room&board myself, in addition to earning groceries/laundry/misc spending money. Living on-campus was worth it; couldn't have held down those jobs without it. :)

Still working on the PhD, but getting paid for it. So far.

epowers

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B.S. 2007 - $0 (Thanks to my parents and a couple small scholarships)
M.S. 2008 - $0 (Thanks to my parents or an inheritance from my grandmother)

My parents paid my tuition and gave me $500/mo. for expenses during the school year.  I had paid internships every summer and graduated with several thousand dollars in a savings account.  My husband had a similar set-up.  He was better at spending, but he still didn't have any debt.

zinethstache

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1999 BS $0 - scholarship early on, then worked full time and they paid 100%.

lysistrata

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2006: $0 debt (actually +$20k in savings :) )

My tuition fees and a couple of years of living expenses were paid for by scholarships. I was truly blessed to be eligible for a disability-related weekly benefit of about $250 a week that covered living expenses with some left over, and my amazing parents (who had money saved to pay for my tuition, but then I covered it all with my scholarships) generously gave me $100 a week, which I saved.

I live in NZ, so benefits and tuition fees are different from the US. The interest on our student loans is also written off by the Govt.

Frugal373

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Undergrad 2007: Zero debt

Grad school 2009: Zero debt

pka222

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2001- 16K undergrad Forestry
2006- +6 masters - geography
22k all up
All gone as of 2012
it was worth it- wouldn't be in my current position without the masters, I could have worked more and spent less though.

capital

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Undergrad 2010: ~$28,000, plus ~$3,000 owed to parents for apartment deposits that I would have otherwise had to take as a loan

I had a decent scholarship to a private engineering school that was very strong at computer science & engineering. My parents agreed to pay about as much as state school would cost.  Fortunately, I graduated into a booming market for computer engineers, and thus I was able to pay off the loans in a year and a half, slightly beyond my goal of one year due to a cross-country bike tour and a second cross-country move.

Nothlit

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Undergrad 2006, no debt (thanks, mom and dad!)

Grad school 2008, no debt (thanks, federal government scholarship!)

Mae80s

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BA - 2005 - $0 debt. (Parental help + working + some car insurance accident  money). Canadian, so my yearly tuition and books averaged to about $4000.

MSc. - 2008 -$20,000 debt. (Parental help + scholarship money + me going into debt). Done at an Ivy in the U.S. Accelerated masters for one year. The total bill, including living costs, was 4x more than this. I was on the hook for 25%.

I've paid off the above debt. Now debt-free. Until I get a mortgage.

A lot to be grateful for. I didn't get the free ride/silver spoon like some people, but I wasn't 100% on my own either.



« Last Edit: October 08, 2013, 01:50:47 PM by Mae80s »

SMP

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2011: 0$/€ - Mechanical Engineering something between undergrad and grad (It's a german Dipl.-Ing(FH))

Education is quite cheap in Germany -  We pay for it with our high(er) taxes, I assume.

simonsez

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2009 BS University of Illinois (in-state), ~35k
2010 MS Florida State University (out-of-state), ~50k

MilwaukeeStubble

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2103 - $0, thanks to scholarships, jobs, and generous parents the first couple years

Guys! I found a time traveler! We're on to you, Russ.

I didn't graduate, so I don't have anything else to really contribute. :) 0 college debt though!

I wonder how he got the bicycle up to 88 Miles and Hour?

2013 - $5000 here thanks to generosity, scholarships, working all four years, etc.

Reepekg

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BSc - 2006 - $0 - Parents payed half. I covered my half by a merit scholarship covering "need" (Thanks, Michael Bloomberg!), graduating a year early, and summer internships.

MSc - 2008 - $0 - Thanks,  government of Denmark (though I paid you back and more in crazy tax rates after graduating)

mcneally

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2008- zero

One time I added up everything my parents paid for between high school and college graduation and it was about $25k, at a cost to them of about $15k after tax breaks. Since I graduated with $11k in savings and would have done things a little differently if I was entirely on my own, I think I would have had a net worth very close to zero at college graduation without my parents.

kkbmustang

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Okay, I'm going to swing the pendulum WAY in the other direction:

Me
1994 - BS, BA - Paid for by mom and dad
1997 - J.D. - $90k Student Loans - worked throughout law school to offset living expenses, etc.
1999 - LL.M. - $30k Student Loans - worked throughout to offset living expenses

(What is frightening is that I qualified for about $150k in loans. My classmates were maxing out their loans and living it up.)

Total Loans: $110k
Balance Today: $22k

Husband
1995 - BBA - Paid for by his parents
2008 - MSA - $55k Student Loans

Total Loans: $55k
Balance Today: $45k

Total Family Student Loans Taken Out: $165k
Total Balance Today: $67k

We are definitely of the slow changing variety of Mustachian convert vs. the Immediate 180. We have a pretty good net worth (hope to hit $500k by the end of the year), but it's all tied up in 401ks, IRAs and home equity. We plan on downsizing our house, paying off the SLs with the proceeds and reducing our monthly expenses while increasing our savings rate and building our taxable stash.

DocCyane

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1990: Bachelors $10,000; private college, paid off debt in 3 years

1995: Masters $0 paid cash and worked full time

2005: PhD $0 paid cash and worked full time

seattlecyclone

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BS, 2007: $0. I attended a state school that offered me a generous merit scholarship, supplemented by summer income from software development internships. I even maxed out my Roth IRA senior year (and every year since).
MS, 2009: $0. I had a teaching assistantship that covered tuition and paid a monthly stipend to cover living expenses. After I discovered that teaching assistants were eligible for the university's 403(b) plan, I diverted about 90% of my stipend into that and mostly lived off of my savings from summer internships.

All told, I graduated with no student debt and about $40k in savings. It could have been a lot worse. For both degrees I was accepted into other schools with good reputations in my field, but they would have made me pay full sticker price (or close to it). I took the cheaper option in both cases, lived a frugal lifestyle throughout, and have no regrets about it.

rocklebock

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B.A. 1994 - $0 (generous parents, cheap but good state school, always worked around 20 hours a week)
M.A. 2000 - $0 in loans (had a fellowship) but $2500 or so in cc debt, paid off in a few months after finding gainful employment
M.A. 2004 -  $14k in loans, just finished paying those off this summer.

The loans for the second M.A. weren't strictly necessary - I had been paying cash, but I decided I wanted to graduate much faster than my cash flow would allow. At that time the job market in my field was quite favorable, and I was looking at making $25k without the degree vs. about $45k with, so taking on the debt seemed worth it. I don't regret it.

Scrooge McDuck

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Its not uncommon to come out with $50,000 plus student loans in NZ as I did but professional courses can be over $100,000.

(A bit of a humble brag but) student loans in NZ are provided by the government and are interest free while you live in NZ.  You automatically pay 12% gross off each pay check.


chardog

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1981, $0

combination of parents + summer internships (in engineering)

Ditto. 

I lived at my parent's and paid as I went for an engineering degree at a state school with money earned during summer internships and Christmas holiday side jobs.

I think I had about $10K when I graduated and was able to buy a car and some furniture when I got my first job out of school.

chardog

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1981, $0

combination of parents + summer internships (in engineering)

Ditto. 

I lived at my parent's and paid as I went for an engineering degree at a state school with money earned during summer internships and Christmas holiday side jobs.

I think I had about $10K when I graduated and was able to buy a car and some furniture when I got my first job out of school.

Oh and the date was 1986 for the BSCE and the $10K was net worth, not debt.

OzzieandHarriet

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Three degrees in music (BM, 1981; MM, 1983; DMA, 1994), $0 debt. All state schools, full scholarship for the doctorate, frugal living throughout. Parents paid tuition when necessary, but it was very cheap back then. The biggest single expense was my instrument, which my parents bought for me with a home equity loan (very nice of them to do it). But I think I made up for it by not costing them very much otherwise, in general, plus the instrument appreciated in value (unlike, say, a car, which a lot of parents buy for their kids). TBH, I don't remember a lot of financial details of the earlier years because I was oblivious, but going to college then was a lot simpler and less expensive than it is now.

Then there's the (un)marketability of my degrees, but that's another story ...

Wads

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High school in 2005- Free..........N/W 110k i got lucky

Caoineag

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Me: 2005 - 18k student loans (merit/need based scholarships were the only assistance I got and I worked for those too, no parental assistance and lived half a state away from home)

DH: 2005 - 0 (parents had invested in a program that paid full tuition instate while that program was reasonably priced)

cats

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Graduated in 2004 with about $12k in debt.  Would have been more but somewhere in my first year of (expensive and only partially scholarshipped) year of university I started crunching some numbers and decided a hasty transfer back to the cheap and excellent state school was in order.  Thanks to low tuition, parental help, full-time summer work, and some odd jobs during the school year, I managed to keep it under control overall.  Paid the last of it off in 2008 (while in grad school and earning <$30k/yr).

No debt from my graduate degrees, phew!

bugbaby

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long time lurker but i feel called upon to make everyone feel better.

BA: 2000 - $13k (paid off last year)
Med school 2007 - $210k  - includes CC used to pay for the last year and living expenses.
By end of residency 2010 - $240k (variable rate had gone up to 8.5%!!!)

Now: 85 k (rate down to 3%)



Russ

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2103 - $0, thanks to scholarships, jobs, and generous parents the first couple years

Guys! I found a time traveler! We're on to you, Russ.

I didn't graduate, so I don't have anything else to really contribute. :) 0 college debt though!

I wonder how he got the bicycle up to 88 Miles and Hour?

ha, 4 years of engineering school and I still can't numbers!

JPinDC

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2008 and roughly $25K, but just wrote a check for the balance!

galliver

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2103 - $0, thanks to scholarships, jobs, and generous parents the first couple years

Guys! I found a time traveler! We're on to you, Russ.

I didn't graduate, so I don't have anything else to really contribute. :) 0 college debt though!

I wonder how he got the bicycle up to 88 Miles and Hour?

ha, 4 years of engineering school and I still can't numbers!

What engineer works with numbers? Numbers are for accountants. (I jest. But it is significantly about formulas. Which use letters.)

vern

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I'm an autodidact.  I've purchased my share of books over the years, but I've never had to take out any loans for them.


bettyb

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2006 JD: 180,000
Down to 48,000

TickInTime

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Total Cost: $94,000
Remaining Obligation:  $5,405

Breakdown
  • First Year of School (left here):  $15,000
  • Second Stop (received AS):    ~$4,000
  • Final Choice (unfinished BS):   ~$75,000

Melody

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2010. $22k course fees, $3k credit card... Currently $0.
I earned enough money I could have paid my course fees instead of taking the government sponsored (low interest) loan. Instead I did semester abroad and traveled internationally each summer holiday. It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but I don't really regret it. If I had the chance for a do-over I would have still done the travel but done it slightly cheaper, and worked more. (I didn't work very much in the last two years of University and while I had fun hanging out with friends, I could have worked an extra 10 hours per week, 9 months of year and pulled in >$10k by doing so which I should have paid towards the course. I still would have had time for friends). The life experiences were worth graduating with debt, but I wish I'd graduated with say $10k of debt not $25K by working a little harder and spending a little less.

randymarsh

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2014 - $68,000

BS - Information Systems

Includes a semester abroad that was ~$6,000 more than a semester at home.

happy

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1982. $0 debt. University was nearly free back in those days (compulsory fees <$500/year). So there was only costs like textbooks and equipment, and living expenses. Paid for by part-time work and living at home with parents who generously helped out. A student's life could be much simpler back then: no mobile phone, internet, laptop, iPad etc. Essentials were enough coffee and beer money.  Even coffee was simpler and cheaper: it was either black or white, and in some places could be had for free.

TrulyStashin

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BA '91 -- $0  Thanks to wonderful parents who kept paying tuition/ books/ fees even after I foolishly got married in sophomore year.

MA '98 -- $0.  Fellowship

JD '11 -- $156,000 at either 6.8 or 7.6%.

Looks like I win the prize (sarcasm).  Sigh.  At least I have a good job with growth potential.

Cromacster

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2010 - 0$

My grandparents were very wealthy and mustachian and were able to give each grandchild (7 of us) 40,000 (10k a year for 4 years) for school of some sort.  With that and some summer jobs I was able to cover school.  My grandparents contribution was able to cover all of my tuition and most of my living expenses.  Summer jobs went to savings and a few beers.

CommonCents

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2001 (college): Approximately $50K
2007 (JD & M.Bioethics): Approximately $180K after adding on interest while in school

DH:
1997: Approximately $15K? I think
2005: Nothing, he was paid for his Ph.D, however paltry a sum

I don't regret any of it.  Wouldn't have met my husband if I hadn't gone to college (we met on a young alum sports team post-college, actually post-grad school).  My college has a strong alum network, which is helpful for job, life, friends, etc.  Others in the industry tell me it's the strongest they know.  You get more than a piece of paper for your ~$250K.  That said, I do wish I had cut out one quarter and worked instead my junior spring, when I had housing the college couldn't take away.

Also wouldn't have gotten the $170K salary & bonus post-law school which let me break even on educational debts after a little more than two years, if I hadn't gone to my law school or a similar one.  And actually, a similar caliber school would have meant no second degree and thus wouldn't have gotten my second job post grad school, so I pretty much needed my exact school.  :) 

pinkysmith

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BA 2005: $0
JD 2009: $100K <-- Paid off in March of 2013

cynthia1848

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BA 1999, JD 2002, $0 (parents paid)

Relative who graduated with JD in 2009 - $200K.  They are hoping to rely on the public service loan repayment program - only 9 more years (didn't find a job until 2012).

basd

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2004 - €25k in debt after obtaining my MSc in Computer Science.

Even though university tuition is pretty low in The Netherlands, I had to pay for housing, food, clothes and (a lot of) beer. No regrets about any of these investments. Its rewards are a pretty decent career so far and lots of great memories.

At the moment there's less than €4k left, looking at paying it off somewhere next year. Interest is pretty low (2,39%) so I'm not really in a hurry, although I would like to see it gone altogether and be able to do something more useful with the €150 I now spend in monthly repayments.

Monkey stache

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I graduated in 2011 with no student debt. I received grants/scholarships and worked full time to pay the difference.  I attended community college the first 2 years and then transferred to a local state college. The tuition there was only $10 more per credit hour!
« Last Edit: October 09, 2013, 10:14:04 AM by RandR »

RobertBirnie

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Should graduate this year so 2013. 10k in debt.

I've been in college for 8 years now though and working my way through slowly. I would have higher debt but I've been paying it off for two years now and haven't added any new.

dadof4

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2000 BA, $0 in debt.

My parents covered the first year. I worked part time (and full time during summer) the last two years.

Catbert

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1976.  0 debt (not hard when "tuition" was about $150. a semester for in-state students)

Tempe

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I graduated from a certificate program in 2012 with 4500$ in loans (1500$ to my mom) Right now I have 1200$ left to pay off. Almost there

m_ask

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2005 - $65k for Masters degree and some undergrad. I was very stupid and didn't start getting serious about paying them off until last year. In less than a year and a half, I now have just over $30k left! Hopefully I will be done with them by the end of next year.

Kipp

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(Self) 2011 - $5000 - paid off in 1 year after repayment started
BS- Accounting

(Wife) 2013 - $21000*
BS - Printing Management

*She had an unsubsidized loan at a balance on $4500, which is why I forgone to repay my loan in full at graduation and paid that higher interest loan off in full first.  Also I know her parents took out a plus loan her first year at the university, but I am not sure in the amount that they financed.

I feel that we are both fortunate to have had full time jobs since graduation, but that doesn't seem to be the norm for same year graduates.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!