# Cost of College: How much debt are you in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809 "2003-07-11T20:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/21 "2003-07-12T01:09:50Z")
I got a BS in Microbiology at a private university, and graduated with no debt. I had an academic scholarship and worked full time the whole way. I even had a car fully paid for when I left. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/22 "2003-07-12T01:58:50Z")
Graduated 2002. BA in International Politics. 4 years at an out-of-state private university. $17,500 in debt, Stafford Loans. Totally worth it to go out of state and be on my own for college. Oh yeah, I got a scholarship that covered about half my costs for college. Otherwise I’d be closer to $35,000. Still worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/23 "2003-07-12T02:07:05Z")
Graduated 1985 I was in school for 5 years Public - University of Wisconsin-Madison BS in Meteorology Student loan debt - about $10,000, all for tuition. I worked to cover other expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/24 "2003-07-12T02:23:27Z")
**Graduated** : 2002. **Years** : Five. **Debt** : About $35,000.\* **Public or Private** : Public. Interestingly, all the prestigious universities here in Australia are public. We tend to (good-naturedly) sneer at those who had to _pay_ to get into a private uni. 🙂 **Degree Earned** : Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce. (I guess the US equivalent would be a JD, BBus). **Other information** : Australian citizens have access to the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), which is basically a system of interest-free loans that cover the cost of university tuitition. There is no obligation to repay one’s HECS debt until one starts earning income above a certain level. In most cases, after students graduate and get a full-time job, HECS deductions are automatically made along with income tax. The amount at which deductions are made increases along with income. The loan is interest-free, but indexed to inflation. - That’s tuition alone. I was lucky enough to be supported by my parents while I was at uni, so I didn’t incur extra debt. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/25 "2003-07-12T02:27:57Z")
**Undergrad:** Graduated 1995. Private college. Four-year BSW (Bachelor’s in Social Work) degree. Student loan debt: $0 My parents were able to skimp, save, and pay off tuition as bills came–I’m very fortunate and very grateful. **Graduate** In school 1.5 years. Earned multiple subject professional clear teaching credential. (Long title, ain’t it?) Private college (ugh…) Student loan debt: $14,000 I’ve paid off one loan and have whittled the other one down to about $8,000 now, I think. Scheduled to be paid off in 2007, but should be paid off in 2005, I think. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/26 "2003-07-12T03:25:19Z")
Year graduated: 1990 Number of years in school: 4.5 Public school. Degree earned: B.S. I owed nothing, my parents paid tuition and I paid the rest working part time. I have friends that went away to school, still in state, and had more fun (got laid) and got better grades. For what it’s worth, I have a better career financially than most of them, but I’m still upset about the gettin’ laid part. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/27 "2003-07-12T03:33:06Z")
**Narrad** , could you explain what this means: > [@](#): > > The loan is interest-free, but indexed to inflation. The only interpretation of that I’m coming up with is that it’s not really interest-free, but the interest rate is the rate of inflation over the life of the loan. But I know that I don’t really know. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/28 "2003-07-12T04:28:16Z")
Year Graduated: 2004 (yeah yeah, it’s an expected date, but bear with me here.) Number of years in school: 4 (which ain’t bad, considering I switched majors two and a half years into it) Private School Degree Earned: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering Debt: Will be close to $40,000, I think. Maybe a little less, since some if it is in PLUS loans (for those not-informed, those are loans that the parents are legally obligated to pay for, which is nice for me :)) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/29 "2003-07-12T04:37:51Z")
Year graduated: 1999 Number of years in school: 4, public Degree earned: BS Debt: zero I had a lottery-sponsored scholarship. Otherwise I would owe too. ---
**Author:** ![Tree\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@Tree\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tree_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/30 "2003-07-12T07:57:04Z")
Graduated: 2002 Years in school: 4 Degree: BS in Biz Mgmt from the Univ of Arizona (out of state all 4 years) Loans: Private with a variable interest rate Total debt: $78,000 My montly payment is currently $610, it has been as high as $730 and as low as $550. ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/31 "2003-07-12T08:18:58Z")
Graduated: 2001 Years in School: 2 Degree: AOS/Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Diploma Loans: Stafford & Private Total Debt: Approximately $35K, about $5K of it for uniforms, books, equipment, other expenses. Family gave me about $4K at the beginning, and with working hard the past two years, I’m down to about $26K ($4K of that being credit card debt). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/32 "2003-07-12T13:07:33Z")
Year Graduated: 2003 Number of years in school: 4 Public or Private: Private Degree Earned: BA, double major in Communication and Philosophy Total debt: none. I was on full tuition scholarship, entitled to monthly VA “surviving dependant” benefits while I was in school, and had a modest mutual fund my parents had set up for me when I was a baby. Of course, I ended up losing more of it than I spent when the stock market took a downturn (the year I started college!), but it still helped. My campus jobs with the fundraising call-center and as a subject matter tutor never amounted to more than a few minimum-wage hours per month, but I made decent money at my summer temp jobs. I’d have been much better off financially if I’d gone to a school with cheaper room and board (we weren’t allowed to live off campus), or someplace closer to home so I didn’t have to spend so much money on travel, but since I’m the only person I know who graduated without any debt I can’t really complain. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/33 "2003-07-12T14:43:34Z")
No debt. I paid cash, zero debt while working all thru college. Got my first degree years ago, other degrees later, but I am still taking classes right now for another major, and still paying cash for tuition and all college costs. Taking out debt is the wrong thing to do, since no one is guaranteed of a job when you get out, esp in todays global job market. I advise everyone who is not in medical school to not take out any loan(doctors are exepted since the number of doctors and doctors jobs are regulated and limited and job availability is known ). ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/34 "2003-07-12T18:43:22Z")
I’ll be graduating in 2006 6 year medical degree in Dublin. £3000 each year as a student loan = £18000 (about $27000). Aim to pay it off as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/35 "2003-07-12T21:09:42Z")
Year Graduated or Expected **1996** Number of years in school **5** (but not in a row) Public or Private **private** Degree Earned **BA English** First 2-1/2 years were at a State University and I paid all without any loans. Debt at graduation = $20,000. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/36 "2003-07-12T21:31:13Z")
Year Graduated or Expected: 2010 Number of years: 7 (first semester) Public or Private: Public (?- community college then UMKC) Degree Earned: (switched: Pharm.D) Debt: Estimated: $7900- associates in Biology $6000 per semester- 10 semesters… ``` ~68,000 for 7 years of college. :( ``` ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/37 "2003-07-12T22:15:11Z")
Year Graduated: 1990 (B.A., private college), 1994 (J.D., private law school) Number of years: 7 total (1 off in between) Total cost: in 2003 constant dollars, I’d say about $225,000 Paid through: Grandparents, parents, and to a much lesser degree me. Debt: $0 Thankfulness at this extraordinary privilege? Infinite. Trust me, I know how lucky I am. In retrospect, I think I would’ve done it less expensively - in no small part because when I see that number I realize how obscene it looks. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/38 "2003-07-13T03:33:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\ ***Narrad** , could you explain what this means: > > > [@](#): > > > > The loan is interest-free, but indexed to inflation. > > The only interpretation of that I’m coming up with is that it’s not really interest-free, but the interest rate is the rate of inflation over the life of the loan. But I know that I don’t really know. \*\* I guess your interpretation is equally valid. However, I consider this type of arrangement different to an traditional interest-bearing security: even without making payments the value of the loan never increases in real terms. Indexation (tied to our Consumer Price Index) is applied to prevent the value of the loan decreasing in real terms, without payments towards interest or principal being made. Semantics, basically. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ASD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@ASD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASD)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/39 "2003-07-13T04:22:40Z")
Year Graduated: 1997, 1999 Number of years in school: 4 undergrad, 2 grad Public or Private: Public for both degrees Degree Earned: BS, MS Debt incurred: $0 I had a full ride academic scholarship for undergrad (which included one paid summer of classes). I did take a summer classes one other year, but my parents paid that (it was under $1000 though) In grad school I got a tuition waiver and a research assistantship which more than covered my costs for those years. Going to a school in the middle of nowhere has it’s advantages. I loved going to a state school, FWIW. Most of what you get out of college is dependent on what you put in. Boyfriend: Year graduated: 2001 Years: 5 Public State school Degree earned: BA Debt incurred: ~$20,000 He paid what he was able to by cashing out bonds he had and working summers, got a little financial aid, and took loans for the rest. His monthly minimum payment is about $180 (thoiugh he’s paying more than that). Not bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lukey\_s\_Boat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lukey\_s\_Boat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukey_s_Boat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809/40 "2003-07-13T06:20:17Z")
- Year Graduated or Expected: 1990 - Number of years in school: 5 (with a 1 1/2 year hiatus between Frosh and Soph) - Public or Private: Private - Degree Earned: BA (Humanities) Since the OP only asked about Undergrad, I’ll start with that. I had $6,500 in student loan debt when I graduated. I paid for college by working part time (except my Freshman year) and going to school barely full time, living cheaply, and going to a private school where tuition is subsidized and a VERY good deal. Since I knew I was ending up with a Liberal Arts degree, I was not comfortable about borrowing very much money, and there were a lot of things I didn’t get to do because I was a poor, self-supporting student (interships, semesters abroad, etc.) I could NOT get a Pell Grant (= free money) other than my freshman and my 5th year (when I _magically_ became self supporting at the age of 25). Got a couple small scholarships that helped out Freshman year, but nothing after that, which was tough. All but $2,000 of that money is paid back now. Now for Grad school: \* Year Graduated or Expected: 1996 \* Number of years in school: 5 \* Public or Private: Private \* Degree Earned: MA (Comparative Literature) I incurred NO debt for my MA, because I went barely full time, paid for it as I went, and so forth. Had a small scholarship, which helped a bit too. And still on, for a PhD \* Year Graduated or Expected: Pending \* Number of years in school: 1997-present \* Public or Private: Public (Memorial University of Newfoundland) \* Degree Earned: Foklore PhD (ABD currently) \* Any other information you’d like to offer: I saved up $10,000 dollars (working 9 months in Korea) and went to Canada for this degree. The exchange rate really worked in my favor! I got fellowship and grant money at this University, which was one of the reasons I went there! I borrowed NO money for this (yet unfinished) degree. So, to recap, I owe about $2000 dollars in student loans (plus my current tuition continuance fees, of course, which are about $550 US dollars a semester). I am amazed that I managed to get this far on my own, because my parents could not afford more than about $2000 of help (during some lean Undergrad days). I am fortunate, blessed, and I got a good bargain out of my education dollar! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-college-how-much-debt-are-you-in/187809.md?page=3)