Are student loans THAT bad?

[AchtungBaby80]

The other thread about student loans got me thinking about this. I graduated with my first bachelor's with no student loan debt. However, since that degree is pretty much useless, I'm starting classes again in the summer for a teaching degree which pretty much requires me to get a second bachelor's. Unfortunately, unclassified students like me aren't eligible for aid or scholarship money, so all that's left is loans *insert horror-stricken look* I'm looking at another 44 hours, probably, and I'm scared that once I'm done with this, I won't get hired anywhere and I won't be able to pay off the debt. All my life I've been told that loans are Bad and to avoid them at all costs. It took my dad 10 years to pay off a measly $4,000 student loan from when he went back to school. So guys, is it really that bad? I mean, I don't want to end up working at Wal-Mart with two college degrees to get out of debt because no one will hire me! I'm kind of upset about it because until today I thought I was going to be able to get some kind of aid, and I'm starting to reconsider going back to school.

[James]

I am not sure how that works. If you are a post-baac at your same school I know you don't get grants or whatever. If you change school are you eligible? Or is it only for loans?

Anyhoo . . it really depends. You are making a wager versus your future earnings. Assuming you were going back for say . . teaching . . is there an alternative route? In NJ you don't need a teachers certification if you get hired through the alternative route.

Whta kind of debt are you looking at for a year and a half? And have you tried finding a rich man to go out with that might help out?

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
The other thread about student loans got me thinking about this. I graduated with my first bachelor's with no student loan debt. However, since that degree is pretty much useless, I'm starting classes again in the summer for a teaching degree which pretty much requires me to get a second bachelor's. Unfortunately, unclassified students like me aren't eligible for aid or scholarship money, so all that's left is loans *insert horror-stricken look* I'm looking at another 44 hours, probably, and I'm scared that once I'm done with this, I won't get hired anywhere and I won't be able to pay off the debt. All my life I've been told that loans are Bad and to avoid them at all costs. It took my dad 10 years to pay off a measly $4,000 student loan from when he went back to school. So guys, is it really that bad? I mean, I don't want to end up working at Wal-Mart with two college degrees to get out of debt because no one will hire me! I'm kind of upset about it because until today I thought I was going to be able to get some kind of aid, and I'm starting to reconsider going back to school.

[damasa]

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
The other thread about student loans got me thinking about this. I graduated with my first bachelor's with no student loan debt. However, since that degree is pretty much useless, I'm starting classes again in the summer for a teaching degree which pretty much requires me to get a second bachelor's. Unfortunately, unclassified students like me aren't eligible for aid or scholarship money, so all that's left is loans *insert horror-stricken look* I'm looking at another 44 hours, probably, and I'm scared that once I'm done with this, I won't get hired anywhere and I won't be able to pay off the debt. All my life I've been told that loans are Bad and to avoid them at all costs. It took my dad 10 years to pay off a measly $4,000 student loan from when he went back to school. So guys, is it really that bad? I mean, I don't want to end up working at Wal-Mart with two college degrees to get out of debt because no one will hire me! I'm kind of upset about it because until today I thought I was going to be able to get some kind of aid, and I'm starting to reconsider going back to school.

To be blunt - no. I've been working in banking for a while now and I can tell you that there are many forms of debt that are much worse than student loan debt.

Of course it sort of sucks that you have to pay back student loans but you have up to ten years to pay them back. Some people choose to do this so they don't have to make higher monthy payments. Other people choose to pay them off as soon as possible.

Not to mention that you can refinance your student loans with very low rates and extended payoff periods (15, 20, 23 years).

The kicker isn't the student loan debt, it's the credit card and personal loan debt that new grads have, on top of their student loan debt. In a recent report we received at work (which I can't post here due to privacy reasons), the average college grad has an average of 4,000-5,000 in credit card debt and 2,000 in personal loan debt, on top of student loan debt.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by damasa
To be blunt - no. I've been working in banking for a while now and I can tell you that there are many forms of debt that are much worse than student loan debt.

This is true. At one of my old jobs, when I assigned lines of credit to applicants, I was always told that $100K of student debt looked a whole lot better than $75K of credit card debt. It's like a mortgage--it's a big debt, but it's a positive investment in your future that you can justify, unlike most credit card debt. Plus, the interest is much lower, and isn't adjusted daily like credit cards.

Do you HAVE to get a second bachelor's in order to teach? There's not an Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or M.Ed program around you that offers assistance? I know that where I live, teachers with a Masters are paid more than those without--and in NYC, you have to receive a Masters within a few years beginning your teaching career in order to maintain your license.

Originally posted by damasa
In a recent report we received at work (which I can't post here due to privacy reasons), the average college grad has an average of 4,000-5,000 in credit card debt and 2,000 in personal loan debt, on top of student loan debt.

It boggles my mind how a person who's barely in their 20s can wrack up that much personal debt (ignoring student loans)

Step away from the credit cards, kids.

[AOIIBrandi]

I have a one degree that I don't really do anything with and around $30,000 in loans to show for it. I looked into teaching as well. The good news is there is a teacher shortage, so it is hard to imagine that you won't get a teaching job. Also, most states have ways for you to begin teaching as long as you have a bachelor's in any subject and a fairly high GPA (2.5 or something), you then work on getting certified while on the job. If you teach in a critical shortage area, or an "underperforming school" (or whatever is P.C.) you should be eligible to have your loans either deferred or a portion of them canceled according to your lender and/or state.

Munchkin03 also made a very good point. You do not have to have a Bachelor's in Education to enroll in an M.Ed. program. You may want to consider that route. In my opinion it is far better to have a Master's in something than 2 Bachelor's degrees. This will also enable you to teach on the college level if you so desire.

Anyway, to answer your real question... Student loans are not horrible. They are considered good debt, but debt still the same. Do I wish I didn't have to have them? Yes. But then I wouldn't have my education, so it's a Catch-22 if you will. Also, if you cannot afford to make the payment for sometime you can go into forebearance which allows you to completely stop making payments, reduce the amount you pay, or just pay the interest - as interest will still accrue for a certain amount of time. You can extend the period of time when it runs up as well. I shouldn't say this, but if you are going to buy a house or something it is nice to have your loan in forebearance at that time because the lender doesn't consider the debt as much as the minimum payment due reflects as 0. Also, be careful DO NOT default on your student loan this will haunt you for years.

[aggieAXO]

Student Loans are recognized as "good debt". Many banks will look at them as an investment in your future. Even with my huge student loan debt I was still able to buy a fairly expensive house. I had NO credit card debt and no car payment though so I think that helped. Plus this was the third property I owned so I had established credit. I then purchased a car in January and still had no problems financing it even with a huge mortgage and student loan.

I think people need to also look into the future and try to determine if their post graduate degree is going to help them get a better job and how much it will pay. If I had graduated with 77,000 in student loans and I was going to be a teacher (even a principal)-frankly I would have been screwed. Fortunately, there is a high demand for veterinarians, especially when I graduated back in 97. We pretty much get to pick and choose our jobs. I am not saying all of them pay well-there are some $hitty jobs out there. Emergency vets get payed well because we work at night/weekends/holidays and it is a high stress job (which I LOVE!) so there aren't many applicants.

My friend who graduated with 100,000 in student loans graduated last year when the economy was in the tank and even though she now had her MBA, there were so many business people/MBA's out of jobs it was an employers market, not employees. She finally got a job that she enjoys but it will take her a while before she breaks even as far as her debt to salary ratio.

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
Do you HAVE to get a second bachelor's in order to teach? There's not an Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or M.Ed program around you that offers assistance? I know that where I live, teachers with a Masters are paid more than those without--and in NYC, you have to receive a Masters within a few years beginning your teaching career in order to maintain your license.

Yes, I have to basically get a second bachelor's. I wanted to enroll in the Master of Arts in Teaching program, which gives you a master's AND initial certification, but the university is unwilling to work with me because my bachelor's is in fashion merchandising and to qualify for the MAT program, you need to have a major in English, Social Studies, Science, or Math. And I don't. I went to see about 8 different people at the university the other day, and basically I have to get another bachelor's if I want to teach. I'm looking at about another 34 hours' worth of classes, since at least I did one thing right and got a minor in French.

In other states, you can just take the Praxis exam and be certified, degree or no degree, but Kentucky has to go and be all difficult and require you to have 30 hours in the subject you want to teach. Plus, the university I'm going to requires some method courses.

I have tried every other way I can possibly think of to get around this, but nothing has worked. The only routes to alternative certification in Kentucky are if you are already a professor at the college level, if you have at least 10 years' work experience with students and exceptional knowledge, or if you're certified to teach in another country. I've heard of other states allowing people with bachelor's degrees to be hired and then complete their training, but Kentucky will only allow this if the county has a special program set up, and only one in the state does and it's in a place I don't want to live. So...it's back to school for me.

Oh, and I'm going to estimate high and say I'm looking at about $10,000 worth of loans. I have a car payment (I looked into selling the car, but I wouldn't get enough back to pay off the loan), but thank God I had some sense and didn't get a credit card so there's no debt from that!

Edited to add: And yes, I'll have to get a master's if I want to keep teaching...but we're not going to talk about that right now.

[Kimmie1913]

It is not so much that student loans are bad but they can be burdensome and depending, on size, can follow you throughout your adult life. Ideally, you would want to have as little debt of any kind as possible. "Good" debt or not, we have a lot of 22 year olds walking around with the equivalent of a mortgage hanging over thier heads before they work a day in the real world. I have friends who have $600 a month loan payments (after consolidation etc.) because it encompasses an advance degree and undergrad plus interest from deferrment. So it depends on what kind of burden it is going to be on you, what your realistic income is going to be and how much you can afford to pay and still do the other things you need to do to enjoy your life.