4 ms·

While what he says is true, if you're taking on a lot of debt you have to consider whether you're going to be able to pay it off and how long that will take. "

by tsotha 11y ago

While what he says is true, if you're taking on a lot of debt you have to consider whether you're going to be able to pay it off and how long that will take. "How much can I expect to make after graduation" was something people always considered, but the recent steep rise in tuition has made it more of an overriding question.

learc83 11y ago
They have an income based repayment plan where if you borrow over a certain amount you only have to pay 10% of your discretionary income (Income - 1.5 * Federal poverty level) for 20 years.
- tsotha 11y ago
  Right. Which puts you comfortably into middle age before you retire your student loan debt. Which is absolutely crazy.
  - learc83 11y ago
    If you're stuck in a crappy job making $30k a year and you're single, that works out to about $100 a month--many people pay that much for their cell phone bill. I don't think that's particularly burdensome. If on the other hand you make you get a better paying job making $60k your payment will be about $350 a month, and you'll pay off the average student loan debt (close to $30k) in about 10 years.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  That's quite a burden, right up there with a mortgage. Back in the day I paid off my student loan debt in 3 years, then my wife's in one more year. And we went to Stanford. Things have gotten way out of whack.
  - learc83 11y ago
    >That's quite a burden, right up there with a mortgage. That's nowhere near a mortgage at the income levels where it makes sense. If you're stuck in a crappy job making $30k a year and you're single, it's about $100 a month. If you're making $60k and you're single, you could definitely pay off the average $30k loan in 3 or 4 years (assuming you live somewhere where 60k is a decent income). And If you're making $60k and you have a family of 3, you're payments are going to be about $250 per month. Obviously the cost of college has gone up a good bit. Mainly due to an increase in the number and cost of administrators and a decrease in state funding. However, it hasn't gone up nearly as much as it seems when you realize that most people aren't paying the sticker price after you factor in federal grants, state scholarships, and university scholarships. >And we went to Stanford Right now if you go to Stanford and your parents make less than $65k a year, you get a waiver for tuition and room and board. They also waive tuition for students whose parents make less than $125k a year.
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      If you're making 30K you don't have a mortgage. 100$ a month for life is a significant fraction of your disposable income, and it never ends. ITs very much like a mortgage. Anyway, folks aren't bellyaching about $100 a month. Student loans are costing millions of Americans many times that for 20 years.
      - learc83 11y ago
        >If you're making 30K you don't have a mortgage. True, but that's probably the case regardless of whether you have a $100 a month student loan payment. > 100$ a month for life is a significant fraction of your disposable income, and it never ends. It's not for life. If you haven't paid it off in 20 years, the rest is forgiven. >Anyway, folks aren't bellyaching about $100 a month. Student loans are costing millions of Americans many times that for 20 years. The income plan is for people on the lower side of the income scale. The standard plan is only 10 years. If you can afford that, you'll be done in 10 years. If you can't afford that, it's unlikely that you'll pay "many" times $100 a month for 20 years because what you pay is directly proportional to your income. And anyway, $100 a month for someone making $30k a year is basically an equivalent burden to $350 for someone making $60k. Sure there are exceptions--people who took out enormous sums of money to live on campus at an out of state school. The solution is to got to either go to a state school and don't live on campus, get scholarships, or go to a school with a large enough endowment to waive most of the cost.

by tsotha 11y ago

learc83 11y ago

They have an income based repayment plan where if you borrow over a certain amount you only have to pay 10% of your discretionary income (Income - 1.5 * Federal poverty level) for 20 years.

tsotha 11y ago
Right. Which puts you comfortably into middle age before you retire your student loan debt. Which is absolutely crazy.
- learc83 11y ago
  If you're stuck in a crappy job making $30k a year and you're single, that works out to about $100 a month--many people pay that much for their cell phone bill. I don't think that's particularly burdensome. If on the other hand you make you get a better paying job making $60k your payment will be about $350 a month, and you'll pay off the average student loan debt (close to $30k) in about 10 years.
JoeAltmaier 11y ago
That's quite a burden, right up there with a mortgage. Back in the day I paid off my student loan debt in 3 years, then my wife's in one more year. And we went to Stanford. Things have gotten way out of whack.
- learc83 11y ago
  >That's quite a burden, right up there with a mortgage. That's nowhere near a mortgage at the income levels where it makes sense. If you're stuck in a crappy job making $30k a year and you're single, it's about $100 a month. If you're making $60k and you're single, you could definitely pay off the average $30k loan in 3 or 4 years (assuming you live somewhere where 60k is a decent income). And If you're making $60k and you have a family of 3, you're payments are going to be about $250 per month. Obviously the cost of college has gone up a good bit. Mainly due to an increase in the number and cost of administrators and a decrease in state funding. However, it hasn't gone up nearly as much as it seems when you realize that most people aren't paying the sticker price after you factor in federal grants, state scholarships, and university scholarships. >And we went to Stanford Right now if you go to Stanford and your parents make less than $65k a year, you get a waiver for tuition and room and board. They also waive tuition for students whose parents make less than $125k a year.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    If you're making 30K you don't have a mortgage. 100$ a month for life is a significant fraction of your disposable income, and it never ends. ITs very much like a mortgage. Anyway, folks aren't bellyaching about $100 a month. Student loans are costing millions of Americans many times that for 20 years.
    - learc83 11y ago
      >If you're making 30K you don't have a mortgage. True, but that's probably the case regardless of whether you have a $100 a month student loan payment. > 100$ a month for life is a significant fraction of your disposable income, and it never ends. It's not for life. If you haven't paid it off in 20 years, the rest is forgiven. >Anyway, folks aren't bellyaching about $100 a month. Student loans are costing millions of Americans many times that for 20 years. The income plan is for people on the lower side of the income scale. The standard plan is only 10 years. If you can afford that, you'll be done in 10 years. If you can't afford that, it's unlikely that you'll pay "many" times $100 a month for 20 years because what you pay is directly proportional to your income. And anyway, $100 a month for someone making $30k a year is basically an equivalent burden to $350 for someone making $60k. Sure there are exceptions--people who took out enormous sums of money to live on campus at an out of state school. The solution is to got to either go to a state school and don't live on campus, get scholarships, or go to a school with a large enough endowment to waive most of the cost.