I just started doing my FASFA student loan counseling thing and it's making me a bit nervous.
In total, my school private loans will come up to around 76k, and at the moment I am not taking into consideration my federal loans (future career will qualify for PSLF I think).
My estimated interest for private loans is 7.41%. I have a plan to be paying 300 towards them while I am in school, which I think will be achievable for me because I am very determined and can balance school life and work enough to make money + have plenty in savings as a backup. Also trying to send any money I make inbetween semesters directly to my loans.
After school, the career I am aiming for will hopefully bring me between 56k and 59k a year when I am starting out (due to having a degree and aiming to get some experience in between semesters). FAFSA loan counseling tells me that paying off my loans will be completely unaffordable. I've tried calculating it all out by projected rent prices, monthly expenses, how much I'll have left over at the end of it to pay towards loans while also saving money and having extra money. I know it is a lot of money, but I was hoping to be able to maybe pay 900ish per month towards it. I will most likely do 500 at minimum, but I don't know if that's really an achievable plan. My career path will not be bringing me any money (basically starting out at the same salary I make part-time at a grocery store right now..) without a degree, where having a bachelor's+expierence instantly starts me at a higher pay level. But the amount is a lot, and I'm not sure if it's worth it. Do you think that your loan amount was worth it for the places it brought you? Or am I being too ambitious with it all. I don't have any problems paying debts on time, I don't spend like crazy, and I am very smart with saving my money and not blowing it all on dumb stuff. I also will be living with my parents for probably at least a year after graduation, and I do not pay rent aside from car insurance and phone bill.
TLDR: 76k in loan debt, 7.41% APR. Projected salary is 56kish, and I will not instantly have many bills to pay at home. Paying off in 10 years would require 900/mo, but planning on doing 300/mo while in school and all off-semester job money towards loans. Is this achievable? Will I be screwing myself over for these loans, or will it be doable? Going based off singular income/no help for projected bills and neccesities.
Were your loans worth it??? How long did it take you to pay it off?
Posted by warpshed
3 Comments
Is this for a bachelor’s degree??
I would never in a million years recommend that kind of debt, especially private loan debt, but ESPECIALLY not with a projected salary under 60k. I wouldn’t recommend that much debt to a student with a projected salary of 100k.
Look through this sub and see the 10s of posts daily regretting the amount of student loan debt they have taken out and how it has kept them from any other financial goal.
Also, even if you are eventually eligible for PSL, you still have to make monthly payments on your federal loans during the 10 years (also assuming PSLF still exists by the time you graduate). Are you a dependent student? So maximizing your federal loan eligibility another 30k in federal loans?
I highly, highly, highly recommend finding a less expensive program. This is setting yourself up to be financially stuck for a long time. You will have no flexibility to accept jobs you want because of the monthly payments, you will have no flexibility to have any kind of emergency, private lenders are incredibly predatory and are not usually flexible with payment plan adjustments if you ever need to reduce your monthly payment.
I would not take out a $1000 loan to have a ROI salary of $59,000, sorry.
You can climb the ladder at your grocery store and be making 59K faster than you will with this degree, and with zero debt.
You’re being scammed. Pause, breathe, and do some real research on the career market and how debt works. Hang in there!
Good rule of thumb not to ever take out more than your starting salary upon graduation. I would not take private loans at all unless it was for a very lucrative degree, I’m sorry but no. I worked ft through school to avoid them even for nursing.