Dear Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed Future (and Current) College Students:
Congratulations! You have just embarked, or are currently embarking on the new American dream - go to college for 4-to-6 years then spend the next 30 years (give or take) paying for your education through a series of jobs that don't pay you nearly what you thought you would be making when you started that first day of your glorious college career.
The real world? It's not so full of roses and rainbows. It's often full of rain in the form of debt, fixed and variable rates and overwhelming interest.
Let me paint you a pretty little picture. At 17, I graduated from high school with enough credits from our local community college to start my university career with second year student classification. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in communication studies in three years instead of the traditional four. I jumped right into a two-year master's program and by the time I was 22, I had two degrees from a very prestigious university (hint: GO HOKIES!).
Fast forward to age 26. I've been repaying my loans on an off since 2008. It's 2011. How have I done? Well, my loan amount started at $44,335.46 and my current payoff amount if I wrote the Department of Education a check between now and January 14, is $46,575.12. I'd say I'm doing pretty lousy.
I was "lucky" to get my interest rate locked in at 5.375%; however, let me break it down for you by the REALLY scary numbers: it will take a total of 351 months - or 29 years and four months - for me to re-pay my student loans, in the end I will pay a grand total of $94,458.50 and of that total, $48,228.96 of it will be in...interest. The awful, ugly truth is that in the when it is all said and hopefully done, I will end up paying MORE in interest than the original amount of my loan. Can we say, punch in the stomach? Yup.
Oh? One more number for you - if I'm lucky, the education that I started at the youthful age of 17 will be paid off when I'm 53. Did I mention that I'm currently 26?
I should also let you know that I was an instate student at a public institution. For those of you either out of state, at a private school - or worse, both, - I'm truly sorry for the shock you will receive when you open your letter(s) from various loan agencies (private and/or federal) and see the ginormous amount of money you are expected to pay back to those organizations.
Do I believe in the college education? Absolutely! My master's degree is in higher education and student sffairs aka I love college and college students (and may be going back for a doctoral degree; what can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment).
Why am I writing this? Well, for one, my mother wanted me to relay the hard truth to my 15-year-old little brother about why it is important to start saving for college, work hard for scholarships, etc. And two, because this particular blog? Right here? This is the part that many students forget, don't know about or like to pretend won't happen. Check your memory, now you can't say you didn't know and for the record, it will happen. Whether you defer your loan, get them into forbearance or worst of all default on your them, they are the big, pink elephant in the room that no one likes to talk about. Start talking.
Best,
-A slightly disgruntled, deep-in-student-loan-debt-yet-well-educated former wide-eyed and bushy-tailed future college student who is now living in the 'real' world
Oh, and p.s. - because what good is a rambling letter of disgruntled-ness without a few ways to fix your problem before they become overwhelming?
If I had to do it all over again, I would more than likely remember the following:
-Live on campus. All four to six years. Why? No utility bills and it cuts down on your gas money.
-ONLY take what you need to borrow. If you are offered $10,000 worth of aid but only need $8,000 only take $8,000. Sure, that extra $2,000 sounds nice and a little wiggle room would be good, but do you really want to end up paying nearly $4,000 for only getting use out of half of that amount?
-In a related suggestion, get a part-time job. Yes, it will stink not being able to go to certain parties, but it will be worth it to start paying your student loans as soon as you start receiving the aid.
-In the summers and breaks, work as many hours as you can at various jobs and save the money. It is tempting to spend the money you earned, but it might make more sense to use that money to pay for college AND you might not need to take out as much aid.
-Using various websites for book ordering might save you money on supplies.
