Student loans, ugh!

Nurses Rock Toon

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Student loans are a way of life for many of us. And...with the cost of an education rising every year, it often takes years to pay them off. How many years are you planning to take to pay off your student loans?

I think more hospitals should provide loan forgiveness programs!

I graduated in May 2013 with $39,000 in student loans. My loans were all separate, some subsidized, some unsubsidized, and the highest interest rate I have it 6.8% on 12 separate loans. I pay $500 per paycheck and still make my monthly minimum payment of $375 in addition to that. I'm already down to $33,000 in less than a year and I plan on paying them off as fast as possible. I calculated that if I do the standard repayment at that interest rate I will spend $22,000 in interest. If I pay off $13,000 per year for 3 years I will only pay $9,000 in interest. So that's the way I'm doing it so I don't have a payment for the next 10 years. One way I pay it off faster is to specify what each $500 payment goes to. If I make it go to just one loan that goes mostly to the principal. When I make the monthly payment of $375 it's spread between all the loans and most of that goes to interest when you go in and let the site break it down for you. All of mine are through my fed loan so if anyone else is using that site I would suggest specifying where your payments are going.

Specializes in critical care.
I don't quite understand this comment, yes there are a lot of over the top expensive schools out there . If you work hard, get good grades, apply for scholarships, grants etc. there are plenty of affordable schools and options to getting a good education . My parents weren't in a position to help with my education, I worked and put myself through school. Was is easy , no, but it made me work harder knowing what was at stake.

So I'm sorry, but I don't agree with your comment that college is becoming unavailable.

I disagree with this. In theory, getting good grades will get you scholarships and grants. In reality, everyone heard this rumor growing up and they're all applying for the same scholarships. This economy is sucking money out of scholarship funds. My straight As didn't give me a penny in scholarships until my senior year. If I didn't have a husband working and paying the bills so that I could focus on paying for school, there would have been no possible way of me going to college, even with pell grants and equal opportunity grants. Paying for school isn't as simple as paying for school. Bills have to be paid too. Food must be bought. For a single young person without a mortgage and/or car payment, sure, hard work may be all you need. To the older individual with those things and/or kids, no, college is not easily accessible. And I say that with the support of a spouse. I can't imagine how single parents do it. My hat goes off to them and I stand in awe at those who do it.

I should have qualified then. I put myself through college with a husband, 3 kids and I worked full-time.

Zero. College paid in full by an awesome set of parents.

Thats awesome! I can afford the tuition, its the living expenses above and beyond tuition that i seek. I will be checking with the financial aid office asap and seek scholarships and private loans to offset as much cost as possible. I have worked too hard too long to say "sorry nursing school, bills need to be paid". I have done that too many times in the past and im not doing it AGAIN! :). I was fortunate enough to get an acceptance letter this week to start in the fall. A dream come true!

Good luck to all of you!

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