Student loan taking forever to pay off...

emcadams · Apr 21, 2012

Ughhh. I think the one thing about these loans I never understood when I borrowed is how long they take to.pay off! It really is a mortgage.

elprup, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2012

Kmillersocal - exactly what I do. Old car = save $ for house & pay off loan of 65,000. I am down to 23,000 since graduating 2008! I usually pay 300 a month, but when working alot I add to it as much as I can. And when I have an extra thousand from tax return or something, I send in payment towards loan with most expensive interest. We want to pay those off first if we can. Check your statements folks....they save the highest interest for last.

hrodgers · Apr 21, 2012

I was fortuante enough to have my undergrad nursing program paid for through a state scholarship I qualified for....so very grateful....but now here comes grad school! I am hoping to attend U Penn's ACNP this coming year and after doing some multiplication, it's looking like $60,000 ish! YIKES! Right now my husband and I are working on paying down his student loans, $40,000 ish, and so far we've been making some progress. No car payment, no kids. Just us and 2 paychecks. We are able to allocate ~$800 a month to his loans, so sloooooowly but surely it's getting lower. Seems painfully slow though. And to think I'm about to more than double it! Kind of terrifying, but what other options do we have? Just hoping for an NP position after graduation with a higher salary than I'm making now so we can keep doing what we have to do. Anyways, that's my story. Bottom line, loans suck.

RNewbie · Apr 21, 2012

Check your statements folks....they save the highest interest for last.

This is so true. I was looking over my last statement earlier wondering why I had been making payments in the past but one of my loans was not decreasing in the amount owed. Turns out it's the loan with the highest interest rate. There's a portion of the statement that says "your payment has been applied to the following loans" and they were dividing my payments between all the loans I owe on except the one with the super high 6.3% interest rate. While the other loans have decreased in amount, that one is actually higher than the original amount I borrowed.

pinkfluffybunny · Apr 21, 2012

Sometimes I feel like I sold my soul to try to make a better life for myself and my daughter but I have to work more and harder than I ever had to before. With nothing to show for it but debt. I will be 59 when I have my loans paid off. My daughter goes to college in four years.

rubato, ASN, RN · Apr 21, 2012

I never even considered taking out a student loan. Unfortunately for me, that meant that I didn't get to go to college until I was 41. Now, I can pay for my education. Heck, now I even qualified for a full scholarship that is merit based, and am getting a free education. But, not everyone has that option.

I think it's sad how much debt some of you have. I really feel for you all, having to start off your professional lives with so much to owe. It's unfortunate that it has to be this way. I agree with everyone who recommended paying as much extra as you can. Drive an older car, don't get your nails done, do without whenever possible. If you can over pay every month, you can get out of it. Good luck to all of you.

mom2cka · Apr 21, 2012

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lperez89 · Apr 21, 2012

This worries me so much! I graduate in a few weeks, I went to a small private school, for the entirety of my Bachelor's degree and I had to take out private loans and federal loans the entire time! I have about $90,000 in student debt and of course I don't have a job lined up yet. My school raised tuition prices each year, cost for parking each year, and even with me trying to cut costs by buying books that were older editions, sharing with other students and working 30-40 hours a week at a serving job, I was perpetually broke. I have no idea how I am going to pay down this debt, and I had been hoping to go back to school within the next five or ten years to get my Master's degree, but I don't even know If I'll be able to afford that.

eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN · Apr 23, 2012

What upsets me the most is that while I worked my butt off through high school to maintain stellar grades, knocked my ACT out of the park, and had almost EVERYTHING covered by scholarships, I didn't get a penny from my FAFSA because my parents, who weren't supporting me whatsoever, made too much money. I wanted to get emancipated, but I couldn't really afford to do that either.

Oh, the reason I was upset: I think that federal money for school should include both need and MERIT based. I don't think it's fair that I had to take out loans even though my life revolved around my education most of the people I knew at college got a couple grand back every semester from their grants... and they used it to buy booze and maintain their C average in Art Appreciation and Beginning Math :banghead: I guess I'll keep paying 6x the amount owed and just drive my '96 Ford Escort.

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 23, 2012

What upsets me the most is that while I worked my butt off through high school to maintain stellar grades, knocked my ACT out of the park, and had almost EVERYTHING covered by scholarships, I didn't get a penny from my FAFSA because my parents, who weren't supporting me whatsoever, made too much money. I wanted to get emancipated, but I couldn't really afford to do that either. Oh, the reason I was upset: I think that federal money for school should include both need and MERIT based. I don't think it's fair that I had to take out loans even though my life revolved around my education most of the people I knew at college got a couple grand back every semester from their grants... and they used it to buy booze and maintain their C average in Art Appreciation and Beginning Math I guess I'll keep paying 6x the amount owed and just drive my '96 Ford Escort.

I'm going to have to disagree with this. If federal student aid were to be need AND merit based, the standards would have to be so high that very few would qualify. There's already plenty of merit based options out there. It's called scholarships. Yes, it may require a bit of legwork what with finding them and then filling out the applications, but there are quite a few opportunities out there, some specific to nursing students. Heck, with my high school grades, I was offered a $5000 scholarship at one school, a half tuition one at another, and a one third tuition scholarship at the school I chose.

holli_80_73 · Apr 23, 2012

What upsets me the most is that while I worked my butt off through high school to maintain stellar grades, knocked my ACT out of the park, and had almost EVERYTHING covered by scholarships, I didn't get a penny from my FAFSA because my parents, who weren't supporting me whatsoever, made too much money. I wanted to get emancipated, but I couldn't really afford to do that either.
Oh, the reason I was upset: I think that federal money for school should include both need and MERIT based. I don't think it's fair that I had to take out loans even though my life revolved around my education most of the people I knew at college got a couple grand back every semester from their grants... and they used it to buy booze and maintain their C average in Art Appreciation and Beginning Math I guess I'll keep paying 6x the amount owed and just drive my '96 Ford Escort.

I agree with you and not just because I was in the same boat. I had a 3.9 gpa as well in high school and worked hard to maintain a stellar image..thinking I might get something..anything but was only offered half of tuition at the local community college. Now you might think I should have jumped on it..but when you have your teachers telling you to stay 100ft away from that place you don't go because you believe them. Some people do not realize that there millions of kids starting college this year and because of the good ole economy many scholarships that have been cut. Not all of those going qualify for a scholarship and even if they did not all of them are going to get them. I taught high school and some college classes and I know the majority will pull a good grade and have the merit but the money is just not there anymore. You can apply but that doesn't mean you will get it even if you have the requirements. I know you probably did apply for many scholarships as I did and there probably wasn't any state programs at that time like when I went. Some people are just not willing to realize it is much harder to go now than before and when you finish it is much harder to get employed. 5,000 is not enough to even cover the tuition anymore and that is how much you get if you are a junior or senior. 3,000 used to cover everything for me and that was in 2000..that same school's tuition is now 6,000 for the semester..not including books, dorms, food or anything else and the news has been reporting that tuition is insane and the amount you can borrow or pell grants has not changed since 1999. Going to one of the cheapest universities in the states will set you back at least 20k for the year. 11k at a community college. I think I might include that the average price of a science text now is 270.00 with a 190.00 lab manual. You can buy used but you will still spend 300 for just that class and if the teacher requires that you purchase the key to access homework online then you must purchase new or find someone who never did theirs.

I am not saying that parents must and have to pay for their children's education but when they make over 100k each then it would be nice if they would help at least with the books--I mean it is their child and this is just how I see it. Most 18 year olds do not know how to go about getting emancipated from parents so they can get aid from a school and it is 100x harder for a student to pay for and go when their parents knock them out of all available assistance because of how much they make. I don't think the government believes that they are not helping but they don't. My dad was even claiming me on his taxes until I was in grad school and I didn't know until I was making money from the university as a grad assistant teaching so the IRS rejected my return saying I was a dependent. I was shocked he was cheating the system like that. Not all parents have their children's best interest at heart and I am not whining but I am relaying that I understand. My complaint is only that it is hard to pay them off and be very careful how much you borrow. Borrow if you have to and try to pay off as quickly as possible. I am also saying I completely understand how hard that is to do when you make very little money ..people do what they have to. If you can't pay then look into forbearance but never stop paying them because you will never rid yourself of them. I believe in paying what I owe and I do it every month but it would be nice if they would just go away or be a little easier to pay down so all in all...I feel ya!

emcadams · Apr 23, 2012

If you file your taxes independently (that is, state on your taxes that no one can claim you as a dependent), then you may not need to put your parents finances on it. There are several factors that go into determining your financial status on FAFSA. If your parents truly don't help out with your expenses (you don't live with them except for summer, and you are taking out $$$ in loans for your dorm, food, tuition, etc) then you are probably considered independent anyway (and your over 18!). I learned all this the hard way, but hope this info helps someone make the right choices when filling out FAFSA!