Student Loan Debt Forum

[hous]

If someone is attending a school and paying $45k a year in student loans, how do they graduate with $250k debt from just law school? Having nearly 40k a year to cover living expenses while being a student seems extreme.

[History_Buff]

Undergraduate debt carrying over I guess.

[jkhalfa]

That might be including interest and/or their UG debt + its interest. Also, several T14 schools are in areas with extremely high COL.

[Mr.Throwback]

Jumping in on your thread:

The good news is I might be awarded a summer fellowship worth $1500. The bad news how i'm going to spend it. Do you suggest I spend $1200 on the interest that built up over the year? This would take care of accrued interest completely. OR, should I put it in a CD where I have $1700 already and wait until I graduate. Thank you !

[spleenworship]

Yeah, the people with $250k in debt always seem to be from SF, NYC, or Chicago. I think COL is a big factor. Plus, of course, undergrad loans (in my case, f'rinstance, 1/4 of my total debt load is from undergrad).

I took $25k in COL above tuition personally, but I have kids and a mortgage, while living in a low low COL town, so... A lot of the above is just guesses.

[KirkwoodGAO]

If someone is attending a school and paying $45k a year in student loans, how do they graduate with $250k debt from just law school? Having nearly 40k a year to cover living expenses while being a student seems extreme.

(1) Top law schools cost more like $54k per year, e.g. http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... osts/2013/ or
http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/nyu/costs/2013/

(2) Interest on grad plus loans is 6.4% and was 7.9%

(3) It probably costs at least $25k a year to live on a modest budget in any law school in a major city. I'm sure you could do better in a small town.

Assuming one is paying sticker, that's $79k per year and $237k total, before accounting for interest, one-time purchases like computers, etc.

[hous]

Jumping in on your thread:

The good news is I might be awarded a summer fellowship worth $1500. The bad news how i'm going to spend it. Do you suggest I spend $1200 on the interest that built up over the year? This would take care of accrued interest completely. OR, should I put it in a CD where I have $1700 already and wait until I graduate. Thank you !

Probably the interest because it compounds interest aswell at a higher rate (I think).

My loan interest rate is 6.8%. I have never had a CD, but I believe they have very lose interest rates still (under 3%). Paying off your student loans seems like the obvious choice unless you are doing PSLF.

[hous]

If someone is attending a school and paying $45k a year in student loans, how do they graduate with $250k debt from just law school? Having nearly 40k a year to cover living expenses while being a student seems extreme.

(1) Top law schools cost more like $54k per year, e.g. http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... osts/2013/ or
http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/nyu/costs/2013/

(2) Interest on grad plus loans is 6.4% and was 7.9%

(3) It probably costs at least $25k a year to live on a modest budget in any law school in a major city. I'm sure you could do better in a small town.

Assuming one is paying sticker, that's $79k per year and $237k total, before accounting for interest, one-time purchases like computers, etc.

I see. Interest is killer man. I don't think we really comprehend how much interest we are paying. I looked at my loans recently and was pissed. I had subsidized loans for my first year and unsubsidized for my second and third. on 45k total in loans I have like 4k in interest already its only been two years... If someone were to have 200k in loans, over three years it would probably be like 40k in interest before they even start making payments.

[Cellar-door]

If someone is attending a school and paying $45k a year in student loans, how do they graduate with $250k debt from just law school? Having nearly 40k a year to cover living expenses while being a student seems extreme.

Take a COA of 70,000 which isn't all that high for a lot of schools. Add in the 3.5% tuition hike. (that is probably low). You are at about 217,500. Now the interest accumulates on your loans while you are in school.
Assume the lowest rate of 5.41% on the first 20,500 each year. That's another 6800 or so bringing you up to 224,300.
Then add on the 6.41% grad plus rate on the rest. That's around 20,500.
Boom minimum interest rates (they're going up this year so this is already too low), reasonable COA, and likely understated tuition raises and you are at $245,000.


Edit- while I was doing the math someone answered it.

[NotMyRealName09]

I have over $100k in education debt and I live in a suburb of Detroit making 100k+ a year at a pretty awesome job considering my "stats" and where anyone in this shithole of a forum would have told me I could end up. You ask why - the answer is dreams, gambles, and fucking luck. Its called America. Sink or fucking swim. Why do I post here then? Alternative perspective. Also maybe I want to help but I'm not sure how.

[rinkrat19]

Cost of attendance at Northwestern is $76k and increasing by 3-5% per year. That's how.

[Caesar Salad]

I have over $100k in education debt and I live in a suburb of Detroit making 100k+ a year at a pretty awesome job considering my "stats" and where anyone in this shithole of a forum would have told me I could end up. You ask why - the answer is dreams, gambles, and fucking luck. Its called America. Sink or fucking swim. Why do I post here then? Alternative perspective. Also maybe I want to help but I'm not sure how.

Pretty sure what everyone on here says is "If you go to xx school you will only lead a successful life through a combination of hard work, dreams, gambles, and tucking luck", not "You cannot go to xx school and lead a successful life." Congrats on the job, you may want to reach out to a chiropractor and see if he can do something about that chip on your shoulder.

Also I smiled as I described living in a suburb of Detroit as successful, twice.

[BigRob]

I have over $100k in education debt and I live in a suburb of Detroit making 100k+ a year at a pretty awesome job considering my "stats" and where anyone in this shithole of a forum would have told me I could end up. You ask why - the answer is dreams, gambles, and fucking luck. Its called America. Sink or fucking swim. Why do I post here then? Alternative perspective. Also maybe I want to help but I'm not sure how.

Pretty sure living in Detroit is not winning; you're actually the fulfillment of the TLS cautionary tale.

Pro tip: If you accidentally hit someone with your car, it's time to floor it.

[spleenworship]

I have over $100k in education debt and I live in a suburb of Detroit making 100k+ a year at a pretty awesome job considering my "stats" and where anyone in this shithole of a forum would have told me I could end up. You ask why - the answer is dreams, gambles, and fucking luck. Its called America. Sink or fucking swim. Why do I post here then? Alternative perspective. Also maybe I want to help but I'm not sure how.

Thanks for that non-sequitur that has nothing to do with OPs question.

[Nebby]

I have over $100k in education debt and I live in a suburb of Detroit making 100k+ a year at a pretty awesome job considering my "stats" and where anyone in this shithole of a forum would have told me I could end up. You ask why - the answer is dreams, gambles, and fucking luck. Its called America. Sink or fucking swim. Why do I post here then? Alternative perspective. Also maybe I want to help but I'm not sure how.

Thanks for that non-sequitur that has nothing to do with OPs question.

[NotMyRealName09]

Yeah we can ignore posts I made around that time, they were generally bad.

[09042014]

7.9% interest. That's how. Loans I took out for 50k in 2010 are 65k now.