Is $25k college debt bad? - Current College Student

[Anonymous]

I wanted to ask seasoned professionals who know about money rather than Reddit where I could get answers that boil down to “transfer to your local state school” lol.

I transferred and had the option between a full ride at a top 25 public and paying $10k-$20k a year at a top 10 LAC. I chose the top 10 LAC because I liked the location, values, and smaller class sizes more than the public. As much as I enjoy the LAC it has not helped much with career prospects as I thought it would. I guess it’s a more if you know you know college. My career prospects seem to be dominated by state school students which I have no issue with. But, I’m wondering if the $25k total debt (this includes around $5k-$6k from my first college) is worth it.

I enjoy my school a lot, I’ve made absolutely wonderful friends, I’m in a small program, I get free summer housing, I get free health insurance (I’m older so this means a lot to me), I’m near a major city (access to different companies, which led me to working at a F100 conpany in a low level role this summer), my professors have been so kind and supportive, etc.

I have second thoughts as I’ve been so career focused since transferring here. My peers are highly decorated and ambitious. I applied to hundreds and hundreds of paid internships in my field and got nothing. I luckily got my current job out of nowhere and I’m treating it as an internship and networking.

My major and minor is in the humanities and social science. I have a laid out career goal of utilizing it for two specific industries to do marketing and communications. My goal is $60k post grad job that’s waiting for me when I graduate. According to collegescorecard for my college and major the median earnings 5 years post grad is $65k.

Is the $25k debt worth it for a $60k post grad job? My biggest worry is that I won’t reach that. So is $25k worth it for a $40k job too?

Sorry for the rant and life story. I’m just so anxious that I made the wrong college choice and chose emotion over logic. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

For all four years? Not at all. If you were taking that on every single year, I might pause if there were other options.

[Anonymous]

How far along are you in college? I assume the debt is already taken on, and you are looking back, wondering about the path not taken -- is that a correct read?

To answer the initial question, I don't think $25k for all 4 years is bad. But maybe the larger issue is that you are questioning your initial decision. To that I say: Your choice is your choice, and while it's natural to wonder what your situation would be without the debt, trust that you made the decision with the best intentions and the best information you had at the time. You mention good friends, kind professors, a major city, free summer housing etc. It sounds like you made a really solid choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How far along are you in college? I assume the debt is already taken on, and you are looking back, wondering about the path not taken -- is that a correct read?

To answer the initial question, I don't think $25k for all 4 years is bad. But maybe the larger issue is that you are questioning your initial decision. To that I say: Your choice is your choice, and while it's natural to wonder what your situation would be without the debt, trust that you made the decision with the best intentions and the best information you had at the time. You mention good friends, kind professors, a major city, free summer housing etc. It sounds like you made a really solid choice.

Thank you. I’m trying not to be hard on myself. The $25k is all four years. - OP

[Anonymous]

My kid was in a similar situation and took a full ride from JMU over paying $10-15K a year at William & Mary. Try to shift your mindset away from dwelling on the past and focus on appreciating the present and all the opportunities that lie ahead. $25K over 4 years is not bad at all!

[Anonymous]

No, that's pretty low for college debt. I'm not saying debt is good to carry... but just saying that there are a lot of people who will be worse off than you.

Please realize that even a $40K a year job, every year for decades, will pay down $25K in debt. You just need to adjust your living expenses, and hopefully marry someone who has solid job prospects.

[Anonymous]

I agree with others $25k total doesn’t seem irresponsible and you should look forward and not back, you can’t take back the decisions you already made. If you’d gone to a state school it could have been great or it could have been awful, there is no way to know.

[Anonymous]

You need to get more education if you want a job good enough to pay off your debt. You need a masters or doctorate.

[Anonymous]

Debt is to be avoided but in this case you are choosing an environment/experience that you need to succeed/maximize your learning. That is worth borrowing for.

The amount is equal to a car loan. Or the price of two older used cars. But this degree determines your life path. So I think it's worth it.

If the academic experience is meeting your needs, it's worth it. Keep your grades high and look for scholarships. Also do plan to economize when you get out of school. When you are in your early 20s, that is the easiest time to share housing and live modestly.

[Anonymous]

You'll barely be able to pay all your bills on $65k and then loans on top of that? Oh, and btw, health insurance. No, the loans are not worth it.

[Anonymous]

PP. Make sure you understand how to leverage the alumni network. It might help to become active in a city chapter even before leaving school.

Also keep building ties to professors. I got an internship through one of mine, long ago.

[Anonymous]

Have you figured out how much the minimum payment is after graduation? What are the terms (30years) and what is the interest rate?

Let’s say it’s 158/ month for 30 years. (That is 25k for 30 years at the current 6.5%). If you pay double that amount, you shave years off of what is owned. Plug it into a few calculators and see. That 300-400/ month is the equivalent of some car payments, so you can budget for that each month.

No one can calculate for you the opportunity cost of having gone to a cheaper college, but it sounds like a sound decision and as long as you’re willing to pay for it once you’re getting a salary, it should be fine.

[Anonymous]

PS, whatever your job is after college, I highly recommend you take a basic personal finance class or grow your knowledge, either by reading books from the library, following popular blogs like Mötley Fool, or YouTube videos from legitimate people like Ramit Sethi.

Personal finance is really basic, but everybody should learn how to manage their own money.

[Anonymous]

What scholarship offered a full ride at JMU?

[Anonymous]

Do I think so, no? But you choose it as it was a better fit and its too late to worry about it now. Get a part-time job and aggressively pay it off.