Help! My student debt is killing me.

I graduated university in May 2006 was not able to find employment where my degree was needed until Nov 2006. I had the luxury at that time of still staying with parents, and stayed there until the beginning of this year. Within 2 years of getting my job, I had my student loan paid off in full, all $20,300 of it. So it is possible to pay off these loans.

I graduated in 1999 with a $40,000.00 student loan (and duringmy studies I did not live high on the hog nor did I waste the money on beer, etc). I had zero assistance from family and had three jobs at university. Unfortunately, my TA job, marker job, etc couldn't pay the bill. It took me 8 years to pay the loan off. And, that was when the economy was good! I pity the students entering the workforce today

I had student loans. My husband had student loans. We met at University. Our combined student loan debt, when we married, exceeded $70,000. No house, no mortage, no car. We could not have gone to school without this money. The government changed the bankruptcy laws so that students can no longer get rid of the debt through declaring banckruptcy, as many before us did. Loand forgivness program. Did it. We will be making the last payment on these loans when our son is in his second year of collage. (We have RESP's for our kids, something that didn't exist for us). What this means is, there is no escaping the middle class. We make good money, but those student loan payment keep us crippled. Others who graduated with us, and who's parents paid the whole shot, have Mexican vacations and Big houses, while we will have paid over $100,000 into the student loan program. We have less money than our friends who did not goto college and started working right away, their mortages are almost paid. Ours is far, far from it. We may have attained cool jobs, but our income is not ours to take home, not for 25 years. THERE IS NO ESCAPE for the lower middle class!

I graduated with a BA in 2007 with ZERO debt and thousands in savings! How? By being RESPONSIBLE. I worked every summer and Christmas instead of going to Europe and continued to work between classes during the school year (a full course load can easily be concentrated into three days). This allowed me to pay off my tuition without taking student loans. I fed myself with the dollar menu at fast food joints and drank water instead of eating these overpriced "organic" sandwiches and $7 mocha-lattés I saw almost every other student with in class (just cutting back on those alone would probably have paid-off their tuition).

After graduation I found a job in my field because I had "real-world" work experience on my CV instead of just having volunteer activities like "head protester for the student union".

Why should I bail out other students with their student loans? No one forced them to take on this debt.

In 2001, at the age of 33, I finished my second degree and was left with over $60,000 in student loan debt. I had a part-time job throughout my studies but I didn't work a lot because I wanted good grades. Well, I got them, but at a price. I went on interest relief for a few years until I made enough money to start repaying the loan in earnest. Now I'm paying more on my student loan than in rent, and unless I somehow increase the payments, I'll be nearly 55 before I'm done. I will be keeping my low-rent apartment until that time because no bank will even consider giving me a mortgage until most of the student loan is paid off. As an older student, I gave up a great deal to get an education in order to make myself a more desirable employee, and to fulfill a dream. Now I'm left wondering if it was worth it.

I recently saw a comparison of the current cost of a year at the Canadian university I attended to the cost 20 years ago when I graduated. I was extremely surprised how little change there had been. Tuition has gone up a few thousand a year, that's about it.

My parents didn't fund my university education. I worked every day I could during the summer earning $10/hr and saving on average $5000. I lived with my parents while I worked - I had to in order to afford to go to university at all. Then I worked during the school year. I also lived with 5 other people. I didn't qualify for grants - in the opinion of the government my parents earned too much, but in reality they weren't in a financial position to contribute anything to my education (there were 2 other kids).

There was very little extra money, after all my fixed expenses I had about an extra $5 a week to spend, but I didn't miss money because I didn't know what it was to have money to spend. I came out about $3000 in debt. I didn't have a car in university. I didn't have a computer. I had very few clothes. I had no money for any extras at all. I swear I didn't make a purchase in four years that wasn't food or text books or housing.

Now if I gone to med school, I am sure that I would have come out more in debt (less time to work). But I feel that a 4 year university education is still very affordable in Canada if you are 1. Willing to work 2. Willing to live with other people 3. Willing to use public transportation 4. Willing to live without any luxuries at all and finally 5. Don't have a massive sense of entitlement.

the problem here lies within the students who take student loans and dont really need it. Former roomates of mine took on the max. amount they could each year, taking trips, buying pets and tv's and such with it. This is stupid. Now, people such as this can apply for these relief programs, while the taxpayer and those who actually needed the loans are stuck supporting the stupidity of the system. I hope that it is actually hard to get into these relief programs, so we can make sure that those who actually need to use them are not left out, while the idiots are left to pay!

This is for the comment by Frank who said a full course load can easily be managed in 3 days giving enough time to work on the side as well. Well Frank, all I can say is that this may be true for a BACHELOR OF ARTS, but definitly not in the majority of degrees/majors.
If you are going to spend so much money on a degree, you might as well put in time to get good grades to be competitive once you graduate...and if you are going to study say Economics, or Finance (in my case), you will be putting alot more than a measly 3 days a week of studying.

But I do agree with the posts on getting by without luxuries such as cars, lattes, et cetera. Also, by achieving a high GPA, most schools reward you with say $1000 off the following year's tuition, or in my school's case up to $3500 off the following year's tuition in the HIGH GPA's. So, put the time in and strive to be the best in your class and not only will you be competitive in the marketplace once you finish, but you will also be saving thousands of dollars off tuition.

Student loans have a "forgiveness for disability" policy with which they are supposed to forgive student loans if a debtor becomes permanently disabled. Do you think they honour that?!? I got a head injury that was bad enough I had to be in the hospital for half a year, and doctors wrote I could never be expected to work again, but HRDC refuses to forgive my student loan. RBC honoured my disability insurance for a car loan, but HRDC won't even forgive the interest that was charged while I was in the hospital.

I borrowed over $25,000 in loans to pay for school. After graduation, I got a job that paid only $34,000 annually. I moved back home with my family, and within two years, I was able to pay off the whole loan. We get tuition tax credits so we eventually don't pay taxes in the first two years or so. I think 50% of the blame is with the students, many of them don't understand their responsibilities with loans. They go drinking every other night and waste their money partying and such. I was one of these students before I realize how detrimental it will affect me financially. Other students need to buy that new IPod or those new $200 jeans. I never made these purchases and don't even own an MP3 player.

Student loans are the worst thing in the world.

If you want to succeed in Canada here's a tip, DONT GO TO UNIVERSITY UNLESS YOU OR YOUR
FAMILY ARE RICH!

Here's my story. I grew up in poverty, my father became seriously injured at work and was disabled from that point on (meaning he couldnt work, hell he couldnt even walk). So in
high school I decided in order for me to break out of this cycle of poverty I'd go to university and take a meaningful and highly employable subject in the medical/research sciences.

At that point I was completely debt free, and had saved up as much as I could in order to have enough money for university. Just before I started university, both my parents died.

I was left with nothing. But I pushed through the tough times and was set to change my life by making sure I went to university and finish it to become something.

Well thats when things went from bad to worse, all thanks to the government of Canada!
They decided I didnt qualify for any student loans, which was insane considering I had literally nothing, no parents, no family, no money, no house, no car, nothing. They told me "too bad get a loan from a bank". I go to the banks, they said "you have no assets or collateral or anyone to sign on your behalf, try government student loans". So I fought for a entire year with them to get the amount I was first assessed for (which was the full amount of funding possible).

During that battle I used credit cards to pay tuition and books and lab materials, I worked a crappy minimum wage part-time job while doing full time studies. That plus student loans dumped me into a huge amount of debt, all because I wanted to go to school to change my life.

One year before graduation, the government decides, "its time to repay your loans now" meanwhile I'm still a full time student with the same minimum wage part-time job. I fought another year and appealed numerous times and lost. So I was forced to begin repayments with the little money I had. I had the university side with me and joined my appeal to stop the repayment. I lived off $20 a week for food, and lived by "needs bursaries" from the university (which are peanuts and cover nothing).

Graduation day, I was happy, because I struggled so much to finish and get good grades, and then what happens, I'm caught in the first wave of massive unemployment before the economic crash. No one wanted to hire in my field of studies all of sudden, they all want Ph.D.'s with 10+ years experience. Entry level jobs vanish over night.

I search all over the country and abroad for any job even remotely related to my field of study. Nothing! In order to survive I take a minimum wage job which I could have gotten without even finishing high school because no one else was hiring.

So I absolutely, 100%, regret the fact I went to university at all.

If you are poor in Canada dont even bother with university unless your family is rich, then all things will be golden for you.

Sometimes we need to really consider whether a university degree is really necessary. People seem to think that as canadians we are entitled to go to university, we're not. If you can't afford it don't go or at the least hold off a year or two, and don't pay for it with mastercard or visa. I have paid off two loans so far for my own education and the most income my wife and I made combined was 44,000. Proper budgetting and sacrifices go a long way, and when needed ask for help before it is too late.
My biggest question is what is being done about all those loans that people are deliberately refusing to pay. Reading these comments even those who struggle real hard and are very bitter are still making payments. But there are some who are making good money but simply refuse to pay.

I have NO compassion for anybody that has student loans that they are whining about. They took the loan to go to school so that they could get a better paying job. This would be the short term pain for long term gain. They of course knew they had to pay the money back. What's the problem?
I live in a town that has more than one school of higher learning and I have yet to see any of the students doing without. New cars, restaurant food, plenty of bar time, partying to the wee hours to the annoyance of nieghbours where they live, etc.
Maybe some of the education funds should be used for a basic financial management course so these people would know what to do with their money.
I didn't have the luxury of living in a town close enough to attend a place of higher learning. I had worked all thru high school, and then started working right afterwards. I went thru life with no debt other than a 10 year mortgage. All this and I had lots of fun too! I retired at 51.
I do realize the importance of people having a post secondary education and the jobs that the education would enable them to do but if they want the high pay jobs they have to be willing to take the responsibility of paying for their education. How do they think it's somebody else's
responsibility??

I got 20k in student loans.. I'm 3 years out of uni and I'm about 5 mths from having them paid down.. I think the problem is more that a lot of degrees have no job prospects that are decently paying.. I have a few friends who got bird degrees and now they are struggling with their student loans.. Maybe you need to look past the degree and decide whether that degree will actually help you.. you'd be surprised at how many of them are completely worthless.. Oh yea, I also went to europe, worked through school, and had to buy 3 vehicles because 2 of them obviously couldn't go the distance.. I now own my own home and am super excited to get that paid down super fast..

This is a post in response to Adam. I am an Accounting student who has worked basically full time and condensed his schedule into 3 days. This idea that an Arts degree is the only one that can be achieved while doing this is somewhat misguided. I have worked hard in the summer and also work 35 hours plus a week while going to school. I have accumulated ZERO debt while attending school the past 3 years. In fact, I've also been able to pay down my student loan debt I had acquired the first time I attended college some 10 years prior. Granted my grades aren't top of the class, but I am still achieving above average grades. Given the option, how may people would rather be a top student with loads of debt and little actual work experience, or an above-average student with work experience and no debt? This notion that poor people and middle class can't afford school without loans is ridiculous. I go to school with kids who also take the student loan and use it to live off of for the year. They don't need it to pay for school, but rather so they don't have to get a part-time job. These are the people that are having a hard time finding work right now. I will be finished next summer with no accumulated debt during my time at school.

Well

How can I settle all my debt?
Please This is a post in response I'm a student who has made some...in the past. Now I'm in debt and its killing me knowing how much I owe... much can you divert to paying off the debt? Then contact your creditors. Explain

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http://www.sgu.edu/life-at-sgu/index.html

Many go to further education hoping to ensure that six figure income. What I dont understand is
most would spend 20,000 + on a vehicle or 5,000 a year on vacation with no problem, but feel paying 20,000 for a student loan ,to help ensure your future income , is an unreasonable demand.. Are we that spoilt that we think we can change our minds and only pay for it if works out the way we want it to? A decision was made that the education what what was wanted. Lifes like that, sometimes things work out the way we want and sometimes they dont. All should remember that the student was not the only person paying. Many tax dollars (from people who could not afford post secondary education) have also contributed to the cost of their education. Should someone else be required to foot the bill if it doesnt work out exactly as planned?

For disclosure I lived away from home (no school close) and managed a univeristy education without student loans (I wasn't eligible) and without family help. Its called summers of only 70+ work weeks and part-time during school.

That aside a univeristy education is an investment like anything else. Get a BA in basketweaving and it probably didn't pay. Have a BComm in Accounting leading into a CA or BEngg in Software (like myself and my spouse) and it will pay many times over. Sorry, its a fact of life. Don't complain that the interest is too high instead consider that your career path is impractical. In the last 5 years my income has gone 4X what I used to make pre-university (my spouse is only 3X in that time but you get the point).

You have the right to pursue any education you want however remember you also have the responsiblity of paying for it.