- I think the way our student loans are given
is super predatory on people who are young
and don't understand, or people who think
that their education is going to translate
into a higher paying job.
And they don't really think about the consequences.
(upbeat music)
- When I was deciding which college to go to
the process was very heavily dependent on
where I would get the most money from.
But I also really wanted to go to a school
that would challenge me and a school
that I felt like could thrive in.
- For undergrad I took about $18,000 in total.
As for grad school, oh gosh,
I initially had a full ride the first year.
And then the second year came,
I talked to financial aid and they were like,
surprise you only had a full ride for your first semester.
And so I ended up taking about a 100K extra
in student loans that should've never been taken out.
- I went to law school and I studied abroad
so I have a little bit of loans from that.
But school was actually less expensive.
A huge portion of my loans are from one year of grad school
I did when I moved back to the states.
I originally had about $70-75,000 in loans
from that one year of grad school.
It's now up to almost $150,000.
- When I was debating taking out loans
it wasn't really a question.
The federal government allows first year
undergrad students who are dependent
to take out about $5,500 worth of loans.
Although I knew it was a huge
financial commitment to take on,
especially at such an early stage in my academic career.
I decided to take that out just because I thought
it was worth coming out here for.
- As soon as we opened up my student loans
I was delinquent, and I think my first payment due
was like $1,500, which I don't think I even made in a month.
There's not a lot of information that's given out.
I know there's entrance and exiting counseling sessions,
but it doesn't really tell you what to do.
I was jumping from job to job
just trying to keep a roof over my head.
And I got super lucky one day because I was
pounding the pavement looking for jobs,
the job turned out to be processing student loans.
And since then I figured out how to
keep my loans in repayment.
But I'm actually currently paying zero
because I don't even make enough to be paying monthly rates.
- Straight out of school the economy was horrible,
and I was struggling, and realized
it just wasn't even what I wanted to do.
Now I do something completely different
where I don't earn a ton of money.
I'm on income-based repayment.
So I make really small payments.
They call it negative amortization,
where I'm now accruing interest on the interest.
In my mind I was thinking, well I'm gonna be a lawyer,
I'm gonna make tons of money.
I know it's gonna take me some time,
but I'm gonna pay off these loans.
(calm music)
- Taking out loans is very normal nowadays,
and it's kind of expected for most students
when they go off to college.
I started paying $100 per month,
and I'm hoping to pay off my loans
within five years after I graduate.
I thought taking out loans was worth it in the end
just because I was able to attend my dream school,
and I'm currently attending my dream school.
- One of my coworkers was just very eager
to get her hands on my loans,
and it turns out that we could've avoided
my interest rates going up.
So now within the span of about four, five years,
went from like $117K and now it's $145K,
I believe, the last time I checked.
So it is nerve-wracking.
But I'm hoping that within ten years
I'll figure out how to get it all forgiven.
- I really didn't understand the magnitude
of what taking out that money would mean.
Particularly the terms of the loan,
'cause a huge amount of it is something called grad plus.
So some of the loans are federal subsidized,
which means the interest is lower.
And I believe, I'm not even sure,
that it's simple interest,
so I just pay the interest off the principle.
Whereas grad plus they let you take out so much money,
and they charge you a higher interest rate,
and the interest compounds, compounds, compounds.
And I'm paying interest on the interest.
And I'm not even paying all of the interest in each payment.
- Everyone should get educated on loans
before taking them out.
I know I wasn't very educated on loans
and I still am a little confused on
what exactly they mean.
The only loan education I think that I received
was after I already took some out.
I think definitely people should be educated before that.
- There are some Forbes articles now
that thankfully detail it well.
But even when I was working as a student loan processor
we had to scour the website,
and there's little hidden tips and tricks.
Even now that I'm pretty comfortable with
how my student loans are looking,
I still feel that I constantly have to
scour the news for any new legislation that might pop up.
- Even though I had internships and a lot of experience
in my field of law it was really hard to find jobs.
It was really frustrating.
I had no idea what I was doing.
And it was really hard to get paid what I was worth.
Ultimately I realized that isn't what I wanted to do,
but my expectation was, I'm gonna finish school,
and I'm gonna get a job, and I'm gonna make money,
and I'm gonna be able to pay my loans,
and live a good live.
And that was not my experience at all.
- Colleges and the government itself
have the responsibility to somehow
decrease the cost because if colleges
keeps getting more and more expensive
I already know people who don't think it's worth paying.
I mean, not going to college is perfectly fine,
but then we'll see also a decrease in people attending
higher education just because they can't afford it anymore.
- Knowing what my background was like
I have come a long ways, but at the same time,
I just really wanna be financially stable
because it's affected the quality of my life.
It made me realize everything kinda runs on
what you have, what you don't have.
And it dictates where you fall on the ladder of mobility.
- Having all that debt from all those years of struggle
is still a weight on me, even though I feel like
now I've finally found my path.
Going to school does not guarantee you a job.
And I think at a certain point in time
going to school and getting good grades
would've guaranteed you some kind of job.
And that's just not the case anymore.
- Ultimately when it comes to going to your dream school
and paying loans, versus maybe going to another school
you wouldn't be as happy at, you have to think of
whether or not it's worth it.
- Honestly if I knew that I would have to
have all those loans under my belt
I would've gone and applied to
the Ivy League school of my dreams.
I would've applied to Harvard.
I wish somebody had told me, you should never allow
the logistics of something to keep you
from achieving what really matters to you.
The fact that I already borrowed money
I just wish I could've put it to better use.
- I think for someone, let's say, coming out of high school
or even college, I would say, take some time to work,
and be in the real world, and build those life skills.
Let's be honest, I don't think any 17 or 18 year old
coming out of high school really knows what they wanna do.
And even if they do, hey,
life throws you all sorts of wrenches,
so chances are you're not gonna do
what you think you're gonna do at 18.
Real life skills, that is the valuable experience
that is going to serve you in your life in the long run.
(calm music)