Majoring in Debt: One Year Later

One year ago, HuffPost College launched with a series called "Majoring in Debt," featuring the stories of nine students and graduates carrying massive student loan burdens on their shoulders. There was Sara Tobin, a Tulane student who said that the value of her childhood home was less than her loan debt. There were Dan Olson and Evan Young, a couple whose combined debt topped $120,000. And there was Sonia Galindo, a 47-year-old graduate of the University of Texas-El Paso, who said the only answer to her loans was "a miracle."

The average student debt currently stands at $24,000, but for many of our readers, it is much more. Below, read three students' stories of how much debt they accrued in order to get an education. And follow up with two of our original Majoring in Debt participants -- one year later.

And if debt is an issue you're dealing with, add your story below.

How much are you in debt from the cost your education? Are lenders chasing after you or raising your interest rates? Did you benefit from financial aid?

What's Your Student Debt Story?

 

Take a photo like the ones below, click the PARTICIPATE button. Use your name, age and college as a title, and tell us your story. Finally, upload your picture, and tell us where you're from.

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Charlie Preston, John Hopkins Resident, $250,000

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Last year, the Huffington Post published a story on my trouble with student loans, and since then I am happy to report that my situation has dramatically improved. Read more...

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Last year, the Huffington Post published a story on my trouble with student loans, and since then I am happy to report that my situation has dramatically improved.

Read more...

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BankerTee said on 22 Tuesday 2011 pm28 4:12 pm: So, your advice is to wait until one is in his/her middle age, before going to college? Good for you that you went to college later in life and that you have no debt! The reality though is that most people would rather continue their education momentum from high school into college, but are seriously burdened by debt. I don't think the answer is delaying college or no college at all. The answer is that there needs to be college education expense realignment / reform, so that those who are willing and able to go to college can do so without bargaining their future in the process.

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Comments

[aspecialed]

09:44 AM on 04/22/2011

When I went to college I was fortunate enough to start with an athletic scholarship and unfortunate enough to get injured and lose it after 2 years. I returned to my home town, went to a local university, worked 30+ hours a week while carrying a 15 - 18 hour load till I got my degree in Accounting.

I graduated with a little over 5K in loan debt total and that still took me a few years to pay off (in the mid 80's starting salary as 17.5K./yr).

I then took advantage of the companies tuition programs to earn an MBA while working. It takes more, time, discipline and effort to do it this way but you don't end up with a mountain of debt and a bunch of false promises.

Most degrees can be eared while working a full or part time job. Such levels of debt are not necessary.

[Charlotte Bonnie]

09:07 AM on 04/18/2011

Schools, financial institutions as well as students AND their parents are all guilty in this situation. These students are not victims. One should be able to calculate and figure out how much debt is too much. I have 20k in loans and I'm in distress. I hate having any debt whatsoever.I'd rather save and invest my money but of course it is nearly impossible these days to graduate from a good or even a mediocre college without accumulating some kind of debt but people should wake up and realize taking out so much loans don't return the investment anymore.

[bhwilcox]

09:12 AM on 04/15/2011

The real problem ignored by the DOE is the conflict of interest between Kaplan, the for profit industry, elected officials and the taxpayers. when the for profit insdustry is in trouble it has every incentive to use the political process to improve its chances of servival. Elected offcials who see an oppertunity to extract political controbutions often are eager to help. Regulators at the DOE and accrediting bodies like the HLC are also willing participants insuring servival of the industry because their current possitions and furtue ability to market themselfs are inhanced in this process. Elected officals and the DOE know that there is a good chance the problem will get worse, but they dont care . By the time the student loan debt crisis hits they will be long gone and a new generation of elected officals and regualtors in place. and for this new generation the "crisis" will present additial oppertunities to search for scape goats like Ben Wilcox and rescue the industry. These effotrs are then used to convince tax payeras who are left to pay the bill, that the government is on theri side and something is being done.

I just pray that this will allow this to encourage Judge Patricia Seitz in Miami to use the evidence I produced to dispense justice for the US tax payers and students who have been defrauded out of hundreds of millions of dollars by Kaplan College and The Washington Post criminal enterprise.

Ben Wilcox

[farmilyman]

05:57 AM on 04/15/2011

So absurd. Why do colleges allow this to happen? They should cap debt and not allow the student into college unless they show financial discipline.

[Mary OGarbiadd]

12:12 AM on 04/14/2011

Like others have said, go to a state college (in your own state of course). If you really want to be thrifty, go to a community college and then transfer. Figure out ahead of time what to major in..don't drift and drift through college finding yourself. If you don't know ahead of time, get a degree in education, nursing or accounting, and get a double major in something that interests you more, like theater arts for example..but make sure you will be employable upon graduation. mg

[MikeyJaii]

10:33 PM on 04/13/2011

Lesson learned, don't borrow money you don't have or will never be able to pay back.

[Kittenesque]

06:54 PM on 04/12/2011

Ivy graduate, parents didn't pay, not a legacy, applied for scholarships, debt: $0.00. I know I am lucky but people need to make smarter decisions with some of these schools.

And Preston's a cutie. Hopefully you will be okay Preston, after that med degree.

[Keyop]

08:38 PM on 04/08/2011

College is a waste of time and money. The college degree is the new high school diploma.

[pachel]

07:21 PM on 04/03/2011

When you have to take out 59k in loans to get a job that starts out at 50k a year. That's a fight we all need to stand up for because it's ridiculous. But who cares.

Let bank of america take over the world.

[pachel]

07:19 PM on 04/03/2011

Globally, we are in such a competitive time. Students have to find school with the best networks and connections in order to get a profitable job. For every job out there, there are thousands of people around the world looking for it. Who you know that can help you is more important now.

Arguing whether college was a good decision or not is ridiculous. A college degree is a basic academic requirement these days...the better the school the better your network, your reach, etc.


Borrowing money to invest in your future is good. Borrowing money for new shoes isn't so how can you all say that these kids are nuts. There parents probably didn't help much or prepare them for college tuition so they decided to make a better life for themselves. That's amazing. The real issue is the universities and our government has let the debt overflow.WE have given too much power to these instiutions and it's gotten out of hand.

[bunnyrunning]

01:13 AM on 04/03/2011

I don't quite understand how you could be in debt as a undergraduate. I'm ending my second year of college, and I have zero debt (going into my junior year, anyway), though I support myself. I don't even own a credit card.

I get $15000 in scholarships/academic year. My college tuition is typically $5000/academic year (state school). Books are about $1000, and I have $315 rent. I buy food in bulk to cut the price. I don't have a job during the school year. I'd work, but most of my scholarships are academically based.

No, I don't buy new clothes or books. No, I don't have a car. I'm here to learn. Students can receive a quality education for free, or close to it, if they're willing to make the necessary sacrifices. If you're really attending university for an education, those "sacrifices" are relatively painless.

I could go on a tangent about America's dire need of universal higher education, but that doesn't address the present problem: teaching students to work the system as it exists. In the mean time, let's be frugal. Go to a state school. Keep your grades sky-high. Don't own a car. Live on campus, preferably with roommates. Buy used books.

[carolina919]

07:17 PM on 04/14/2011

Live long and prosper... you're off to a good start with good values.....

[GoldDustDreams]

09:42 PM on 04/15/2011

Yeah of course that's ideal if you want to get an average education but some people want to go to prestigious (ok, expensive) universities and not everyone has cheap rent or books like you do. So it's really easy to accumulate a huge debt when your annual tuition's like $40,000, your books cost $3000 and your rent is $1000 per month, for example. I also graduated without any debt and most of my friends were in debt but not like these people. I mean who gets a degree in World Religion and pays $120,000??

[lcr999]

10:15 PM on 04/20/2011

Agreed, the tragedy here is going deep into debt to earn a degree in World Religion. Career planning is a student's responsibility.

[Crystal Macmillan]

08:15 PM on 04/02/2011

Despite repeated claims by the Department of Education, the student lending industry (andtheir army of lobbyists), and the universities that default rates are relatively low (ie 4%-7%), is a default rate that almost has no equal. A 2003 IG report estimated that between 19% and 31% of 1st and 2nd year students would be put into default during the life of their loans. For community colleges, the range was between 30% and 42%, and for for-profit schools, was between 38% and 51% . Simple averaging gives a default rate of more than 1-in-three.

[R R R]

05:37 PM on 03/28/2011

As a very recent graduate with $0 student loans after 2 degrees (B.S. and M.S.) I do feel terrible and have some sympathy for people that have these horribly high student loan debt; but at the same time, I know there are other options. Lib. Arts degrees are not worth $100k. What you learn is not worth it and what you earn afterward is not gonna cover it. Education is what you make of it...not the school you go to. I went to state universities for both of my degrees in somewhat obscure subjects....meaning I got scholarships and a job before graduating. You can't study English Lit, take out a $100k loan because you wanted to go to a fancy Ivy League school who offers the same thing as the others except for the name and then complain you don't have a job and can't pay. Its just not realistic. You have to be smart about your education, its an investment and you have to think about the future $$ return. Don't study something just because its gonna pay you in the future, but also don't assume that just because you love something it is a plausible career that will make you money. Its a fine line and students have to start being a little smarter about it.

[carolina919]

07:19 PM on 04/14/2011

You're right on target. I don't doubt that it is tougher today but to omany times I see students financing a life style, not an education.

[leorangerie]

06:15 PM on 03/23/2011

This just ain't good for the country. We're going to have to do better, or be left in the dust by the Koreans, Indians, and Chinese.

[Imagevision]

12:29 AM on 03/20/2011

Of course they're scamming the kids, knowledge is power and all that. so kids... pass on college, forget a degree in anything the GOP and Limbaugh will love you for it...