How much debt are you going to have when you graduate undergrad?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

How much debt are you going to have when you graduate undergrad?

  • 0

    Votes: 201 54.9%
  • 1-20k

    Votes: 59 16.1%
  • 20k-40k

    Votes: 52 14.2%
  • 40k-60k

    Votes: 28 7.7%
  • 60k-80k

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • 80k-100k

    Votes: 9 2.5%
  • 100k-120k

    Votes: 4 1.1%
  • >120k

    Votes: 6 1.6%

  • Total voters
    366

scalab

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
?

Members don't see this ad.
 
the wonders of going to a Canadian institution, where undergrad is 5.5k/year
 
the wonders of going to a Canadian institution, where undergrad is 5.5k/year
Same, yet US and state school ringing in at 4.2k. Thank god for free state money! :D
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I worked part time to cover what my scholarships didn't. There will be plenty of time for debt later.
 
Went to a private school that costs 50k a year but takes care of their own. After scholarships and etc...6k of debt total. Pocket change compared to what med school is going to run me.
 
$0. Thank God for lots of scholarships, working part time, and generous parents. Makes it easier to suck up the debt for med school.
 
$0 thanks to my parents. However, just had a talk with dad. He said that he wants to retire and "there is no way in hell" he is paying for med school. :D
 
$0 thanks to the parents. They were there on Sunday for my graduation ceremony celebrating a degree I'm never gonna use :thumbup:

I knew before college though that I was on my own for med school. They've offered to generously pay for setting up my apartment and airfare to go see them once in a while. love them!
 
Around 25 for me. I feel bad for the one person with >120k.
 
Was denied in-state status at a state school, and no college savings - part-time job during school, and working full-time for a year after graduation making as big loan payments as I can, but I'm still at 90k :(
 
I owe about $5000 for undergrad, although if I hadn't been planning on med school, I could've done it with no debt (by emptying out my savings account).
 
My family is poor and I had to pay my way entirely through undergrad. I'm floating around 40k right now. They mindset of having the loans over my head isn't all that bad I guess, but what really gets me is when all my friends are going shopping and golfing and buying cars and **** with their part time jobs, and I'm working 40 hours a week, good pay and its all going to school :mad:
Heck, my best friend didn't even go to college, still works the same part time job he had as a sophomore in highschool (same position as well) and he just bought a house!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I had $0 after undergrad, but I did an SMP this past year so now I have around $24k :mad:
 
I had 33K for undergrad. Another ~60K for graduate school. Going to take another ~12K for my post-bacc.

Ufff....
 
I'll actually be + $1,500 thanks to a stipend attached to my scholarship, but when you weigh that against the cost of alcohol over 4 years and figure my drinking bills doubled after every orgo test, I figure I'll be around - $5k
 
$0...full ride! Plus the school im going to attend is a great medical school too.
 
i wonder if this is representative of most of the matriculating population
 
I had a free ride my first year, but now I'm probably looking at 12k after graduation.


EN
 
the guy/gal (if they are for real) that took out a 120k loan for undergrad... what the f happened?
 
I would be very interested if someone with 100k+ of debt would break it down. Is tuition that much at a private school you attended? Private loans to support family? No job? No scholarships? Do you think it is worth it?
 
God bless the two people who have >120k in loan post-undergrad
 
I guess that may be for like a private institution with no scholarships or anything....and if that were the case...why in the world would you go there vs your state school? That amount of debt is just not worth it, especially for undergraduate...geez.

To contribute my comments about my debt, or lack thereof....I am very thankful for my parents' hard work to put me through school without any debt for my undergraduate education. That being said, I'm on my own for medical school, which is my family's philosophy, as it'll teach me independence and financial management skills. I agree with this to some extent, and $200K of med school debt isn't hard to pay down with a decent salary and strong financial management...Bottom line is, it all comes down to how you spend your money. It wont' be easy if you decide to buy a huge house, very nice car, and furnish all those rooms with expensive furniture and electronics.
 
32k here from undergrad and grad school, I have been paying on it for a year though. I am going to try my very best to pay the interest during medical school, we'll see if that happens.
 
I'll actually be + $1,500 thanks to a stipend attached to my scholarship, but when you weigh that against the cost of alcohol over 4 years and figure my drinking bills doubled after every orgo test, I figure I'll be around - $5k

Yeah, I'm looking at about +$2000 after it's all said and done from my stipend. I love being paid to go to school.
 
Thanks to scholarships and my parents, I was out wiht $0. My wife, however, has $60K, so that means I have $60K.
 
Zero. Parents + state school + scholarships = :love:
 
I was just looking at one of the schools I applied and got rejected from in high school (Washington college) and just realized that the tuition there was 36k, I'm glad I was rejected. Dodged a bullet there.


EN
 
Despite scholarships, working, and parent help, I currently have around 25K to pay off. Its especially depressing because I have been paying on it for 3 years and barely made a dent in the debt. Bleh.
 
wow. a lot of people with nothing. grats :)
 
None! I have all of my tuition paid off between summer jobs, scholarships, and generous parents. :)
 
Thank you old, rich alumni for giving me 55K a year ;). Much appreciated.

EN, Ivys give the best aid out of anyone. Random private colleges, not so much.
 
Pretty nice bump but I have to put this in...so many damn rich people on here. I didn't realize mommy and daddy footed the bill for so many people to go to college. Except for the person with the GI bill, I can respect that.
 
Pretty nice bump but I have to put this in...so many damn rich people on here. I didn't realize mommy and daddy footed the bill for so many people to go to college. Except for the person with the GI bill, I can respect that.

:rolleyes:
 

I know, right? I know not everyone's parents is financially capable enough to have a college fund for their kid(s). But I'm lucky to have one, wouldn't you want your children to enjoy college and not have to work/take out loans if you had the means?
 
This thread depresses me. I hoped I'd find more undergrads that accumulated some debt over the years other than me. I guess not. :(

I received some grants that covered a portion of my tuition but had to take out federal loans to pay for the rest of the tuition & fees. I worked part time to pay for living expenses and books. I didn't get any financial aid for my summer classes and had to take out private loans for those. My parents didn't contribute at all.

After this summer, I will have about $18k in debt. By the time I graduate, I'll probably have around $30k debt. I only went to a state university too.

FML. I need to start looking for more scholarships.
 
I know, right? I know not everyone's parents is financially capable enough to have a college fund for their kid(s). But I'm lucky to have one, wouldn't you want your children to enjoy college and not have to work/take out loans if you had the means?

Well there are several reasons that people graduate with no debt. Financial aid, scholarships, and yes - occasionally parent's are capable of paying.

I don't agree that everyone whose parents paid for college is rich though. I have several friends whose parents paid for their college by careful planning and making it a priority - their family sacrificed other things because they valued education. Secondly, I don't agree with the demonization of wealth in that original post.
 
But I'm lucky to have one, wouldn't you want your children to enjoy college and not have to work/take out loans if you had the means?

Financial aid, scholarships, and yes - occasionally parent's are capable of paying.

I don't agree that everyone whose parents paid for college is rich though. I have several friends whose parents paid for their college by careful planning and making it a priority - their family sacrificed other things because they valued education. Secondly, I don't agree with the demonization of wealth in that original post.

You know my post did seem like it demonized wealth...don't mean for that at all. I'm a big fan of accumulating wealth in fact :laugh:

However, the attitude above is the one I see with quite a few people whose parents are paying for college. Who said anything about "enjoying" college? If I pay for my kids school, it sure as hell won't be for them to enjoy college. Yeah, you should have fun in college but that's not your primary reason for being there.

I seriously don't understand how so many people have 0 debt though. Its almost ridiculously skewed in this poll...3 times as many people with 0 as up to 20K and almost no one above 60K. The pre-med population is skewed some how, either scholarship wise, lots of financial aid or lots of parents money (or a combo). I can't say that I believe that this is the norm though, most people are coming out of college with at least SOMETHING debt-wise. I also think its very unusual that there aren't more shocked responses to this thread, which also speaks to how many people will have no debt at all. I am personally very surprised by this thread, although I think it gives a good idea as to the population of people I'll see in medical school...that is, med school will be their ONLY source of debt. Plus, I think it also somewhat explains people's willingness to drop so much in loans for med school...what's 200K in loans when you don't already have 100K from undergrad?
 
I seriously don't understand how so many people have 0 debt though. Its almost ridiculously skewed in this poll...3 times as many people with 0 as up to 20K and almost no one above 60K. The pre-med population is skewed some how, either scholarship wise, lots of financial aid or lots of parents money (or a combo). I can't say that I believe that this is the norm though, most people are coming out of college with at least SOMETHING debt-wise. I also think its very unusual that there aren't more shocked responses to this thread, which also speaks to how many people will have no debt at all. I am personally very surprised by this thread, although I think it gives a good idea as to the population of people I'll see in medical school...that is, med school will be their ONLY source of debt. Plus, I think it also somewhat explains people's willingness to drop so much in loans for med school...what's 200K in loans when you don't already have 100K from undergrad?

SDN =/= cross-section of America.

EDIT: I was one of the people in the 20K range. That's all paid off now. WIN!
 
I go to a public and tuition is around 10k a year. I have tuition paid off, but shelling out 8k/year for housing and food
 
Top