In spite of hefty debt and the burdens that come with it, this Howard graduate says he doesn’t regret going to his number-one school. He does wonder, though, how his generation’s supposed to get ahead when it’s mired in so much debt.
In spite of hefty debt and the burdens that come with it, this Howard graduate says he doesn’t regret going to his number-one school. He does wonder, though, how his generation’s supposed to get ahead when it’s mired in so much debt.
Higher education won't necessarily make you a millionaire, but on average, most college graduates make more money over time, you need to look at the big picture. The idea is that though you lose four years of working time, and you incur debt, your income will be more, and you will be able to catch up. The reality is that not every major or job, will pay for all the loans and debt, so it's imperative, that students borrow carefully. It's a good idea to be aware at all times exactly how much you owe and what your payments would be at that point if you started repayment. Investigate the average starting salary and median wages for the career of your dreams, are you going to be making $20K or $80K. This will make a huge difference in how much you should borrow. The rule of thumb is to borrow half of your starting salary; so with $50K in loans, you should start at $100K salary. This isn't realistic for the majority of people in the world. If you will start at $30K, then you can’t take out more than $15K in loans. This makes it all the more important to be keeping careful track of loans, to search for scholarships and any free money, and to leave as cheaply as possible to keep debt as low as you can. If you take care now, you can save yourself years of hassle and thousands in interest.