Getting through college is financially challenging for most students these days, and it certainly was for me. With the help of financial aid in the form of Student Loans I was able to finish school and obtain the education that should ideally pave a path to prosperity and financial security. Fortunately, I was able to borrow the large sum it took to pay for tuition, books, and part of my living expenses each semester to attend university.
I am grateful for student loan programs being there for me and I would do it again. What I was not prepared for is the enormous burden of entering the workforce with such a huge financial obligation to pay back. While it is true that a college education can be a valuable and even sometimes necessary credential in order to obtain a relatively higher paying position or to chart a professional or executive career path, it is important to also realize that in a difficult job market like the one most graduates face today, nothing is handed to someone straight out of college on a silver platter.
I entered the ?real world? of the professional workforce after a post-graduation job search that lasted around four months. My student loan balance was approximately $18,000, with 9.4% interest rates in late 1990?s, so the pressure of college debt looming over me made job searching that much more difficult to endure. It seemed like the moment I started making money in my career a lot of it each month was going to student loans to stay on schedule with my payments.
A student loan balance is similar to entering the world with a large car payment ? only without the car. The good part is nobody can repossess my college education like they could a car. The downside is that student loans are not eligible for court settlement if I had to declare bankruptcy. I have to pay my loans each month no matter what else is happening.
My principal balance is now down to around $7,000 plus interest after fourteen of twenty years, I am on schedule, and I make this $160 monthly bill my priority after rent, food, water, and electricity. It is challenging, and sometimes I wonder if it is really worth it. I am grateful for my education, but student loans are a large debt without the guarantee of a high income to offset it.
*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you?d like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
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