Can We Talk About Those Loans?

I remember being super excited to start college when I was finishing high school. I wanted to meet new people, learn a ton of new things, and have experiences that you don't get anywhere else. Now, I have gotten that. After three full years of college (and a decision to graduate a semester early), I have definitely gotten everything I wanted to.

Except for a debt-free education (and a few other things, of course, like the "squad" friend group, but that isn't what this is about).

Don't get me wrong—I never actually expected to come out of college debt-free. In fact, I went through my senior year of high school totally fine with the fact that I was going to be 30, 40, or even 50 thousand dollars in debt once I graduated.

However, that has now changed. I'm 21-years-old, thinking about my future, and, quite frankly, I'm slightly confused as to how a degree that came with about 50,000 dollars worth of debt is going to be beneficial to me.

Are loans really worth it?

Most people I know want to further their education at the best school possible. They want opportunity. And, not to be a buzzkill, but the qualifications to even be considered for a job are becoming more and more dependent on how many internships you had (which I wrote about making the most of here) or how much money you put into your education (shown by your associates, bachelors, masters, and/or doctorate degrees). There's one obstacle for everyone though: how are you going to pay for it?

Some people have family who can afford pay for their schooling (at least undergrad), but others aren't so lucky. For those of us who aren't chosen for the huge scholarship or have to find a way to pay for college on our own, loans may be the only way.

As with everything, there are some benefits to going to school via loans. You don't have to worry about making those ridiculously high payments to your school every month (which you would only be able to afford by working two or three part-time jobs while being a full-time student—trust me, I know someone who had to do this). If you're getting loans, you probably qualified for work-study so you might actually have a little bit of spending money each month.

That's about it, though.

Every student has academic stress, but when you have financial stress on top of that, it takes everything to a new level. If your loans keep piling up, you're going to begin to stress about how you're going to pay them off—especially if you know you don't have a six-figure salary waiting for you right after graduation. Some may already have a plan (like I'm trying to) and that's great. If you can save and plan for your loans, do it.

What can you do to lower your loan amount?

Whether you're a junior or senior in high school or already in college, start saving. In an ideal world, you don't have to get thousands and thousands of dollars in loans to further your education, but if that's what you have to do start preparing to pay them off.

Keep looking for those scholarships. They're out there (although I've yet to find an online scholarship that I can actually win).

Ask friends and family members for advice. Some of them have been through what you're going through right now—don't waste that connection.

If you don't have a full ride to that private school you love, consider going to a public school. It may not be what you want, but it's probably cheaper.

If it's possible for what you want to study, think about a community college. It doesn't sound as fancy (because it probably isn't), but it's so much more cost-effective and it can give you the same quality education.

But all-in-all, if you have to get loans, be smart about it. Make payments on the interest if you can. Make sure you defer it until you graduate if you can't make any payments. And, for your sanity, start saving now. If you're working while in school, save half of your paycheck (if you aren't paying other bills or for food) or 25 percent of it. Protect yourself for the future.

The Point

School is stressful enough without thinking about the money, but it's something we have to keep in mind. You need to do what's best for you while thinking about how it's going to impact your future. I don't think I did that as well as I should have, but I'm trying to make up for that now.

If you want to further your education, do it. Whether you have to go into debt to get the education or not is ultimately up to you and the circumstances you're facing. Regardless, you deserve to get the education you want—just be smart about it.