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Originally Posted by CouversMom  I am starting to think about this as well... I graduated in December with a degree in Elementary Education and I have not been able to find a job. I could have gone to a 6 month program like some of my friends and had a job 4 years ago. I have 4 years of debt from a state college, no job and am having to pay back all of my loans already. Was it really worth the work and money to be unemployed? |
Won't you still qualify to have your loans deferred longer due to unemployment? Aren't there situations in which they'll actually cancel some of your student loan debt because you're a teacher? Sorry, I began college in 1999 so it's been a very long time since I attended those financial aid seminars...
At every school, you receive a financial aid package. This can include subsidized/unsubsidized loans and/or grants that you do not have to repay. I have a sophomore in high school, so I am very concerned about impending college costs. I actually began college after my divorce, so I received full grants. Even with attending a state school and working all four years, I still graduated with around $20,000 in student loans and I was very conservative about the amount of loans I took out. I graduated in 2003, so I am only about half way done paying these loans off.
Luckily, my son said that he wants to attend the local junior college for his first two years because he knows it will save me money. What a good boy! Secretly I think he is just a bit nervous yet about leaving the house. I guess we'll see how he feels in two years when he's graduating. My son knows that, whatever he chooses, a private school is not an option, unless he were to receive a full ride.
This economy has been a killer for everyone, in all walks of life, college educated or not. Regardless of your current job situation, I think there is value to getting an education that extends beyond the monetary. Especially when I attended a university (was at a junior college for first semester), I was exposed to so many different people and ideas that I never would have been exposed to had I not attended school. I had friends from South Africa, India, France, etc. My horizons expanded exponentially. My college experience was invaluable in a myriad of ways... No way do I regret it.