On the day of your college graduation...

$0 when I graduated undergrad in 2000. $140K when I graduated law school in 2016.

$0. I went to community college first and then state school. Scholarship paid for some of it and myself/my parents covered the rest. Thank God for this because I would have been screwed otherwise.

$25,000 for two years at UCLA. I went to community college to do the first two years.

18 years of paying $375 per month and I still owed $25000.

2 years of forebearance at 9% interest will do that. Finally paid it off when I sold my car and took out a loan from a 401k. And no, I couldn't refinance at a lower interest rate because it was with Sallie Mae and I had already consolidated. As a result of my years of paying, I'm way behind my peers who didn't take on debt and bought houses.

$28,xxx. I'm repaying it back at $5/mo. Will be eligible to dismiss the debt after 2 years

None - university education was free in Australia when I was studying.

It’s not any more, though - same crippling student debts as you guys.

1992 - $25k. Took 10 years before I got a handle on it. After forebearing for 2-3 years, accruing interest and being irresponsible, I finally realized I need to suck it up and do a job I hate working like a dog to make enough money to pay it off. It sucked - but was a necessary learning lesson. After that, I segued into a life of fiscal,responsibility, saving for a house then retirement.

Now I tell parents they shouldn’t spoil their kids by paying for their education. The harsh realities of debt and fiscal responsibility that are taught by student debt are possibly as important as the education they get in college. Ideally they need to be guided towards the right cost/reward payoff structure - but even that type,of mistake is a learning lesson.

What a depressing topic. I'm glad to have paid it off and put that all behind me, but I would argue that there is absolutely no benefit to selling overpriced education to 17 and 18 year olds. It's obscene.

Agree r7. I grew up knowing my parents could afford a state university or local commuter colleges but could not afford for me to go away to a private school without taking on debt. I worked from the time I was 13 years old (yard work) and all throughout college to pay for books and spending money. I got a perfectly good education and graduating with no debt gave me a leg up.

Back when I graduated in 1976, tuition wasn't like it is today. I was able to work enough hours to pay for housing, books and tuition. (This was the early 1970's.) I refused to let my parents pay for college. (Long story.) I did let them make the down payment on my first house.

Graduated in 1993. Scholarships/grants & financial aid took care of 75% of tuition/room and board. Working part time during the school year and full-time during the summer plus help from grandparents took care of the last 25%. It was a lot of work! Thank God I studied hard in high school and received grants and scholarships. Also the school was pretty generous with financial aid packages.

Cost of my school In 1993 was 20 grand a year because it was private.

Went to a private (ivy) unit undergrad in the mid-late 90s. $25k in debt which ended up being extremely manageable by today’s standards.

$7500 undergraduate debt, $10,000 graduate school debt. Paid it all off within 8 years of graduating with my Masters. (I prepaid). Just couldn't stand being in debt. I have also prepaid on all my mortgages. Own one rental house free and clear, and am down to $35,000 on another.

$10K for my undergrad and then $75K for my Masters all paid off at this point- thankfully