While a national student loan debt average of $26,000 may seem like just another statistic to some students still in school, this number is very much a reality for many Baker alumni.
Related Stories
BU students borrow less than national average
Student indifferent to national loan debt
Graduates all over the country are struggling with managing and repaying student loans, and it is no different for Baker graduates Justin Hill, Tyler Keal and Justin Whittaker.
The biggest hurdle for these three is dealing with the stress of having the debt looming over their heads.
Whittaker, a 2010 Baker graduate, has a total debt near the national average and pays $149 a month.
“It’s been interesting. It is kind of amazing how out of my control it is, or how it feels,” Whittaker said. “It’s like a hangover.”
With a debt of $38,000, Keal, a 2012 graduate, is also having a hard time dealing with the debt. He believes that debt limits his opportunities to “branch out” and that he is unable to make long-term plans such as going to graduate school because he does not want to accumulate more debt and dig a deeper hole.
Having just graduated this past spring, Hill is working as a part-time teacher at Andover High School and has a debt of $18,000 that he has to begin payments on in December. Hill is lucky that his parents will help pay back some of the loans.
Hill believes he might have minimized his debt if he had better understood the loan process and how much he would actually need to borrow before taking out the loans.
“The amount of information they give you is just totally overwhelming and you’re not thinking five years ahead of time,” Hill said. “You’re just thinking, ‘I need money to pay for school right now’… I know it’s helpful and I’m very thankful for these loans… but they sure are stressful and confusing.”
Keal also said that he did not fully understand the loan process and was surprised with how quickly the loans added up after each year of school.
“I feel like, at the time, I was given a lot of information about loans, but whether I understood everything I needed to understand, I’m not so sure about. I don’t think I did,” Keal said. “I certainly wasn’t expecting to be in as much debt as I am.… With the estimates I had, it was like, ‘Oh that’s a new car. That’s okay.’ I wasn’t expecting to get a new Lexus when I graduated.”
In hindsight, each of these graduates wish they had better researched student loans and financial aid, and how large a loan they would actually need.
Hill believes that if students efficiently prepare and borrow just enough to cover their schooling and necessities, then the debt will be manageable.
“Don’t bite off more that you can chew. They’re going to offer you more than what you need,” Hill said. “Don’t be tempted to take out that extra amount. Take that minimal loan and realize it’s going to help you once you get out and have to pay those loans off. Also, be nice to your parents.”