Plan to graduate in four years or less.
n, which are often skewed by the higher salaries earned by workers with more seniority and experience. Dig deeper and find out how much you can
reasonably be expected to make in your first year on the job.
As a general rule of thumb, if youre going to use student loans to pay for school, limit your borrowing to no more than the amount you can reasonably
expect to earn in your first year of full-time employment, assuming that youre working in your chosen field.
And as long as youre researching careers, spend some time looking into the overall occupational outlook for your desired profession what kinds of
jobs are available? whats the unemployment rate for your chosen field? are recent grads getting hired to do this work or are most of the positions
going to more experienced workers? and how likely you are to be working right out of school.
2) Know what different college decisions will cost you.
About two-thirds of college students take on at least some school loan debt in pursuit of their college degree. For these students who take out
college loans, the average debt burden is currently almost $24,000 ?????? ???, according to FinAid.org.
But as with job salaries, dont make the mistake of being fooled by averages. Your own college loan debt levels can be much higher than average if you
attend a private school or an out-of-state public university or if you choose to live on campus while in school.
By the same token, you may take on much less debt than average in student loans if you attend an in-state school moncler, live at home, or study for two years at a community college before transferring to a four-year institution.
3) Educate yourself about student loans, and only use them as a last resort.
Other factors that can affect your need for school loans include whether or not you (or your parents) have been able to set aside money for your
college expenses and for how long; how much financial aid youve been able to amass in college scholarships and grants; and whether youre a
work-and-save or a work-and-spend kind of person.
Having a good understanding of college loans and of how money, personal credit ??????, and interest rates work never hurts either.
4) Plan to graduate in four years or less.
Only slightly more than one-third of college students now finish their undergraduate degree within four years. This trend has significant financial
implications because the more time you spend on campus, the more expensive your degree becomes.
If your choice of major has relatively modest earning potential, endeavor to complete your degree as fast as you can, particularly if youre going to
be relying even partially on college loans.
An extra 12 to 18 months on campus not only means another year or more of tuition and fees (and taking on e
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