Only do it if you know you'll get steady work after it. I have no idea how it works if you want to take a 6 month holiday somewhere. Does the payment just stop until you return?
You don't make payment on the student loan until after you graduate. If you drop out of school anytime, you have to start paying the loan, even if you didn't get a degree. In the US, you must be enrolled at least half time (6 hours) to qualify for deferment.
You realise student loans are considered good loans and good debt. They can be paid off over a long period of time, and they are quite generous with payments? Am I correct on that?
This is one big mistake that people make. They've been sold by the fact that student loans is considered "good debt" so they borrow lots of it, 40K, 50K, 60K...And when they graduate (or not), they're suddenly thrown into a bad economy with high unemployment in some places. Plus, student loans, unlike other types of debt(aka credit card debt),
cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Even in death, I heard the loans get passed on to family members.
Yes, you are right that student loans can be paid off over a long period of time, but think about the American Dream. The dream is to buy a car, own a house, start a family, and have a adequate amount of money for retirement and health care. Imagine having 80K, or even 100K of student loans. How can you buy a house or even save for retirement with this kind of debt?
I guess just do a lot of planning and research before going to university. Understand the fine print and what it all means.
I agree, people need to more planning and research before enrolling. They also need to look into their career prospects. I can understand medical students who borrow 100K for a medical degree because medicine pays a lot, but I cannot understand how some people borrow 50K or even 80K for a liberal arts degree, unless you already have a job that pays well.
Too much debt, even if it is considered "good debt", is not a good thing. Ultimately, debt is still debt and must be repaid.