I just paid off my diploma!!!! How long did it take you?

By Buckeyeneer -23 February 2013
25 Comments
- Anything Else

It's mine now!!!! It only took me a decade but my school loans are paid in full!

That got me thinking how long has it taken others to pay off their loans or are you still paying?

steensn on 23 Feb 2013 - 6:05pm #

Clocks still ticking...

faux_maestro on 23 Feb 2013 - 6:10pm #

Still working on it, will probably never happen. Though it's for both my undergrad and masters from OSU.

kareemabduljacobb on 23 Feb 2013 - 6:59pm #

Haven't started yet but I'll venture to guess 50 years for me.

brandonbauer87 on 23 Feb 2013 - 7:10pm #

Not done yet, but at the current pace it will be 8 years total.

Menexenus on 23 Feb 2013 - 7:26pm #

Still paying off my OSU M.Ed. 10 years later. Should be done within the next year or two, though.

Real fans stay for Carmen.

BuckeyeChief Mod on 23 Feb 2013 - 7:45pm #

True story, after I left school, because they Dept of Education couldn't find me (I joined the Navy and was bouncing between San Diego and Norfolk) for billing, they sent my info to collections; I remember being an E-4 doing some crappy job or another, when they called me into a space on the ship to receive the phone call, where I was threatened, berated and forced into payment arrangements on the spot; 2 years later, when I got married and had a baby, I got a credit report. The report said I had unpaid loans, which I had to pay off again...the collections agency pocketed the money and never applied it, so I had to pay twice.

(I only went fall of '95 and spring on '96).

"Don't put syrup on shit, and tell me it's pancakes"

No matter how sh*tty the tour is, it's always tough to leave.

popeurban on 23 Feb 2013 - 7:54pm #

That is one horrible, and I mean horrible. I am really sorry. Did you ever seek action against the collections agency?

BuckeyeChief Mod on 23 Feb 2013 - 7:58pm #

No, I was getting married, having baby, and I had just recently left my ship and had a million things going on, very tough time in life. I don't want to be a jerk or disrespect my shipmates, but I let unexpectedly before the deployment and thought I was heading back; I left a bunch of paperwork, uniforms, etc. onboard, never to be seen again.

"Don't put syrup on shit, and tell me it's pancakes"

No matter how sh*tty the tour is, it's always tough to leave.

Maestro on 23 Feb 2013 - 9:04pm #

12 years down, 3 to go.

vacuuming sucks

Buckeyeneer on 23 Feb 2013 - 9:34pm #

Wow. Good luck to all you. 10 years was a long time. It would have been longer but I made a lump sum payment this weekend to knock it out.

"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University

LABuckeye on 23 Feb 2013 - 10:36pm #

I paid mine off in 2004. I graduated in 1998.

Silver_bullet_tex on 23 Feb 2013 - 10:58pm #

Hahahahaha!

JLBNYC on 23 Feb 2013 - 10:58pm #

Undergrad - 8 years

Law School - 10 years

ShowThemOhiosHere on 23 Feb 2013 - 11:01pm #

10 years. Well, it's going to take 10 years. I'm on year 3.

Class of 2010.

TexasBuck11 on 24 Feb 2013 - 12:37am #

If I haven't actually put my degree to use yet, graduated in 2008 with banking/finance/management degree, do you think I can return it for a refund? If not, then 5 years to go until the loans are paid off.

Tengauge on 24 Feb 2013 - 2:19am #

Paid off my two AAs and one BS now paying on another BS degree; probably another 5-6 years to go. Nice work on being ED Loan free.

Jelligrim on 24 Feb 2013 - 7:32am #

Student loans are like a bad lie that follow you the rest of your life. I was fortunate that OSU offered me opportunities to work and had an advisor who educated me about scholarships so I paid cash for school. My parents helped where they could providing some food and gas money. My wife however went to an expensive private school to become a teacher. It took about 8 years to pay off and it was a real sore spot in our relationship during that time.

Nutbuck1959 on 24 Feb 2013 - 8:22am #

The cost of a college education has become huge! I paid about $10k for 4 years at BG in '78-82. That was for everything. My daughter pays like $16k per year now! No wonder it takes so long to pay off.

northcampus on 24 Feb 2013 - 9:22am #

The cost of higher education is a real issue in this country. For those who have to deal with student loans during/after college, it's even more of a burden. Recent grads with loan debt looking to purchase homes, vehicles, etc. have to consider their student loans while considering these possibilities, which reduces their purchasing power (many times drastically reducing what they can afford). For some individuals, it makes more financial sense to just enter the workforce instead of college after high school.

I love college athletics, but every time I see stories or increased tuition when it's public knowledge how much money goes in and out of some of the athletic programs in America, it makes me really wonder why more cannot be done to reduce the financial impact on students. Maybe i'm ignorant on the specific details, but there has to be a better way to make college more affordable (community colleges/branch campuses are an option for the first two years, but that avenue really takes away from the vital transition period/growing experience that benefits kids entering college from HS).

Schierbuck on 24 Feb 2013 - 8:58am #

Before I graduated. My mother worked for the university so half off and parents paid the other half. I am currently saving up for my son's education (15 years to go). It was a blessing not to have a student loan to pay on. So I guess I'm paying off my education by paying it forward.

Phoenix824 on 24 Feb 2013 - 9:56am #

Same here. Grandparents paid for 2/3 of my education. Parents paid the other 1/3 so I left debt free. My mom has a bunch set aside for my kids education and I have some but I am mostly looking to pay my grandkids education.

BROSEPH on 24 Feb 2013 - 10:10am #

I never even had to take out a loan, between tuition remission and a large academic scholarship I had it completely covered. Hearing about my friends' 50-100k loans makes me feel so lucky

northcampus on 24 Feb 2013 - 9:10am #

Took me 7 years to pay off my undergrad. After joining the professional world, I started a side business, which fully funded my graduate degree. I consider myself very lucky to not have to face the burden of additional loans after finishing my masters.

73buckeye on 24 Feb 2013 - 10:00am #

I graduated well before most of the people on this sict were born, so things were a lot different then. I lived at home for two years and commted to the branch in Lima before coming to main campus. It took me three more years to finish my engineering degree, but by working summers in construction and part time during my senior year at UPS, i was able to graduate with no debts and about $1000 in the bank.

That probably sounds like life in a different planet to people who are saddled with 10 to 15 years of loans to pay back. Life seems a good deal more complicated today than back then. It's a lot harder to meet your obligations and make a good life for you and your families today.

I wonder what you'll be saying to younger people 30 years from now. Think it'll be better than today, or still harder to make it??????

ernie