Congrats, Grads! Here’s Your Loan Statement
Many seniors will graduate with a five-figure student debt. Photo courtesy Andrew Magill at flickr.com/amagill/Nearly 8,000 students are graduating from UT Austin this weekend. But after the fireworks display at the Tower is over and the caps and gowns are put away, many will be facing the prospect of paying back tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.
According to the nonprofit Institute for College Access and Success, 56 percent of 2010 college graduates had student loan debt. The average amount was more than $20,000.
Lauren Asher, the organization’s president, says students should know what they owe, who their lenders are and what kinds of loans they have.
“If you have federal student loans, which are the large majority of all student loans, you have access to things like income-based repayments, which since 2009 has helped people cap their payments based on their actual earnings,” Asher said. “And after 25 years, or as few as 10 if you work in public service, you can see whatever is left forgiven.”
Asher’s organization has an online calculator for determining whether you qualify for income-based repayment.
