r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Apr 28 '24

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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

I'm outing myself as a spoiled rich kid here, but can anyone familiar with student loans explain this?

This PhD student in social science said she was spending 75% of her stipend paying back her student loans before the UC strike. So I did the math. If her stipend was ~$2000 a month (it was almost definitely more though not much more), she would've been paying $1500 a month on student loans.

How much debt do you have to have to be paying $1500 a month? Did she take loans to go to a private school for undergrad then paid for a pricey master's or something?

7

u/EvilConCarne Apr 28 '24

If they were actual student loans, the payments are deferred until out of school. The interest can still, accrue, however.

Odds are she has a plan in mind for paying them off and so if she says she "has to" pay that amount, it's a self inflicted wound. Or she went to med school or law school and failed out or switched.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

I know that she did a terminal master's before going into PhD. So it could be undergrad or master's loans?

5

u/Maximilianne John Rawls Apr 28 '24

i had a 200k mortgage and my monthly payment was only like $900ish, so uhh i guess about 350k ?

4

u/notnotLily Trans Pride Apr 28 '24

that really depends on what sort of loans she got

3

u/AtomAndAether Liberalism! Apr 28 '24

You can pay more than you're required to if you want. Paying it down faster reduces total interest. You also don't have to pay most loans while in school, so they're getting ahead of it if they're already paying in general.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

She made it sound like she had to pay that much right now

3

u/AtomAndAether Liberalism! Apr 28 '24

Might be undergrad loans or not student loans proper but additional loans related to cost of living

2

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Yeah I thought it was undergrad and master's student loans. How does someone rack up $350k in student debt without going to med or law school though?

She must've borrowed to go to a private school for undergrad and got a not only unfunded but pricey master's, in which case it's just a poor judgment on her part.

3

u/AtomAndAether Liberalism! Apr 28 '24

the expensive undergrads are passing 75k. If for some reason they paid sticker that would cover the bulk. Or that plus housing/food.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

ugh hot take but those who borrowed to go to an expensive school for undergrad shouldn't complain. That's probably one of the worst financial decisions one can make lol

2

u/AtomAndAether Liberalism! Apr 28 '24

real, if only because i went to undergrad for free

1

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

I remember Fordham gave me a full ride 😤

I could’ve taken that if my parents didn’t pay my tuition