There’s no question that obtaining a college education is expensive, but at what cost?
A new survey of 1,011 college graduates shows that it took 10-12 years for those who borrowed to pay for their schooling to pay off their loans. And it pushed back nearly three out of 10 from buying a house by an average of 10 years.
Buying a home was the second most delayed milestone. Slightly more grads said student debt delayed their ability to save for retirement, which is their top concern.
Nevertheless, when asked by pollsters from Nexford University, a global, online college based in Washington, D.C., about the value of a higher-level education, two-thirds said it was, while half felt financially better off because of their degree.
But one in three said it did not improve their financial situation, and many have had to put off life goals.
“Some students can feel the weight of college debt long after graduation,” the report says.
About a third of the respondents avoided student debt altogether by paying out of pocket or receiving full scholarships. But borrowers among the study group said they needed 10-12 years on average to pay off their loans.
The most common debt range among borrowers was $25,000 to $49,999, reported by 18% of respondents. Some 25% had less than $25,000 in debt. But 21% graduated with over $50,000 owed.
These grads overestimated their starting salaries by an average of 32%. On average, they were off by a whopping 32%. Business and engineering majors were the most accurate, missing the mark by just 3%.
A gender gap showed up as well. Women expected slightly lower starting salaries than men did, at about 4% less. Their actual starting pay ended up being 19% lower than what they thought it would be.
Nearly one out of three said their current jobs were not even close to their fields of study.
