In this student loan series, we do the Real Math and calculate just how much a student will have to work and how long it will take a to repay their loans into adulthood. We use a real life example and then offer some easy ways to hack the college system and save at least a third of the cost.

In this episode:

• What no one is talking about when it comes to calculating the true costs of college [1:00]

• Case study: Chris’ college costs [2:30]

• You’ll pay more in interest than on the principal unless you do this one thing [5:00]

• How much you’ll have to earn to pay back your loan, taking taxes into account [6:45]

• No one talks about how many hours you’ll have to work to pay back student loan debt [17:00]

• Debt is not financial “aid” [22:00]

• What our example Chris would have done differently [23:00]

• The same professors often teach at both 4-year universities and junior colleges [24:00]

• One major hack for cutting college costs [26:00]

• Why higher education will never be free [28:00]

• How student loan debt impedes long-term life goals [33:00]

• The benefits of an Associate’s degree [37:30]

• How four years living on campus is essentially like paying retail prices [39:00]

• Parents’ job is to calculate the real math of university [43:00]

• The student’s job is to apply for scholarships [48:00]

• A degree is a degree is a degree [50:30]

resources:

Download this calculator and input your own loan amount, state taxes etc. to calculate how much you’ll have to work to pay off your student loan.