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Jack
Student
Nashua, New Hampshire
1
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What will my student debt be? #Spring 2025
As a future engineering major at the University of Rhode Island, what kind of student debt should I anticipate incurring after four years of college?
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Michelle M.
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Jack !
Unfortunately, no one can tell you what your debt will be after you graduate college. I do have some information that you can consider if you're concerned about having to pay back loans.
It may not be advertised or talked about very much, but there is such a thing as Loan Refusal. This means that college students do their college years on Federal Student Financial Aid grants and Work Study, not applying for or accepting any loans, and make up what the loans would have given by applying for many scholarships and grants (which you do not have to pay back). Visit a college and go to their Financial Aid Office to discuss how loan refusal works and read the article at the link below to learn some things about student loans to be more informed.
There are also No Loan Colleges. These are colleges that help students with assistance in other ways other then loans. There aren't any No Loan Colleges in New Hampshire but you can do a search in other nearby states to see which colleges are No Loan Colleges. Two examples of colleges that have no loan policies are Cornell University and the University of Chicago. There are others you can find by doing an internet search. The University of Rhode Island does not have a No Loan policy, however.
The reason that no one can tell you what your student debt will end up being is because you'd need to know the amount of every loan you accept and what all these loans interests rates are. You can't determine it until you are finished with college. Also, the approval for student loans will soon come from the Small Business Administration but I think they just approve it but the loans are from banks. It's a good idea to learn more about student loans from the financial aid officer at a college as well as going to a bank and inquiring about the details. How much your total debt will be is only going to be known by you at the time you are finished with college. Wish I could be of more help, but at least you know a bit more and can follow up at the college's financial aid office and banks.
WHY NOT TAKING OUT LOANS FOR COLLEGE MAY BE A GOOD IDEA https://www.pearsonaccelerated.com/blog/14-reasons-not-to-take-out-student-loans-for-college.html
Unfortunately, no one can tell you what your debt will be after you graduate college. I do have some information that you can consider if you're concerned about having to pay back loans.
It may not be advertised or talked about very much, but there is such a thing as Loan Refusal. This means that college students do their college years on Federal Student Financial Aid grants and Work Study, not applying for or accepting any loans, and make up what the loans would have given by applying for many scholarships and grants (which you do not have to pay back). Visit a college and go to their Financial Aid Office to discuss how loan refusal works and read the article at the link below to learn some things about student loans to be more informed.
There are also No Loan Colleges. These are colleges that help students with assistance in other ways other then loans. There aren't any No Loan Colleges in New Hampshire but you can do a search in other nearby states to see which colleges are No Loan Colleges. Two examples of colleges that have no loan policies are Cornell University and the University of Chicago. There are others you can find by doing an internet search. The University of Rhode Island does not have a No Loan policy, however.
The reason that no one can tell you what your student debt will end up being is because you'd need to know the amount of every loan you accept and what all these loans interests rates are. You can't determine it until you are finished with college. Also, the approval for student loans will soon come from the Small Business Administration but I think they just approve it but the loans are from banks. It's a good idea to learn more about student loans from the financial aid officer at a college as well as going to a bank and inquiring about the details. How much your total debt will be is only going to be known by you at the time you are finished with college. Wish I could be of more help, but at least you know a bit more and can follow up at the college's financial aid office and banks.
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