<p>Forty-one percent have postponed contributions to retirement plans; 40 percent have delayed car purchases; 29 percent have put off buying a house; and 15 percent have postponed marriage. Most did not anticipate the financial strain, according to the survey. Only 39 percent said they fully understood the burden student loan debt would place on the future, and 60 percent now have at least some regret over the choice of education financing.</p>
<p>As the pomp of graduation fades, many college graduates become keenly aware of their financial circumstance: In debt, said Ernie Almonte, CPA, CGMA, chair of the AICPAs National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. They start out with an anchor that slows their progression toward future goals. Its a difficult reality confronting a growing number of people, one that will come into sharp focus in the coming weeks as the nations colleges and universities produce a new crop of graduates.</p>
<p>I had assumed that making higher education more accessible would boost the economy, but all this debt seems to be hurting demand for all the purchases associated with the American Dream.</p>
<p>Wow, and the average debt in the article is under $25K, which is far less than loans contemplated by many on this message board and other venues. Grad and professional school often reaches 6 figures! Talk about an anchor! This article confirms what many here have been advising about trying to avoid loans and debt, even if it means NOT going to dream U.</p>
<p>Yes, but also overstate. All the numbers are for those with debt. Many–maybe half have NO debt after college. Also the median is far lower than the average which is inflated by those from high cost colleges and grad school loans. Median is about half the average. But yes it certainly is hurting some students and the economy.</p>
<p>Hubby is a mortgage loan officer and finds many, many people unable to qualify for home mortgages due to student loan debt. I feel we were pretty good “students of the game” in terms of our preparation for our kids college. We saved early, studied up on the fafsa and profile, listened to numerous experts on college funding and scholarships, and even we weren’t fully prepared for the high college costs – especially at some of the high priced private schools our kids were considering. I felt that the discussions with college counselors focused way too much on getting into the right colleges rather than selecting a good financial fit and paying for that college. Both kids are now at one of our top state schools, doing quite well, and will graduate with no debt. I can see, however, for those families less prepared than ours, how easy it is to be lured into a false sense of security over the ability to fund an education easily with student loans. Hubby sat down with both kids and an amortizatioin schedule with different amounts of loans to see how much these loans really can impact their finanical futures. No one else I know did anything like that. Lots of our kids friends I know are graduating with loans, some with lots of loans.</p>
<p>There is a lot of advice about “holistic” admissions and finding the right “fit.” There are very few who will help you crunch the numbers and tell you how much college debt is too much.</p>
<p>That’s a hard conversation to have. Would you want to be told “you can’t afford that school”? I’ve seen some posters on this forum take great exception to getting that kind of advice.</p>