Those in most colleges or universities have probably taken out a loan of some sort. I have and now that I'm in my fourth semester starting in January (so, last part of my second year), I would like to start paying what I can towards them while I'm still in school. This is incredibly daunting to me, and I'm a little nervous.

What I'm wondering is, have any of you paid off your debts? Are you paying them now, and/or do you have any advice to give me? Let me know. I'd love to hear from you guys about the topic.

I have completely paid off my college loans. I didn't have that much after graduating as I worked, literally worked through co-ops, throughout my time there so that I could pay off my loans while going to school. I made up to 17k one summer so I dumped all that money into my loans. Most people would have splurged and bought a car. I decided paying off my debt made more sense. Cars can wait, in my opinion.

I think the thing that helped me the most was that I saved money all the time. Whenever I made some extra money, I would put it aside and then write a large check a the end of the semester/quarter to the state/college. It sucked because I didn't buy anything for myself but it really helped me get my numbers down to something manageable. I graduated with less than $8000 in loans. I slowly paid it all off within my 6-month grace period so I accumulated no interest. I do believe the state owes me money, too. I overpaid. They never adjusted my amount so I assumed I owed $5000 when I really only owed $1000 last month. Oops. >.<

Now, my boyfriend, he owes more then 20k. He had no scholarships (I had a lot of them). I guess he parents paid off a large chunk of his loans (like over 70k) and left him with the rest. By the way, my school is about a 40k school to attend per year, which is why our numbers are so high. Anyway, he's not a saver. He's a spender. So he's struggling. Since moving in with me, I've watched his money and urged him to pay off the loans a bit at a time. $100s a week goes a long way. Every week he dumps at least $100 into his loans. If he had more money, he'll dump in more.

I think the key to managing your debt is to be logical about it. You can and will pay it off if you work on it. Save up money and always try to pay off your loans above all else. That shirt might be really cute, but $50 toward your loans is better.

Another thing you can do is look for scholarships, if you don't have any. They have all sorts of scholarships out there, too. I had a Best Buy scholarship. I know Target has them too. Definitely go to your financial aid office if you need help finding some!

And, of course, having a job helps. If you can work a few hours a week, you can put all that money toward your loans. I had a part-time job so that's also how I got money. Now, remember, grades are important so if the juggle between making money and grades gets hard, go for the grades. You can make money later. You only make a grade once.

Oh gawd, I rambled on for a bit. >.< I hope it helps!

I think my financial aid off said it's best to wait until you graduate to pay off loans, though at the same time they said that I was smart to want to put left over loan money back to the company so I don't have to pay it.

That being said, I'm still in school, getting onto my last couple of semesters and I have about 15k in loans right now that I have not started to pay off yet. I'm not too worried about it though. I save money for school purposes (like my savings going to buying the last of my school books) so I don't use it for anything else but that and I also make sure that I don't pull too much out either.

I've paid off a few of my loans in full but I've still got a few left. I've been paying more than the minimum and saving up to pay the last two outright. Not sure when I'll be able to do that though... I got really lucky while I was in school though. I got a lot of financial aid and grants/scholarships. The most expensive part of my education was the semester I spent studying abroad. It was well worth the experience though. ^_^

I have to agree with the people who said to wait until you finish your education to start paying off your loans. In the US, you get a 6-9 month grace period between graduating/falling below half time before you receive your first bill to start paying off your loans. Now, I have actually used that grace period when I finished my bachelor's- I took a semester break before starting graduate school.
Now, do not, and I mean DO NOT be afraid to call your loan companies (if you did private loans) or the Department of Education for federal loans. DO NOT think that you have to pay it off right when you start. They will help you if you cannot pay it. I had to call the Dpt of Education FedLoan place part way through my time off because I couldn't afford to pay, and I was starting school a month after my loan payment was due. So, they gave me a break and deferred my loans because I was starting Graduate school a month later and I was working a crappy fast food job. They will help you, you just have to make the step to call them.
Also, NEVER default on your loans. My brother-in-law is learning this lesson because he kept deferring and finally defaulted on his loans from when he went to Uni for a year or 2. He is learning this the hard way now since he has to worry about that stuff, plus being the sole worker in his house since his wife has chosen not to go back to work after she had their son back in August.

Now, your school should hopefully have you go to an exit counselling session your last semester of your schooling (if you are going for a 4yr degree). They will tell you all you need to know when you do that.

Now I do have to say I am scared when my loans finally start coming back at me when I finish my Master's. I currently owe in federal loans- over 60k. I am scared because it is only going to get worse :( Now I am thankful that by the time my loans start coming back at me, my fiancé will be almost done with his because his parents helped him out from the time they started coming to him (back in I think late 2009-early 2010), so for a few years they helped him pay, and now he is paying for them himself. So, by the time mine will come back, he will be either almost done or done. Just remember you can always get help from the loan company and the federal government (if you have federal loans). You just have to call them and talk with a representative.

But, a big one I will tell you now. Start budgeting. and I mean start budgeting your money NOW. This way you can get yourself ready for when you really have to budget when you are paying off your loans.

Crap, I just realised I have rambled on ^^"

ice: You'll figure out what works best for you. If you have the money and want to start paying, you can. I had all my loans paid off long before my 6-month grace period ended. I wanted it out of my hair. It worked for me though because I had the money and didn't need to build credit. I've had a credit card for a while so I've been building up my score on it and paying loans after the grace period wouldn't have done anything for me. Some people, like my boyfriend, don't have a credit card so he needs to build up his credit score by paying off his loans.

Like Serena said, definitely ask for help. There are a ton of people that can help you budget and figure out what works best for you. What works best for us, might not be what's right for you. Just keep calm and know that you can pay it off. It might seem like a lot, but it is possible.

I still haven't started paying off my student debt... You only start paying them back in the UK once you've started earning over £15,000pa (c. $25,000). I've yet to hit those heady heights. I was quite lucky though because I qualified for all the assistance going, so there was a significant chunk which was just written off.

I'd say it depends on what you can afford - I think in the long run it's generally better to increase the timescale slightly, rather than stretch yourself so thin trying to repay you have no contingency.