Posted on 06/09/2013 1:47:23 PM PDT by thecodont
By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into.
He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible –– English and History –– and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships.
"That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic."
Back then, student loans had yet to become the front page news they are today. Ilgunas could have simply deferred his loans or declared forbearance. He also could have asked his parents (who were more than willing to help) for a leg up. He could have thrown up his hands and gone to grad school until the job market bounced back.
Instead, he moved to Alaska and spent two years paying back every dime. And when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn't have to take out loans again.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Duke-Grad-Student-Secretly-Lived-In-A-Van-To-4587684.php#ixzz2VkomCLBJ
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Yes. well, those students who wish to take the risk (and it can often be a good one to take)... to go into debt for a “brand name” degree .... that’s fine with me.
(Just don’t complain if it doesn’t pay off for you right away, after all. I know, I’ve been there, done that. Life goes on, take that lower-paying job and pay off the money your borrowed and move on from there....you were still very fortunate to be permitted to roll those “brand name degree” dice, and I’m sure you got some value from it, too, if not immediate riches.)
thanks
“If the van is a rockin’ it’s because I just got a new cool CD...”
If you have a chance to get a MBA from Harvard or from University of Iowa, go to Harvard. The name will be worth it.
Once you step down from the top level schools, the brand name isn't worth as much. An engineering degree from Iowa State is better than say, Nebraska, but that doesn't mean you turn a full ride down at Nebraska to get the name.
If you get a degree from an online school, you have to be very careful.
“when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn’t have to take out loans again.”
At first I was going to get mad about another “whiney” kid that was not willing to live with his choices. I am so glad that I read the full article and now am very glad to see that this student turned out to be the opposit of my original thinking.
Thank you for posting an encouraging article.
A great article about living like no on else, so that some day you can LIVE like no one else! It is fun to be weird!
Dave Ramsey fan ping list.
"allowed"??!! If he wasn't doing it on campus, how do they think they get any say in the matter?
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