By Brandon Koll | Last Updated 8/13/2025
Over 12% of Americans have student loan debt. I’ve heard of people with over $300,000 in student loan debt. This is a growing problem, and we need to think of other ways to get through college. Let’s look at the problem and some possible ways to keep yourself and your kids from adding to it.
The problem
It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to give an 18-year-old a loan to cover tuition that is $50,000 a year. They never pay a dime towards that loan and are $200,000 in debt with a 4-year degree. The number one problem with this scenario is choosing a school that costs $50,000 a year. There are plenty of available schools that will cost considerably less, but they choose a school that is way overpriced. Another issue is the choice to go out of state for college. Pick a school in your state and it will be much cheaper. For the people that are already in student loan debt, why is paying off the debt such an issue?
Waiting for government relief
There are a lot of people that are only paying the minimum payments hoping for some form of government relief. There are multiple programs for this and all of them have super low approval rates. You made the choice to take out loans for school, so you should work to pay them off.
Another popular reason for not paying off your loans is because you don’t make enough. As an example, you chose an out of state private school to get a degree with an average income of $40,000 a year. Good luck paying off $200,000 in student loans making $40,000 a year. When something doesn’t make sense like this, the loan should not be approved. Unfortunately, here we are, and it keeps happening.
The final reason we will look at is a lot of Americans are just plain bad with money. They have the newest iPhone, a $50,000 vehicle loan, and a house that eats up 40% of their income. People need to start making budgets and stop financing things they don’t need and can’t afford.
Do you really need to go to that overpriced school?
As an 18-year-old or a parent of one, why do you need to go to that super expensive college? There are instances where it is one of the few colleges that have your degree. Maybe your career path required one of the higher end colleges to get ahead. I’m not saying that those expensive schools are not worth the risk, just want you to really think about it. Maybe you only go to those schools if you have a full ride scholarship or a large college fund that your parents set up. Medical doctors and dentists are a good example of possibly needing to take out a bunch of student loan debt to get your degree and qualifications. The good thing is that their salary should be well above average and give them a chance to pay things off. It just sucks when you accumulate a good deal of debt to get something like a law degree and then you can’t pass the Bar Exam.
Can you start at a community college?
Now that we can clearly see the student loan problem, what are some things that you can do to go to school debt free or at least lessen the burden. Do you really need to go to that expensive 4-year college for your first two years. How about you spend the first 2 years at a local community college knocking out all your general education. You just need to ensure that your credits will transfer to your next college.
How about working and paying for it as you go
Another option to improve the debt situation is to save up money by working before going to college and as you are going. You can find some decent jobs that don’t require a college degree and pile up money to pay for college. If you attend cheaper schools and live at home, this can be done easily.
Join the military or find a job that has tuition assistance
A few other ways to go about getting a degree without the large amount of debt are joining the military, working a job that offers tuition assistance, or working a job that doesn’t require a degree. If you agree to 3-4 years of service in the miliary, you will get 100% tuition paid while you are in and the GI-Bill to pay for the rest of your 4-year degree when you get out. There are also a lot of companies out there that offer tuition assistance. Land a low-end job at one of those companies and you will be on your way. Finally, there are a lot of good, well-paid jobs that you can get without a degree. Look into the trades, with things like heavy equipment operator, plumber, and electrician to name a few. You will meet a lot of people doing these jobs that make a lot more money than some people with degrees.
Finance Hack – Find a way to get a degree debt free or pick a good job that doesn’t require one.
There are some situations that going into debt makes sense, but it is a terrible idea for most. Save up money to pay for your schooling and pick a reasonably priced school in your state. Another great option is to get a high-demand job in the trades. Do your best to prepare yourself for a career. Then start that career without debt payments hanging over you.
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