$30,000 in student loans isn't considered excessive, as it's close to the national average for borrowers, but whether it's "a lot" depends on your starting salary; a common guideline is to keep debt below your first-year earnings, making $30k manageable for many graduates, though it requires a solid plan for repayment, potentially around $300-$350 monthly for 10 years, according to Credible and Citizens Bank.
Nearly eight in ten students graduate with less than $30,000 in debt. Among those who do borrow, the average debt at graduation is $27,420 — or $6,855 for each year of a four-year degree at a public university.
To start, it is a good rule of thumb not to take out a student loan that's more than your anticipated annual salary. For example, if the average student is in debt by $40,499, and yours is likely to be similar or more, obtaining a starting salary that either matches or exceeds that number is prudent.
Loan repayments are calculated at 9% of the amount you're earning over the repayment threshold. So if you normally live in England and you're earning £30,000/year, you are earning £2,705 over the current annual threshold for repayments. Your repayments will be calculated at 9% of this amount. 9% of £2,705 is £243.45.
Pay More than Your Minimum Payment
Paying a little extra each month can reduce the interest you pay and reduce your total cost of your loan over time. Continue to make monthly payments even if you've satisfied future payments, and you'll pay off your loan faster.
The average federal student loan debt is $39,075 per borrower. Outstanding private student loan debt totals $144.9 billion. The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor's degree.
Student Loan Borrower Statistics
20% of all American adults with undergraduate degrees have outstanding student debt; 24% postgraduate degree holders report outstanding student loans. 20% of U.S. adults report having paid off student loan debt. The 5-year annual average student loan debt growth rate is 1.66%.
The "7-year rule" for student loans generally refers to when negative marks, like defaults, are removed from your credit report (around 7 years after the first missed payment or default date for federal loans, 7.5 years for private loans), but the debt itself doesn't disappear and must be paid off; it's also a benchmark in bankruptcy proceedings where federal loans can become dischargeable after 7 years from when payments were due, though proving "undue hardship" is required and difficult.
There are some situations where paying off your student loan can save you money, but this is only usually the case for very high earners. Even then, these people could still benefit from saving this money for a rainy day.
Student loan debt can feel overwhelming and take decades to pay off. The standard federal student loan repayment term is 10 years, but the average student borrower takes 20 years to fully repay their debt. Fortunately, there are many options to shorten this timeline to get out of debt quicker.
Student loan borrowers, on average, graduate with around $30,000 in student loan debt. That makes about $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, the vast majority of which is from federal student loans.
However, a student loan becomes a bad debt if the loan is not paid back responsibly or within the terms agreed upon. It can also become burdensome if you have so much student loan debt that it takes years (and more interest payments) to repay.
College Debt by the Numbers
Let's look at some of the statistics on student loans: Average student loan debt (both federal and private) topped $40,904 in 2021. The average monthly student loan payment is an estimated $460. The average borrower takes 20 years to pay off student loan debt.
Women, Black borrowers, and students at for-profit schools owe more federal student debt, on average, than other groups of borrowers. On average, women owe nearly $3,000, or 10 percent, more student debt than men. Black borrowers owe over $13,000, or nearly 50 percent, more than white borrowers.
A wide variety of lenders offer $30,000 personal loans, including banks, credit unions and online lenders. Since this is a larger loan, you will likely need very good credit or a cosigner to get a loan with bad credit. However, shopping around and prequalifying can help you get the best rate for your situation.