[oliveig]

Want to increase your chances of graduating debt free? Join Kelley Keehn on the 2nd of October at 6:30 in Celebration Hall. Kelley will talk about how to live on a student budget and still have money for entertainment. Take the step towards being financially fit, register today on OSCARplus

[BenDover]

If you are paying for your own education, it is 100% impossible to graduate debt free. I worked summer coops every year i was in school with very good pay rates. The cost of tuition, books, living accomodations and groceries, not to mention entertainment money, is far beyond anything you can make in the summer and then with some little part time job at school. Enjoy wasting your time at a pep talk seminar!

[anonanon987]

Originally Posted by BenDover

If you are paying for your own education, it is 100% impossible to graduate debt free. I worked summer coops every year i was in school with very good pay rates. The cost of tuition, books, living accomodations and groceries, not to mention entertainment money, is far beyond anything you can make in the summer and then with some little part time job at school. Enjoy wasting your time at a pep talk seminar!

It is more than just possible to graduate debt free depending on a few variables. Obviously, the biggest one is cost. Using myself as an example, I commute from home on a daily basis. I've forgotten what the math worked out to be, but I pay approximately between $340-$380 for transportation on a monthly basis. I also pay for my own education, and I work on co-op terms during the summer, and I now work part time during school. I have no debt to repay from my last two years, nor will I from this year or my last year.

I guess what I'm trying to get at, it really depends on your situation. You cannot just outright say that it is 100% impossible to graduate debt free.

[nomchock]

lets break down earnings for the summer

working 40hours a week @ minimum wage nets you roughly 900 a paycheque (40x2x11)
16 weeks of working gets you 7200$

increase this by 9% for every dollar you earn more per hour

you could realistically work 20hrs a week during school in some programs (gl trying to do it in eng with 21 credits a semester)
this gets you another another 7200$

lets break it down for debt

school is anywhere from 6k-10k (poli sci->eng)
you said your costs of transport are 400$ a month, 3200$ over the school year. this can replace rent for sake of argument

no cell phone? average of 40$/month is 320$ for those 8 months

no going out? lets guesstimate 20$/weekend for a very low amount. thats 600$ on the low end for entertainment

no eating? 50-100/week isn't that low for one person with limited bulk buying abilities. another 1600-3200$

so on the low end you have 12,000$ and at the high end you have 18k for an engineer who eats a lot


its super easy to say you can graduate debt free when you work every summer, live at home, take the bus and are super frugal

for the average person its just outside their grasp.

graduating with some debt isnt the worst thing ever, especially if it was pursuing a highly marketable degree

[Leeoku]

It's not just jobs. bursaries+scholarship s makes it possible(but extremely hard)

[ZSimon]

Or you can be born into wealth

[sarahsullz]

UH, graduating debt free is INCREDIBLY difficult to do. I don't receive much OSAP($1000), work multiple jobs over the summer and work around 20 hours a week during the school year. It is literally impossible for me to have no debt; I've done the math and I live this everyday.

Not everyone has the luxury of living at home rent-free and not having to pay groceries.

If you try and tell me that I'm wrong I'll be more than happy to sit here and break down my monthly costs.