Aibu to ask, how long ago did you graduate, and how much have you got left to pay?

[Mannerscostnothing84]

I totally realise this is all relative. I am just curious as to whether anyone gets theirs paid off in a reasonable amount of time.

I am sick to death of seeing it come out my pay, and have made some over payments in the past to clear it faster.

I earn a decent salary, but have had 2 years maternity leave so no payments made during those periods.

I graduated 11 years ago and still owe £5500 !

13 years ago - haven't paid a penny back

I graduated in 2001 with £8k of student loans (did a 4 yr course starting in 1997, no fees, got half grant half loan). I then borrowed £22k as a career development loan to go to law school. Got my fees of about £9k reimbursed from the firm that took me on, used this as a 5% deposit on my first house. The repayment system was different then - you paid a fixed monthly amount once you earned over the threshold. My monthly payment was something like £130. The monthly payment on the £22k career development loan (repayable over 10 years) was £250. That was quite a big chunk every month, total of £380! I paid back what was left as a lump sum at the end of 2007 - can't remember how much was left then. I had a high paying job so just saved up for a year and got rid of it.

I worry about the level of debt my DCs could end up with if they go to uni. To be honest I wouldn't encourage them to go to university unless they had a plan for why they wanted to go. It used to be just something you could do as a 'filler' to put off making life decisions about career etc, but now I think you should probably have an idea what you want to get from it before committing. I wouldn't go again if I had my time again - it was a fucking miserable 4 years and not worth it at all.

...and I couldn't care less (£16k)

I graduated in 2005, paid £3 (yes really!) a month off for about a year as was earning just over the threshold then went on mat leave and I'm now part time so not paying anything. I borrowed £9000, got over £10,000 to pay back.

Gutted mine doesn't clear until I'm 65. Means I'll have to pay it back at some point. I won't encourage DS to go. I've done nothing with that degree. Don't know why I chose it really. My current job is related to my 2nd degree that work paid for.

I doubt mine will ever get paid. It's about 13k, think I only borrowed 9! I graduated 9 years ago.

Mines paid off - I finished in 2001 but 'only' had 4K. Reading this I can only imagine by the time my kids are uni age that people won't go to uni, the majority will be priced out.

Graduated in 2007 and I owe about £13k. I don't earn enough to pay it back (self employed and only working part time since having DS) so I very rarely think about it.

Scrap that, think I borrowed 12k as I had forgotten about the first year I dropped out of and started a new one the following year.

Graduated 2002, student debt always been around £12K and still is (pretty much pay the interest each year). I've always paid the bare minimum due to low salaries. It's never bothered me and never will as I'll never earn a lot in my field and I wouldn't have had the means to go to uni otherwise.

OH (teacher) paid his off a couple of years ago - and they actually made a mistake in missing a year of payments in their calculations, so he had to write and point that out!

Graduated 2001. No fees, received piddly maintenance grant.

Student loans amounting to around £6k. Have never paid consistently as I still earn under £29k threshold. Still owe around £4k. Heartened by the possibility debt may be written off at age 50.

Some of the figures on this thread would make your eyes bleed. I don't know why any kids these days would go into HE unless they had super rich parents prepared to bank roll them OR a guaranteed, high paying job awaited them at the end.

Graduated 1990. No debt, no loans, as got a full grant.

Graduated undergraduate 2000, then another Post Grad year in 2006 - just Student Loans. Thought I'd finished paying it off a few years back as got a letter saying I had done... then realised that was only part of it, other years were other companys!!! I think still about 3k to pay off, but not working now and very unlikely to be earning the threshold for a long time.

I definitely won't be encouraging my DS to take on a massive debt that is needed now for higher ed, unless really set on it and a well chosen degree with a career in mind!

Graduated 2006 (5year degree) finished paying it off earlier this year - would have been sooner only I had a years mat leave

Graduated about 18 months ago but I still owe my undergrad fees so somewhere around 18k to pay, I think. Currently not working, so I guess I may have it paid off by the time I retire.

Graduated 2006 with £9.5kish loan. Still over £10k to pay off. Now Sahm, so that's not going to happen. It gets written off age 65 for me. However, it does not count against any other monetary matters so it is a non-matter to me.
I never earnt enough as a professional architect for over 8years to make a dent in it!

I graduated in 2006 and have only just started earning enough to pay off the 20k I owe.

It's about £40 a month, I guess I'll be paying it for the rest of time.

Undergrad back in '96, had £700 debt. Postgrad in '97, £3500 debt that was paid off in a few years. But i lived at home and paid no rent

Incidentally, some student friends were lucky enough to be bankrolled by parents and took the full loan available. Put it in a high interest saver and paid it back at the end of the course.

I graduated in 2006 and just finished paying it off - which is not bad considering I had one maternity leave and went travelling for 9 months in that time.

I'm about to take another loan out for postgrad studies though!

I graduated in 2004 and paid it off in 2014 so it took 10 years. My husband graduated from his undergrad in 2003 and still has quite a lot to pay as he did Masters and PHD so didn't start paying it back until about 2009.

DH finished in 2004, but we only started paying it off in 2008. Last payment is April 2017. We can't wait !! At £115 a month. We'll have a nice extra bit.

10 years and £14000 to go!

Graduated in 2002 so 14 years ago. I am in maternity leave but should have about six months worth of payments when I get back, if I go back full time. So that's about £1000-£1500 left I think!

I lie - I graduated in 2005! Sleep deprivation!

Graduated 10 years ago with £12k debt and added £7k for my PT Masters 6 years ago. Started paying immediately (threshold was £15k, I was earning £17k). Have been lucky enough to climb the ladder realtively quickly and have never have a (unpaid) career break. Paid debt off in full a couple of months ago.

I may have no student debt left at 32 but I have done nothing but work for 13 years and have no children, which I would give up being debt free to change. We can't have it all ways all at once by our age.