The average annual cost of attending the University of Tennessee at Martin is $10,585 and 48% of the graduating students will have an average of $21,042 in federal student loan debt. Two years after graduating from college, 5% of students are delinquent and 28% have not made any progress in paying off their loans.
After graduating, students start repaying their student loans. The average monthly loan repayment is $223 per month. A troubling number of students are in forbearance and deferment of payments. The forbearance rate is 19% and the deferment rate is 14%. The longer a student takes to pay off their student loans means they are paying off much more than the original amount.
There are four options to pay back my federal student loan. For all four options, the interest rate is 6.8%. The amount of my loan is $25,000. The loan amount and interest rate are the same, but the amount paid varies depending on the plan.
The first option is a standard 10-year repayment option. With 120 monthly payments of $287.70 for a total loan amount of $34,525.10. Interest paid on the loan will be $9,524.10.
The second option for repayment is a graduated repayment plan. For the first two years, the monthly payment with be $197.54 and increase every two years until they reach $431.55 in the last year of repayment, for a total loan amount of $36,388.89. Total interest payment of $11,388.89 over a ten-year period.
The third option is an income-based repayment plan. A payment of $38 a month would be made until annual income is $70,000. When annual income becomes $70,000, the monthly payment will be $289 until the loan is paid off. Interest paid is the same as the standard 10-year repayment plan.
The fourth repayment plan is the pay-as-you-earn plan. Payment of $25 a month till annual income is $60,000. When the annual income becomes $60,000, the monthly payment will be $284. After 20 years, a person could apply for loan forgiveness. Under the pay-as-you-earn program, submit annual documents showing annual income.
According to collegescorecard.ed.gov, 48% of graduating students from the University of Tennessee at Martin who have a federal student loan will graduate with an average of $21,024 in debt. After two years after graduating, 4% of students are delinquent and 31% have not made any progress in paying off their loan(s).
The following schools have something in common: Berea College (Berea, Ky), College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, MO), Macaulay Honors College at CUNY (New York City, NY), U.S Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO), U.S. Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT), U.S Military Academy (West Point, NY), U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD). In all these colleges, students graduate with no student loan debt if they qualify.
Even though UT Martin students will graduate with debt, there are ways to help students reduce the amount owed. Ways to help pay for college include scholarships, grants, tax credits and deductions for education expenses, work-study programs, and employer tuition reimbursement.
Another way to help reduce debt is by controlling spending. Know the difference between a need and a want. A need is the basic item that a person needs to survive. The basic needs for humans are shelter, water, food and air. Instead of buying new textbooks, consider buying used or renting textbooks instead of purchasing new ones. UT Martin also has a textbook loan program. Use a budgeting tool. Make a budget and stick to it. Five examples of free budgeting tools are Mint.com, YouNeedABudget.com, BudgetTracker.com, Budgetpulse.com, and moneystrands.com.
For financial assistance, visit UT Martin One Stop in Clement Hall or call 731-881-4677. The Financial Aid office is open Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Visit UTM Financial Aid and Scholarship website. https://gradready.com/sponsor/utm is a website UTM provides to help students learn about financial literacy.
