“Student loan regret” increasingly troubles young Americans

Young people who choose a career that requires a two-year technical college degree or similar credential can generally avoid the oppressive student loan debt that burdens so many four-year college grads.

Just how troublesome is that debt? The New York Post explains in a piece about a recent study on the topic, headlined “Young Americans suffering from serious case of student loan regret.”

According to the Post, survey results

showed over half (52 percent) of college graduates who took out student loans struggle to pay back their loans after the grace period has lapsed.

And it’s no surprise that nearly half of college graduates who took out loans (47 percent) have had to defer their payment plans at least once since it takes the average recent college graduate six months to find a job….

A quarter of respondents admit that they would have attended a less expensive school if they [had known] what they know now about the debt they’d incur.

And here’s a surprising statistic. The Post reports that

it’s not just recent college graduates that are struggling with student loan debt. In fact, 72 percent of those aged 46 and older who took out student loans continue to stress over making their monthly payments.

According to the survey, which looked at the finances of 2,000 four-year college graduates, 55 percent of those 46 and older have missed at least one monthly student loan payment.