Money

Here's What Age You'll Be by the Time Your College Degree Pays Off

January 9th 2017

Are you working towards your college degree right now and wondering when it will all be worth it?

Well, you may finally have an answer.

Here's the age when your college degree will finally pay off.

A "not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity," found that the age at which your degree will pay for itself is long after you've graduated: age 34, according to CNN via a report by The College Board,.

"In other words, you will have earned enough money to repay the cost of your degree and make up for your time out of the workforce by the age of 34," wrote Katie Lobosco of CNN Money.

But this is assuming certain variables are in place.

"The report assumes that you graduated in four years, paid an interest rate of 4.3 percent on your loans, and finished paying off your debt in 10 years," Lobosco added and not everyone can pay off their debt at that rate, within that time frame.

handful-of-cashStocksy/Carolyn Lagattuta - stocksy.com

"The average college graduate left school with $30,100 in student loan debt in 2015," ATTN: reported in November. This huge financial burden can often times leave some of those students desperate enough to pay that off that debt by turning to some pretty extreme options.

The percentage of full-time undergraduate students who finish their degree within six years is only 60; better than half, but not by much, according to the National Center for Education Statistics

So is college worth it?

Possibly hearing that your degree doesn't pay for itself until you're 34 might make you feel exasperated and wonder if it's all even worth it, which is a question ATTN:'s Matthew Segal asked in 2015. He found that although student loan debt is daunting, "those with a bachelor's degree earn 80 percent more on average (throughout their lifetime) than their high school diploma counterparts."

Segal also pointed to a 2014 statistic from Deputy Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin who said, according to a statement republished by MSNBC, "a four-year degree yields approximately $570,000 more in lifetime earnings than a high school diploma alone, while a two-year degree yields $170,000 more."

So while you may not see a pay off until you're in your thirties, it's likely a pay off that's worth the wait.

[H/T CNN]

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