College students say they would spend time in jail if it meant paying off their school loans
College students are willing to do quite a bit to get off the hook of paying their student loans, even spending a week in jail, according to a recent study.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Splash Financial, interviewed 1,000 undergraduate and graduate-level degree holders, with the most interesting insight coming from their answers regarding erasing student debt.
Thirty-nine percent of participants said they would spend an entire week in jail, 40 percent said they would sacrifice days off of work for a whole year and another 40 percent said they would never have coffee again.
TRUMP TO ELIMINATE STUDENT LOAN DEBT FOR DISABLED VETS
Other results from that question showed 51 percent of survey-takers claiming they would shave their head, 49 percent saying they would walk to work for a month and another 40 percent revealing they would relive high school all over again.
Last year, the average student loan balance hit a record high at $35,359 per borrower, while the total amount of outstanding student loans reached an all-time high in 2019 at $1.41 trillion, according to credit reporting agency Experian. That makes for a 6 percent increase from 2018 to this year and a 33 percent increase since 2014, when total debt was $1.06 trillion, according to a recent Trends in College Pricing Highlights College Board report.
AMERICANS' STUDENT LOAN DEBT REACHES $1.6 TRILLION
Meanwhile, other insights gleaned from the study include the financial unlikelihood of saving for retirement or buying a house while burdened with student debt, as well as other sacrifices borrowers are forced to make in order to prevent defaulting on a student loan. Many participants revealed skipping social events and gatherings and working side jobs to make ends meet and work off mounting student debt as well.