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this post from statistics canada on student loans is important because it shows the shocking statistics on how many young people have to turn to these loans and how dangerous they can be to a young adults long term ability to save money for retirement.

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Given the importance of government loans in financing student education, the remainder of this section focuses on government-financed student debt. It also discusses the amount of this debt and repayment by level of education and field of study. Debt of $25,000 or more was classified as large, as accumulation of debt of this size represents a substantial financial burden for most graduates.

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this piece from the financial post details how long the average time it takes for a normal higher education student takes to pay back on their loans. the answer may shock you!

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The fresh crop of post-secondary students filing into the classroom this week could be in for a shock when they realize they could be paying for their education an average of 14 years after they graduate.

New research from RateSupermarket.ca shows a cost of around $80,000 for those looking to leave their parent's basement while pursuing their degree.

The study compared tuition rates from universities across Canada in a various areas of study as well as books, supplies, and the cost of living in different cities. It also accounts for accrued debt, projected inflation, and interest charges.

"I think everyone was surprised by the results," said RateSupermarket.ca president Kelvin Mangaroo.

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The average university student leaves campus with close to $28,000 in debt, and takes an average of 14 years to pay it off based on an average starting salary of $39,523, the survey suggested.

RateSupermarket.ca averaged entry level salaries for positions students are likely to get fresh out of school, plus a 3% annual increase. However, the survey does not account for tough job market conditions and unemployment.

Using Statistics Canada numbers from 2000, the survey suggested tuition costs today are $8,500 higher.

"Every part of the post-secondary experience has become more expensive, and when you take into account accrued interest on student debt and inflation, the results are quite shocking," said Mr. Mangaroo.

The basement dwellers can expect their schooling to set them back a more modest $35,000.

"If the cost of living away at university continues to increase we can expect a lot more people to consider living at home as a viable option."

RateSupermarket.ca also tracks mortgage trends in Canada. Mr. Mangaroo says university grads may be forced to hold off on big purchases like houses and cars.

"The average student graduates at 23 or 24, they're looking to pay that off by 37 or 38," said Mr. Mangaroo.

"As the housing market continues to increase it's becoming much harder for first time buyers to get a mortgage," he said. "Coupled with lingering student debt, life is getting harder and harder for young people."

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Student debt: Average payback takes 14 years

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The fresh crop of post-secondary students filing into the classroom this week could be in for a shock when they realize they could be paying for their education an average of 14 years after they graduate. New research from RateSupermarket.ca shows a cost of around $80,000 for those looking to leave their parent's basement while pursuing their degree.

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on this website brittany speakes on why she is so worried about her student debt and how it is affecting her and her husband in their lives. she goes into explain how difficutlt her repayment plan is and what it is doing to her quality of life.

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Brittany Verge knew she would have to rely on student loans to pay for post-secondary education after high school. But as a teenager, she didn't realize how difficult paying off an average Canadian graduate debt load would be.

"My worry is that I'm going to be, you know, with college-age kids some day and still paying my loan," the 26-year-old explains.

After three years of post-secondary schooling in Nova Scotia, Verge graduated in 2008 with about $25,000 of debt - just about the national average. More than five years later, she has only managed to pay back about $2,000.

For people like Verge, high debt loads are not only a financial stress but can delay the time it takes individuals or couples to reach certain milestones, such as having children, getting married or owning property, according to recent research in North America.

My worry is that I'm going to be ... with college-age kids some day and still paying my loan. - Brittany Verge, 26-year-old graduate

Average Canadian student debt estimates hover in the mid- to high-$20,000 range. The Canadian Federation of Students pegs it at $27,000, which is close to the nearly $26,300 many students said they expected to owe after graduation in a recent BMO survey.

Simon Fraser University's annual survey of more than 15,000 graduating students found debt-saddled students reported an average of about $24,600 in 2012. When debt-free graduates were added to the equation, the average dropped to about $14,500.

Post-graduate work hard to find

Despite being handed a large enough loan to pay for one year of university and two years of college, Verge says she did not understand the consequences of owing so much money.

​After graduation, Verge struggled to find permanent, full-time work, like many other young people.

In January 2014, the youth unemployment rate in the country was 13.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. In 2013, young people in the Atlantic provinces and Ontario had the highest unemployment rates, according to a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

​Verge originally intended to become a teacher, but changed her mind after one year at Memorial University. She spent the next two years at Nova Scotia Community College completing a photography program, hoping to become a photojournalist.

She floated between retail jobs and spent summers living with her parents while working at a museum. She worked on freelance photography projects in her spare time.

"I was doing an array of things, and quite often going on EI [employment insurance] when I couldn't find any more retail work," she recalls.

During those hodgepodge employment years, the most she and her husband - whom she married in 2009 in a no-frills, self-catered affair - made was $34,000 annually before taxes.

Five years after graduation, Verge landed her first full-time job in her chosen field, as a reporter for a local newspaper in Liverpool, N.S., where she lives. She now makes less than $28,000 before taxes.

Defaulted debts, repayment assistance

But years earlier, Verge defaulted on some of her loans.

Like many students, Verge's loans are split between federal and provincial. Her monthly payments for her federal loan, under the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP), totalled about $200; while her provincial loan payments were much smaller.

"How could somebody who has seasonal employment and is taking out EI possibly pay them that much," she says, adding her husband was a student still paying tuition at the time.

When she didn't make payments for more than 270 days, her federal loan went into default.

Over the past few years, about 14 per cent of people with federal student loans have defaulted within three years of leaving school, according to the CIBC Centre for Human Capital and Productivity at Western University .

In 2010-11, 165,000 borrowers entered the CSLP's repayment assistance program. Graduates have to apply and qualify for repayment assistance, which lowers their monthly payment to no more than 20 per cent of their family income, every six months. Former students whose loans have defaulted are not eligible.

Since Verge defaulted on her loans, the Canada Revenue Agency collects $125 each month from her and takes her GST and income tax refunds - should she qualify for any. She pays an additional $40 monthly for her provincial loans.

Delayed life milestones

Verge's husband is currently pursuing a masters in history at Saint Mary's University in Halifax and hopes to continue into a PhD program. When he graduates, the young couple will have his student debt repayment to contend with as well. So far, it totals $30,000 (his current year's tuition has been covered by a scholarship).

Between 2012 and 2013, more than 400,000 students borrowed money to help pay for more schooling, claims the Canadian Federation of Students. With so many acquiring post-graduate debt, young couples, like Verge and her husband, often have to repay two sets of loans.

Verge considers herself lucky, because she and her husband moved into his mother's house in 2010 when she downsized to an apartment for health reasons. The couple helped pay her monthly rent until she passed away in 2011.

Verge says they wouldn't have been able to save for a down payment to buy property themselves.

Still, the house is more than 100 years old and needs significant work, including electrical and insulation. Renovations are going slowly because Verge and her husband don't have the disposable income to reinvest in the house.

Their housing and financial situation could delay their decision on when to have kids, Verge says - though she admits kids aren't necessarily on their radar right now.

"Where do you even put a baby when you don't even have insulation in your walls?"

If she could go back to her senior year of high school, Verge wouldmake different choices, namely being more certain of what she wanted to study before spending $8,000 on a year's worth of university tuition, books and living costs.

"Any debt is a hindrance," says Verge, explaining it's harder to be a productive member of society while repaying tens of thousands of student loan dollars.

"I don't spend a lot of money. I don't even have a television or cable. I haven't taken a real vacation since my honeymoon. I don't have a savings account."

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Meet a graduate carrying Canada's average student debt load | CBC News

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Brittany Verge knew she would have to rely on student loans to pay for post-secondary education after high school. But as a teenager, she didn't realize how difficult paying off an average Canadian graduate debt load would be. "My worry is that I'm going to be, you know, with college-age kids some day and still paying my loan," the 26-year-old explains.

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in this video the speaker touches on why everyone is encouraged to go to into schooling in which the only way to afford it is to go into debt.

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Uploaded by Cup Of Joe Canada on 2016-03-24.

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in this video a reporter shows how the massive debt is being handled by the students and what the government is doing working toward the future of cost for higher education.

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Canadian students RISE in protest as their affordable EDUCATION fees will be a thing of the PAST

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Canadian students RISE in protest as their affordable EDUCATION fees will be a thing of the PAST The Canadian province of Quebec. A region that prides itself on free healthcare and affordable education for its residents. Students here pay a fixed amount for tuition fees, around $2500 a year for all of the colleges and universities.

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in this video it shows very well how people can be just drawn into massive debt without realizing it.  it also shows how being drawn into such enormous debt has made their view of what life could be change for the worse

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Debt Slavery Via The College Education Bubble

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Reality of Student Loans | College Advice

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Voices of Debt - The Student Loan Crisis: Don't Major in Debt

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The cost of college is skyrocketing. Student debt has exceeded One Billion Dollars. Student have borrowed more to pay for their college eduction than they can reasonably expect to payback. "Voices of Debt" documentary is their voice. A warning, and a call for action about this crisis on the verge of national disaster.

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on this padlet you will learn about student loan debt. you will learn what it is, how is it aquired, and why it is something you should be concerned with.

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student loan debt and what to do about it

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student loan debt and what to do about it

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by christian odonnell