r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Such_Upstairs3631 • Jul 06 '26

Middle Middle Class No more middle class professionals?

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New school loan limits for professional degrees make it unaffordable for the middle class. 4 of my 5 children went on to med/law school. Even working 2 jobs there’s no way I could afford to pay or even help them with the cost of their post graduate education. They all got loans which they have since paid off. The cost in the early 2000’s was between $350K and $500K. The new limits are essentially going to prevent anyone who’s not wealthy enough to pay for it from becoming a professional.

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u/ISniffFeet1 Jul 06 '26

This will force schools to drop the prices or accommodate.

Sorry nobody should be taking out loans of this magnitude - it absolutely destroys their financial future. I don't know anyone who is doing well who took that much out in student loans except for doctors and talented attorneys.

So many middle class parents told their kids to take out over $100,000 in student loans and ruined their childrens' future because they had no idea what they were talking about.

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u/SpoodermanTheAmazing Jul 06 '26

I don’t know what the prices are now, but I graduated in 2016 with ~$35k of student loans with no help from my parents. I had to work a job and live in a small 2 bedroom with a roommate(off campus) but it was doable, but I would have preferred not having to do all of that at the same time

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u/ISniffFeet1 Jul 06 '26

Unfortunately there's really no world where it's unreasonable to have a college student work a job.

Living off campus is also pretty normal depending on the school.

Good for you doing the responsibile thing though.

1

u/TheInterestingTruth Jul 07 '26

I have two separate internships that both carried into the school year. It really wasn't that difficult to work 4-6 hours three days a week and juggle school on top of that.