Over half of students expect they'll need a second job to pay their loans
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- Scholarship platform ScholarshipOwl surveyed over 10,000 high school and college students.
- The majority of respondents have student loans, and plan to make future changes in order to pay them.
- Student loan payments will resume in October.
Graduation season is behind us, and the class of 2023 is looking ahead.
In a May survey of over 10,000 high school and college students on its platform, scholarship site ScholarshipOwl asked about how student loans would affect students' future plans. Of the 87% of respondents who have student loans, 54% said they want to pay off their loans as quickly as possible. Only 3% of borrowers are not worried about paying them off.
After graduation, 59% of borrowers expect to take a second job or side hustle in order to make their loan payments. Having a side hustle, especially for recent grads, isn't exactly unusual: A 2022 survey found 62% of Gen Z workers have one in addition to a full-time job.
Clearly, a 9 to 5 isn't paying the bills.
Student loan payments will resume soon
Many workers of all ages have student loans on the brain right now, as the US prepares for the pandemic-era, three-year student loan pause to expire in October. Come September, interest will begin accruing on loans again, and borrowers will be responsible for making payments the following month.
Analysts are expecting this change to be a shock to Americans' wallets; Morgan Stanley researchers found 34% of borrowers don't expect to be able to afford their payments at all.
Among the students surveyed by ScholarshipOwl, nearly three-quarters are exploring their options for repayment, including consolidating their loans (30%), choosing income-based repayment (41%), and using deferment and forbearance to push off payments for as long as they can (6%).
If you're exploring options such as student loan refinancing as the payment pause ends, remember that you would be moving federal loans to a private company. This isn't necessarily a poor choice, but it does mean you will no longer be eligible for forbearance, income-based repayment, or forgiveness. Those with private student loans have been paying all along.