Out of college, paying off what is owed can take its toll

At 17, few understand the meaning of debt -- tens of thousands of dollars of debt. Jennifer Guerin certainly did not. "When you're applying to schools in high school," she said, "it's all kind of vague how it's going to work out."

Now 27, and finished with graduate school, Guerin sends $399 a month to pay off college loans totaling $70,000. At this rate, the physical therapist says, she will be paying off college loans for the next three decades.

"Presumably, I could have kids out of college and I'll still be paying it off," she said.

A native of Bangor, Maine, Guerin wanted to enter a physical therapy program out of high school, but she could not find one at a Maine state university. So she went to Simmons College, which offered a six-year program that combined undergraduate and graduate studies.

Guerin obtained scholarships, grants, and loans for her freshman year, leaving her with about $2,000 to pay. But each year, Simmons decreased the scholarship amounts and increased the loans. By the time she earned her bachelor's in allied health science in May 1999, she owed $18,000.

She had to borrow money for graduate school, but because her studies were so intensive, she did not have time for a regular part-time job. She squeezed in baby-sitting jobs and summer nanny positions, and she borrowed money for rent. When she graduated in May 2001, Guerin owed $70,000.

The debt has meant compromises. Guerin, who works at the outpatient center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, has a roommate, and they moved from Brookline to Watertown to save money. She drove a 1988 Saab until last year, when she traded it in for a 2003 Honda Civic, cutting repair costs. There is nothing left over for savings.

Most people in her field feel the pressure to return to school for a doctorate in physical therapy, and she would like to be an administrator some day.

But the degree would cost a few thousand dollars, and for the most part, part-time programs do not offer loans, she said. In the end, that extra degree would not earn her much more money in an industry that caps wages at about $65,000.

The options for paying for more schooling? "It's either credit cards or cash," Guerin said.

Suzanne Sataline can be reached at sataline@globe.com.