Huffington Magazine Issue 80 | Page 27

Voices KALI HAWLK DNY59/GETTY IMAGES How I Escaped College With Zero Debt THE TOTAL AMOUNT of student loan debt collectively hanging over our heads is staggering. Two out of every three college students graduate with outstanding loans, and the effects of student loan debt aren’t temporary. According to a recent article on Nerd Wallet, the expected retire- ment age for millennials is now ten years beyond today’s average. Because of the amount of debt Generation Y carries and must somehow repay, we’ll most likely be working until age 73. If the average twenty-something has somewhere around $25,000 of debt to their name, then I must be a highly unique member of the millennial generation. I graduated from Kennesaw State University, HUFFINGTON 12.22.13