More than $1.3 trillion dollars, with $2,726 added every second.Thats how much student loan debt Americanshave accumulated, and how much debt gets added with every second that ticks by.To many people, this amount is nothing more than an outrageous number to balk atan anomaly shared on the nightly news.But for others, their share represents so much more. Fear. Shame. Frustration. A lifetime sentence of debt.And for most, it represents regretand a whole lot of it.For the graduating class of 2016, the average debt loadof indebted students surged over $37,000 for the first time. And nationwide, the delinquency rate on student loans is well over 11%.Few students understand the ramifications of borrowing too much money for school, and even fewer grasp what their loans will mean to their lives five, 10, or even 20years from now. But once they sign on that dotted line, we all know its usually far too late.SEE ALSO:An entrepreneur who earns up to $170,000 a month shares the biggest mistake people make when trying to start a businessDON'T MISS:A CEO who's done everything from weigh seals in Antarctica to found a software startup gives his best advice for 20-somethingsWhat I wish I knew before I borrowed money for collegeCurious what college graduateswish theyd known before they borrowed money for school'So were we, which is why we reached out to various bloggers with student loan debt to find out.Heres what they said:I wish I'd known about the different ways to finance school other than student loansFinancial coach Whitney Hansen says she wishes shed beenmadeaware of the myriad other ways to finance school when she attended college. Throughout high school, she says, she was taught that student loans were always good debt, and that repayment wouldnt be a problem once she got a job.I didnt realize there are scholarships, companies that provide tuition reimbursement, self-financing, joining the military, and even working directly for a university, notes Whitney.When Hansenwent back to earn her masters degree in business, she got a job at the university where she studied and received a heavily discounted tuition package as a result. My entire MBA cost me $472, she says.You have options outside of student loans, notes Whitney, adding that you just have to get creative.Student loans are often seen as the path of least resistance when youre trying to finance education, but dont forget about everything else. Apply for scholarships and grants and look for ways to earn cash for tuition while you study. While you may not be able to cover the entire costs of your tuition, any funds you can find will leave you better off in the end.I wish I knew what my monthly payment would be after I graduatedBorrowing money for college is the easy part. Read through a few pamphlets of paperwork, sign your name a few times, and voilayoure the proud owner of a student loan.The problem is, few borrowers actually have any idea what their monthly payment might be in the futureat least, they dont know until they get the bill in the mail.Robert Farrington of The College Investor explains how his student loan story played out: I still remember getting my student loansI received an email from the financial aid office saying I was approved, and then I clicked the link. I chose I Accept about three times, and boom$20,500 in student loans instantly, says Farrington.I had no idea what my monthly payment would be or what it would take to pay these off. I just went about my day, he says.It wasnt until years later thathe found out how much he would actually owe each month, and what that really meant.When you think about it, thats downright scary. Would you leasean apartment without knowing what the monthly rent is' Would you buy a car without knowing the price and the monthly payment' Before you accept any student loan, use a calculator like this one to estimate what your monthly payments will be after graduation.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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