11:57 PM CDT on Saturday, June 19, 2010
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Rahim Rupani always wanted a career in finance; he just didn't know it was going to cost this much.
Tuition, rent on an apartment and all the other expenses at Southern Methodist University run close to $50,000 a year, Rupani estimates. He's managed to get by for three years with about $14,000 or so in student loan debt, but more may be needed to get him through his final year.
It's been worth it so far because he considers SMU a great school. But as for the loans, "I'm always worried about paying it back. I don't want it to pile up."
When Rupani does start paying back the loans, he'll have a chance to deduct up to $2,500 of interest payments from his income as long as he's making less than $70,000 as a single earner.
That perk is among many tax breaks targeted for possible tightening as the federal government looks for ways to cut its debt. The student loan default rate in 2007 was 6.7 percent, moving up from about 5 percent in the previous five years.
"I think it's a fair tax break" for new students to have as they make their ways into the work world, said Rupani, who wants to get into wealth management, preferably in the Dallas area. "Anything to help you pay it back is helpful."
Rupani's cousin has student loan debt from medical school that he'll be repaying well into his 30s, and while that's not uncommon for doctors, it does give Rupani pause.
The 21-year-old Rupani also wants a master's degree in business administration down the road, which invites the possibility of more student loans, though he wants to work some before heading back to school.
He's intrigued by the option that removes all the interest payment if the loans are repaid fully within six months of graduating, though he recognizes that may not happen, depending on the kind of work he gets when he finishes school.
Rupani's parents are entrepreneurs – they own a convenience store – and that work ethic drove him to pursue a finance degree. He had planned to attend the University of Texas at Austin, but family circumstances led him to choose SMU.
"It's a prestigious school, but it does come with a price," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/062010dnbusdebtrupani.1cbf1da.html
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