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Canadian students may be too optimistic about their future

In retrospect, Mark Groleau and wife Naomi Orvis admit they were a little delusional about their mutual decision to go back to university and, in particular, the time and grueling effort it would take to pay back the whopping student debt they incurred to do so.

“It has been a crazy treadmill,” said Groleau, 35, an ordained minister at The Meeting Place in Richmond Hill, Ont., since graduating three years ago with a master’s degree from Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto.

Orvis, 34, also attended Tyndale and now operates her own business as a registered marriage and family therapist.

Between them, they racked up about $70,000 in bank loans. They’ve been scrambling since the doors of the school shut behind them to get out from under that enormous debt burden.

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“We love our jobs,” said Groleau. “But we feel we’ve paid for the privilege of that.”

The real-life experience of Groleau and Orvis challenges some of the key findings of a new survey measuring student attitudes towards job prospects and the ability to repay students loans published by D+H Canada.

The average student debt in Canada hovers around $27,000, according to The Canadian Federation of Students. Students studying in Ontario and the Maritimes have the highest debt loads, averaging more than $28,000. A 2012 Simon Fraser University survey reported the national average around $24,600.

Yet, according to the D+H index, the outlook among students remains wildly rosy when asked about monetary issues. More than 80 per cent of respondents who funded all or part of their post-secondary education with a student loan are optimistic they will pay back money they owe within two to five years of graduation, the study found.

The reality? Canadian borrowers take at least 10 years, on average, to repay their loans, according to the Canada Student Loan Program, as reported in the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The outlook was similarly optimistic when it comes to joining the workforce.

When it comes to a starting salary, the majority of students expect to earn around $49,000, with just 26 per cent projecting less than $30,000.

Most students expect their salaries to increase as they gain experience, especially men. The majority of men surveyed (54 per cent) expect that in 10 years they will earn more than $80,000. Among women, the figure was closer to 33 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada, unemployment among young people is about double the national average. In June, employment among youths aged 15 to 24 years dropped by 44,000. The unemployment rate among our youngest workers remained at 13.4 per cent. The national average in June was 7.1 per cent.

A report published last year by the Council of Ontario Universities found the average salary for university graduates working full-time was $49,277 two years after graduation, up from the average $42,668 earned six months after graduation.

Ralph De Jong, vice president and head of student lending with D+H Canada said student optimism, especially as it relates to student loan repayment timelines, is not unrealistic.

“It is totally possible,” De Jong said.

The key to repayment is not taking on any more debt than absolutely necessary, and ensuring the funds you do borrow are used wisely (Hint: not in the bar or at the latest trendy restaurant). De Jong said there are tools available to calculate exactly how much a student will owe every month post-graduation, depending on the repayment schedule.

Groleau and Orvis suggest students also do some legwork to find out if there are any hidden costs to their education beyond the tuition. In their case, they only found out after they had graduated that Orvis needed another two years of supervised work hours before she could be certified, costing the couple an unexpected $20,000 on top of student loans.

With a two-year-old daughter and a second baby on the way, the pair has sought the services of a financial planner. They’ve adopted an austerity budget that has them living month to month on a strict cash diet.

Three months ago, they held a modest celebration to mark the final payment on Groleau’s school-related debt. They estimate it will take another three to four years to eliminate the balance owed.

In the meantime, money to save for a house or for an education fund for their children is out of the question.

“We are always talking about the choices that need to be made. The debt is always in the conversation,” Groleau said.