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Swedish students in billion kronor debt

Published: 20 Aug 12 12:12 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/42718/20120820/

Over 90,000 people who studied in Sweden are now in debt to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten), owing over 1 billion kronor ($150 million)in total, yet experts maintain that student loans remain a helpful alternative.

Ylva Yngveson, of Swedish bank Swedbank, believes that student loans are a good way to finance studying, but stressed that students must keep a close eye on their economy.

“The most expensive item is usually the home. Therefore it is important that you have a good social network,” she explained to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN).

In a survey from Swedish loans body CSN last year, some two-thirds of students answered that they didn’t believe their student allowance was sufficient to live off.

Last year alone, almost 350,000 people, 28 percent of all the people in student debt, were forced to pay a reminder fee for a late payment.

On top of this, 93,500 people still owed money to the Swedish Enforcement Authority by the end of the year, according to DN.

Yngveson explains that keeping a budget, sharing a house with other students, and bringing your own lunch to school can be good methods of saving money, while also avoiding unnecessary expenses such as new clothes, shoes and haircuts – if possible.

“It's a good thing to keep an eye on the economy - especially when you leave home for the first time and manage your own finances. Picking up such habits early helps in the future,” she told the paper.

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12:52 August 20, 2012 by StockholmSam
Wow. Did a bank representative just encourage people to take loans to finance something? I am stunned that this is not front page news.
13:35 August 20, 2012 by G Kin
Who says that only non EU/EEE students studying in Sweden will pay fees in the future?.
14:04 August 20, 2012 by Freelife
Free education + substantial student loan make students lazy and lead a carefree life of 'borrowing'. ?

Many non EU countries don't have these privileges but still produce quality graduates in high numbers!
15:23 August 20, 2012 by si
Odd comment there Freelife

All it means in those "Non EU" countries and lets be honest including many "EU" countriies - is that those who can afford to attend, take a larger proportion of the places.

If keeping the rich kids in education and the ones who cannot afford out is the goal of an educational system likely funded to a varying extent by tax payer money, then sure..
17:41 August 20, 2012 by Freelife
@si

Sorry. I didn't mean that way. Please observe '?' and '!'.
15:59 August 21, 2012 by Great Scott
You have all missed the point here, the reason for so many students and the loans that go with it to avoid unemployment and fas 3. So the students are in fact using their own money to finance this government's incompetence.
16:26 August 21, 2012 by Just_Kidding
Ylva Yngveson: ... "The most expensive item is usually the home...Therefore it is important that you have a good social network.."

sorry, but I don't understand the relationship between the good social network and the housing. ... Does she mean that you should be hot and sleep in a partner's flat or... does she suggest that adults should stay with their parents? "social network" had been a tool to keep insiders in and outsiders out in the job market for a good time, but I don't understand its relationship to the housing.
02:27 August 22, 2012 by Bender B Rodriquez
@Just_Kidding: In the Swedish housing market it is beneficial to have a big circle of friends to find cheap sublets. Newcomers in Sweden often end up paying horrendous prices through Blocket or companies like Bostad Direkt, or simply get ripped off, because they don't know anyone that has a good cheap apartment to rent. Also, many students share flats, and it is easier to find shared flats through your friends.
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