That’s how long they think it will take the average Canadian University graduate to pay off their debt.

In Canada, research showed that post-secondary students could be paying for their education an average of 14 years after they graduate.

Most student loans in Canada and the U.S. are taken on by the government, and James Saft, a columnist at Reuters, lamented the fact that lenders do not consider a borrower’s ability to repay:

“In a market dominated by the federal government, which accounts for more than 90% of all such loans, it is remarkable that lending criteria take absolutely no account of current or future repayment capacity,” he said.

Seen here as the government’s problem, I wonder if its really the students’ problem.  And since students think they are “untouchable” most are not really thinking about paying off their debts yet.  Most are overconfident of how easy its going to be.

14 years.

Time to think twice.

Quote is from the Financial Post.