Attempt to take as little loans as possible as you can. Work more, go to school less if need be, just don't get loans if you can help it. They are what turn people into debt slaves. As long as you have debt, you don't save money. It's not financially wise. If you have a loan at 5% interest, then in order to make more money by saving it you'd need to be making at least 5% return on your money. Otherwise you'd save more money by paying off your loans. Your credit cards are your safety net in the event of an emergency until you're debt free. Our current system gives many college students huge amount of debts because of retarded tuition costs in order to force them to work at any job they can find. 53% of graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. I myself worked a job that had nothing to do with my degree for years. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/53-of-re.../