The interesting thing about student loans is that once you graduate from your university, you could owe an amount that equals the cost of a home. Additionally, should you expand your educational expertise and attend a graduate program, your student loan debt could be high enough to buy two houses. What makes this situation worse is that when you get a job after graduate school, you will probably not be making enough money to obtain a mortgage on your own due to your monthly obligations from you student loan debt.
When you obtain a mortgage, you obtain a piece of real property (usually a developed piece of real property that has a house on the land) with it. This home can appreciate in value and can create some great tax benefits for you. Additionally, and most importantly, you will have a place to live. Therefore, while you property is increasing in value, you will have a shelter over your head keeping you cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dry during the rain or snow.
Even though a college degree will not keep you warm in the winter, cool in the summer, or dry in the rain or snow, there are many advantages to obtaining a college degree. It is true that your degree will not increase in value the same way that a house does and you definitely cannot legally sell your degree to the highest bidder. Therefore, even though both the student loans and the mortgage are a form of debt, the mortgage is used for an item that increase in value and can be sold to the highest bidder.
The good news is that even though your student loan debt has not bought you anything that you can sell, it has helped you obtain an education and hopefully, a degree. These things will help you get a good, high paying job, and although you may be financially struggling in the beginning, your financial situation should become more stable in the near future. Although I have to admit that having the equivalent of two mortgages (one actual mortgage and a student loan payment that is as high as a mortgage) is a bit disheartening, if you have the drive to succeed, this financial burden will not last a long time.
Student loans and mortgages can both help you purchase something that can be very important for your present and your future. Therefore, do not be discouraged if at one point in your life you have to pay for both a mortgage and student loan debt.