SoFi Blog

Success in life is rarely about taking the easy road. Often, you have to step outside of your comfort zone, both personally and professionally, to achieve your dreams. True breakthroughs come by taking risks: asking your boss for a raise or promotion, or confronting dissatisfaction with a significant other.

They’re back! We analyzed more than 60,000 student loan refinancing applications from January 2014 to September 2016 to tally SoFi’s “No BS” Return on Education 2017 MBA Rankings. MBA seekers should dive in, because this data matters more than a stunning campus or which successful CEO is an alumnus.

Grounded in verified income and debt—not just reported figures—our rankings represent an accurate and objective look at outcomes for those who are three years out of school. And that’s the whole point of getting your MBA, right? To graduate and earn a strong salary that isn’t eviscerated by student loan debt!

Graduate school is all about lots of work, little sleep, and often tight budgets. But after years of ramen and roommates, you’ll graduate with an advanced degree and likely some student loan debt as well. Fortunately, new data from SoFi reveals that your extra work really can lead to increased earning power —and the ability to pay down your debt faster.

I thought of a dozen clever ways to kick off this blog post, but instead I think I’ll just cut to the chase: You’re probably underpaid.

Welcome to our new 3 People series, where we meet three professionals from diverse backgrounds, cities and careers, who open up about their finances, careers and overcoming student loan debt. Each person’s financial picture, student loans, and repayment strategy differs; however, each refinanced their student loans through SoFi to take control of student debt and pay off their loans faster.

The years following undergrad or grad school are filled with opportunities for you to own your career. Unfortunately for many, along with honing skills and making great connections comes a not-so-fun task: paying down student loan debt. On the plus side, since student loans represent investments in your future, they’re considered “good debt.” Yet, recent statistics put nearly 40 million Americans (including approximately 70% of bachelor degree recipients) in debt with student loans totaling about $1.2 trillion.