Why Debt: Should College Students Avoid?

When we think about college and a college education, it seems as though our first initial thought is the student loans and debt that can result in achieving a college degree. Looking back, student debt has risen drastically and has made it extremely stressful for students and families. Many people go through their entire life in debt, especially from being a student. Student debt has always existed; however, now, it is so extreme, almost all students who attend college find themselves deep in debt, and must continue paying off their debt many years after they graduate. For the past two decades, student debt has risen, illustrating how big this social problem has become. The reason student debt is a significant social problem is because of how much it can effect a person’s life, and their families lives, that can carry over to their future. Although there were many things that led up to and impacted the drastic student debt that is now being faced by many students around the world, the corporation Sallie Mae, was the essential factor in why student debt has skyrocketed to unreasonable proportions. Sallie Mae provided the first type of corporation that changed its focus from helping students, to helping themselves. The history and scope of the student debt can help us understand that the corporation, Sallie Mae, was the main cause of this problem.

A problem with student loan debt is that students gain more debt because they are not able to pay off the student loans within the given time which also causes them to put certain life decisions on hold. According to Sophie Quinton debt is a problem for the recent college graduates because “There’s currently no way to get rid of federal student debt other than paying off the loans. while some borrowers are paying off their debts just fine, overall they are adding debt faster than they are shedding it”(Quinton). According to Jamaal Abdul-Alim stated that a “survey - titled Student Loan Debt: Who’s Paying the Price?- revealed a number of troubling statistics about the practical ways that student loans are impacting college graduates in their everyday lives. For instance the survey found that: 49

As with any college student, the idea of not having to pay for school sounds quite perfect. Average student loan debt has increased at a constant rate since 1993 and peaked for 2015 graduates at $35,000 according to the Wall Street Journal. The same report shows two other key factors. While 70% of students leave college with student debt, the need for a college degree has never been more important. Unemployment rates between people holding a bachelors degree or more sits around 2%, while people with only a high school diploma is over 5%.

In the year 2007, 18.2 million students enrolled into college. About thirty-nine percent of those students were between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four (Marcus). College is seen as something one must do to be able to have a successful life or career. Student debt is almost guaranteed for anyone that goes into college. Seventy percent of bachelor's degree recipients graduate with student debt. Student loans in just the U.S. alone are up to 1.2 trillion dollars, this is the second highest level of consumer debt, just trailing behind mortgages (Snyder). Student debt has been an issue for anyone thinking about going into, that is attending, and graduating or leaving college. How to solve this issue is very simple, which is to save money, lower

The term student debt has become a bit controversial in today's world; it strikes fear into the hearts of students and parents alike. This is because student debt is increasing at an incredible rate and everyone agrees that it is a major problem. Many solutions have been proposed to fix this problem, yet nothing has been done. This problem is projected to worsen in the near future. The causes of this are relatively simple and clear-cut. The increase in student debt is caused by a combination of factors including rising tuition, decreases in government funding, the shift to student loans, and increases in the overall costs of college.

Financial support has played an important role for college students, especially for university students, whose family could not support their education after they have graduated from high school. Due to this situation, students have to go through a lot of problems with their tuition fees to be able to continue with their education. They always need a large amount of money besides paying for the tuition but also for living, and students have to go through a lot of problems with their tuition fees in order to be able to finish their career on time and earn a better living in the future. Some students will choose to go to work part time while at school, so they can pay for their fees and their own expense, such as gas, foods, and clothing. On the other hand, most of students will choose to take out loans from somewhere else, such as the bank or federal loans. This way, students who choose to take out a loan could focus on their education without worrying about how to pay for their fees. It is very important for students to acknowledges and be aware of the different types of student loans, and all the requirements before students decide to obtain a loan. Because of the raise in tuition leads to the existence of the student loan debt is a burden that is a financial impact on lifestyle changes, such as postpone couples to get married, to have children, to buy a house and to save for retirement.

College debt can stunt most students from pursuing their college dream and going to their school of choice. Students get scared of the word debt and the numbers that they would be dealing with outside of college. Students are putting aside going to their dream schools because of the fear of how much debt they will get into after college. There are many reasons why people don’t pursue college, or just from not being able to afford it. Students go back and look at not going to their dream college or college at all and regret not taking the challenge and going with what they always wanted to do. Some students experience not being in debt after college and why they think college tuition is right where it needs to be, but others will make shocking choices to not be in debt. College students are choosing not to pursue their dream college or college at all because of finances they would be dealing with after college, debt.

Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).

College is where you go to get higher sources of education. Many high school students dream of attending college in order to attain more knowledge, yet so many people fail to realize the cost of college. Attending college, currently, is nearly impossible to do without being in some sort of financial debt or seeking out government help. According to the American Association of University Professors, “two-thirds of American college students graduate with substantial debt, averaging nearly $30,000 (if one includes charge cards) in 2008 and rising.” (AAUP, 2012) Although going to college is beneficial, there is an argument on whether or not going to college is worth the possible debt incurred. The goal

Debt can make one’s life become a stressful thing. There is a constant worry the debt will continue to grow or dealing with the struggle of having to pay every last penny back plus more. Colleges are finding fewer reasons to lower prices and more reasons to raise prices. The college perspective is understood by many in this matter though. Colleges, as well as any other business, needs to make money also. The affordability of college is the second most important thing about a child’s college education, right below the actual education itself. “… the cost of college will remain unaffordable, tuition will continue to rise, and the 18-year-olds… will ‘get to’ continue paying for college with student loans” (college cost act does not…). Does it really pay off to go to college though?

Over the last decade student loan debt has risen substantially and is now one of the largest form of personal debt in America, totaling about one trillion dollars, with 71 percent of students who earn a bachelors degree graduating with debt, with the average amount of debt being $29,400.

College students graduate with an average student loan debt of approximately $37000. Of course, that's not the whole story. Millions of college graduates have student loan debts ranging from $50,000 to over $200,000.

Financial support has played an important role for college students, especially for university students, whose family could not support their education after they have graduated from high school. Due to this situation, students have to go through a lot of problems with their tuition fees to be able to continue with their education. They always need a large amount of money besides paying for the tuition but also for living, and students have to go through a lot of problems with their tuition fees in order to be able to finish their career on time and earn a better living in the future. Some students will choose to go to work part time while at school, so they can pay for their fees and their own expense, such as gas, foods, and clothing. On the other hand, most of students will choose to take out loans from somewhere else, such as the bank or federal loans. This way, students who choose to take out a loan could focus on their education without worrying about how to pay for their fees. It is very important for students to acknowledges and be aware of the different types of student loans, and all the requirements before students decide to obtain a loan. Because of the raise in tuition leads to the existence of the student loan debt is a burden that is a financial impact on lifestyle changes, such as postpone couples to get married, to have children, to buy a house and to save for retirement.

It is impertinent that the government and colleges spend time keeping track of the amount of debt that college students are going to be faced with when they leave the college. “This information can then be used to improve student loan counseling” (Kantrowitz). By having these statistics, the goverment can

American youth have more pressure to get a good education than ever before, but at what price? The cost of education is at an all time high and rising every year. Many Americans are struggling with a large amount of student loan debt weather they graduated with a degree or not. The only way to secure the future of students today is to invest in the students themselves rather than investing their money into the corporate market. By preparing students for higher education and providing financial resources students will have the knowledge to deal with student loans and the debt they may be accruing while in school.