Paying for higher education currently, is a feat, next to graduating. Students in state colleges are using loans more and more due to the disappearing governmental grants. Although the loans assist students in allowing them to pay for tuition, they also pile up, waiting for the student to graduate or to leave school long enough for them to kick in. A study done by The Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access and Success found that students who graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree had an average of $26,000 in debt. (You can check the full article, Students graduating with more student loan debt). That is like paying a car payment on a new Toyota Carolla. The loans, that are meant to help you, actually seem to work against you. They enable you to finish school, but also make finding a job an even more serious decision. In the current state of our economy, job finding can be compared to finding a needle in a hay stack. A great example of this is of my close friend, who will remain nameless. She graduated about two years ago and has yet to find a job. She has student loans that have already demanded attention and pays for them by working at a bank. If it wasn't for the constant threat of an endless loan payment looming over her head, she would lose the motivation for looking for a job in her chosen career. (If you're interested here's a site that helps with loan repayment, its called Educational Debt Manual).
My husband will be graduating in Winter 2012 and sadly, he's not a stranger to loans. He has attended CSUSB for over 8 years and had to make the same hard decision in the last two years; to accept large unsubsidized loans that would cover one year's tuition and then some or to accept subsidized loans that may not cover the whole year. How backwards is that?! You as a borrower, don't have much of a choice. You could choose one and have enough money to pay for that year's tuition, but create a loan that clones itself instantly, or you could choose the other and scrape up money that you don't have and hope to pay the first quarter's tuition on time before they drop your classes.
Depending on loans is stressful. There are students who choose to continue with classes after they graduate with their BA just to avoid paying loans. We go into college in hopes to leave with a well rounded education and to receive the job of our dreams. Due to large amounts of debt, those hopes may have to take a back seat. McDonald's here we come!!!
It is a very bad situation that is going on. Newspaper and magazines are full of stories about poor job market in America. Today college cost much more than it costs a few years ago. Students are trying to take every step that can help them repay their debt. This brings us to a question: Is College worth the cost? This question is not only important to the student, but their families as well. It is also a fact that many young individuals need higher education not only to secure good job, but also for the economy of our nation. Resent analysis from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce states that by 2018, 60% of job will require higher education and unfortunately only about 40% of American students have two to four year college degree.
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