A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely by Robin Wilson

While this is often true, it can create problems when a student does not have the money to pay for a quality education. The cost of college has risen an estimated 250-500% over the last 30 years while consumer price index has only increased by 115 percent during the same time frame (White, 2015; Eskow, 2014). The amount of student loan debt is increasing, along with the cost of college. The income of many young people today cannot keep up with the rising costs of college education and housing. Part of the problem with student loan debt begins when students choose to attend a college that exceeds their financial resources and rely on federal student loans as well as private student loans to make up the difference. Eskow found that even public colleges and universities are becoming difficult to pay for without taking out student loans often averaging $30,000 for tuition, room, and board (2014). Since many people do not have enough money to cover college education expenses, they rely on student loans, both federal and private, to fill the gap. Financial advisor Ramsey stated that often the loans students take out pay “for an off-campus standard of living, and no debt was needed to get the degree” (2013). “The Project on Student Debt reported in 2013 over ⅔ graduating seniors were leaving school with student loans” averaging approximately $28,400 (White, 2015). Taking on almost $30,000 in debt before even starting a career can have a significant impact. It can force people to get a job just to pay off the student loans, not based on what they got an education for prepared for or what they studied. This also can cause a setback in future plans, having to delay many adult milestones due to lack of

“Ensuring quality higher education is one of the most important things we can do for our future generations” (Ron Lewis). There are more students enrolling in post-secondary schools than ever before and consequently there are more students acquiring large debts. Once a student graduates, they enter a $33,000 or more student loan debt (Students Loan Resources). These student loans continue to place graduates into large debts, which is largely caused by their lack of knowledge of available resources, and this impacts their everyday lives and future generations.

With the cost of attending even public state schools starting at $20,000 a year, most college graduates will leave with student loan debt. This inevitable debt can already be immense and feel crushing. Credit card debt accumulated in high school is not forgiven by the bank when a student graduates to college. Why would you let your teenager needlessly make their future financial situation worse? Stress surrounding student loan debt has claimed lives. In Oklahoma, two colleges students committed suicide over their inability to pay their debts. They were found dead with their bills beside

“Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt A Good Idea?,” an article written by Kayla Webley in a 2012 issue of TIME magazine, discusses the solution of a one-time student loan bailout for all college students, and argues that, even though this solution is not the best, it is an answer nonetheless. Webley supports this claim by introducing a petition started by Robert Applebaum, a student burdened with $88,000 in college loan debt (130). However, she argues against his propositions, stating that the bail-out will not be an efficient stimulus politically or economically, many students will eventually be able to pay back their loan debt, and there are government programs already in place to give students financial

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

Today, the number of people who have borrowed money to pay their expenses for college, has been rising. In addition, colleges have been increasing the amount charged on students who receive an education. An article states that “tuition is increasing at a rate double that of inflation”, for this reason, the amount of money a student has to pay back has been increasing (Webley). According to the article “Even if you don't have student loans, you should want them to be forgiven”, the author, Lisa Schmeiser, states that “Approximately 44 million people in the U.S. have borrowed for student loans... debt standing at approximately $1.3 trillion today”.

With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.

Because of the nation’s national rising debt, student loan forgiveness has been a significant topic of debate because of how much it can affect our nation’s debt and doesn’t always help the student. Student loan debt is one of the highest debt causes, but sometimes we forget that we are the ones that sign the line on the contract to be in years of debt. This is because we value our education. But this does not mean that just because we can’t find an amazing, high paying job right out of college that we should have our loans forgiven. We want the easy way out of something that isn’t easy, so why should the government pay for our debt? Yes, college is very expensive and that is the governments fault, but again we are the ones that signed the line on the loan papers. (Sam Adolphsen, 583)

Here in the United States, there are many forms of consumer debt, which help contribute to the large sums of debt countless Americans find themselves faced with. Directly effecting many college students is student loan debt. Student loan debt is now the second largest form of consumer debt behind housing” declares the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Grisales). This is due to the fact that student loan debt grew 7.1% in 2014 to $1.2 trillion (Grisales). If this statistic alone is not worrisome this next one is sure to be. The amount of debt in the housing market that helped to spark the last recession was only $1.3 trillion (Grisales). Due to the increased amount of debt required by students to attend college many students are feeling the wrath. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “In 2014, 11.7 percent of females and 17.7 percent of males between the ages 25 and 34 were living with their parents” (Grisales). The fear of obtaining massive amounts of debt is driving the current generation of student’s to put off many future hopes and dreams. While causing them to move back home to save money. The current student loan crisis is crippling the economy and ruining the lives of American students.

Student loan forgiveness remains such a vital topic to many individuals because the exorbitant costs of post-secondary education require a majority of students to take on debt in order to simply improve themselves and advance intellectually. Thousands of students are graduating college every year, each with several thousands of dollars in debt. This area is important to research because it will provide insight into the futures of all college students immersed in the deep debt that appears to consistently accompany a quality education. Finances are important to many college students, especially when it is hard to receive scholarships to cover schooling expenses. When going through college, students stress about the amount of debt that they acquire throughout their post-secondary schooling and learning about the potential to have these debts forgiven is monumental.

Robin Wilson argues the the assumption that withdrawing student loans will potentially lead you to repay them for the rest of your life. In her piece “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” Wilson mentions many stories from fellow colleagues regarding student loans. “Ms. Mccosker is among the silent majority of borrowers who are repaying their student loans without much complaint” (Wilson 259). Wilson gives plenty examples from students that are content paying their loan after they obtained the degree. If a student goes to college, proceeds and withdrawals student loans, finishes school and gets an amazing job with the degree she obtained with a loan: wouldn't they be right even though she owes payment on a loan? The topic then shifts to

Kevin Carey’s goal for writing this essay was to reach out to college/university faculty, and Student Affair professionals to call to their attention the crushing problem of students loans and debt and emphasize the need for income-based loans in favor to the system that is now in place that causes students to fall further into debt due to high

Not Likely,” goes upon shedding light on to explaining how students end up with the debt that they have. Wilson’s piece goes on to enlighten a situation that people tend not fully to understand. To make her point across she uses different examples of how money tend to add up against individuals attend college and uses the word borrow and make reference to student loans quite often throughout her article. At what appears to be an epidemic sweeping the nation, Wilson points out a number of articles going about saying the there is a disaster of financial storms, which are consuming students who attend colleges, and who use titles like “The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back” (256-257). She goes on to use an example that stating the majority of students who have debt listed against their name owe no more than a reasonable priced vehicle. Wilson also states in her writings that some borrow money for more than their schooling even cost and will even reach double the amount of what ones schooling actually cost. Any person that is responsible with money should know not to over borrow especially when it is double what something

Student Loan Debt Isn’t A Myth,” it describes how student loans are a huge crisis, and the

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels