College at Any Cost? Student loan debt has steadily increased each year. The class of 2012 graduated with an average $29,400 in student loan debt -- up 6% from the last federal survey conducted in 2008, according to analysis by TICAS, a nonprofit research and policy organization (Todd par 2).
Loans of this size will likely burden young adults with payments until they are 40 years old. This frightening realization makes me think that prospective students, like myself, should be asking a lot of questions and exploring all the options for higher education. The most important question; Is a college education worth taking on long term debt or are there better options out there for some students? A four year college is not optional for careers like physicians, attorneys , or engineers but does it have to be an Ivy League education? Community Colleges are viable alternatives for many students and can save thousands of dollars. The United States Military continues to offer the option of the GI Bill. Some school districts have technical career centers offering high school students a career ready education leading them directly into the work force. The job market has been tough for college graduates in recent years so students need to make smart choices when looking for higher education. Exploring all the available options will help prospective college students decide if college, and which college, is right for them. College is expensive and the cost is rising each
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
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
I also found some web sources that have a divergent view. For example, “Debt Burden: Repaying Student Debt”, a report written by American Council on Education, the only higher education organization that represents presidents and chancellors of all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions. This report describes the borrowing and repayment experiences of 1992/93 and 1999/2000 bachelor’s degree recipients one year after graduation. The author believed that student loan debt did not have discernible impact on graduate one year later. To support his/her argument, the author collects data from U.S. Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics. Although this source is reliable and
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.
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%.
There is somewhere between 902 billion dollars and one trillion dollars in total outstanding student debt today, and around 60 percent of college students borrow money annually to pay for their tuition and books (Ghannam). Seven out of 10 seniors (69%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower.
College is an expensive place for teenagers our age to go, and for just now being an adult they have a lot of responsibility. As a result of this the average class of 2016 graduate has $37,172, in student loan debt, up six percent from last year. I feel like this is too much and that most students need money to pay for books and food and everything else. It is unfair how they need to do such things and do not get money to help them out while doing so.
The amount of money being borrowed is overwhelming, especially since the cumulative total of debt is huge, nearing a trillion dollars, much bigger than credit card debt. However, a typical college graduate who borrowed money to continue attending the college owes at least $25,000 dollars when student debt is not so big for individuals as compared to credit card debt.
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.
While student debt has been an issue for quite some time, the steady increase annually is alarming. According to MarketWatch, The average amount of debt per student upon graduating in 2015 was $35,051; about $2,000 more than class of 2014 graduates. In comparison, the amount of debt per student in 1993 stood just under $10,000. In a report by the Urban Institute, a Washington, DC-based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research, the quantity of college graduates with more than $40,000 in student loans has increased by almost ten times in eight years. Not only is the amount of debt per student upon graduating steadily increasing, but also the amount of students requiring loans. Currently, the amount of students requiring loans to graduate stands around seventy percent; ten percent higher than class of 1997 graduates. These are
According to the Institute for College Access and Success, about seventy-one percent of students from a four-year university, graduates with student debt. Student debt alter from graduation from a public college or private non-profit college estimating around 25,000 to 39,000 dollars. With the Student Loan Forgiveness Program, it allows students the option to choice a firm career path, join the military branch, and better their life knowing the student debt will be reduced or forgiving. (“Average student loan debt, 1993-2012.”)
The article points out that student loans are at an all-time high. “Student loans are one of the fastest rising sources of debt. As of the third quarter of 2013, student debt stood at $1.027 trillion or about 9 percent of total household debt, up from about 3 percent in 2003.” (“Student Loan Debt Is Torpedoing Home Sales” RealEstateEconomyWatch.com 2014) It goes on to say that the average college graduate in 2012 graduated with student loan debt of approximately $29,400.
Now, student loans have gone up nearly 58% since the recession. As you can see in figure 1, the student loans held by the federal government has nearly doubled in the last 6 years. That is almost $25,000 per loan borrower, the average car loan debt is $12,200 per borrower. Student loan debt is growing faster than any other type of debt; it is nearly immune to post-recession deleveraging. “The current national rate of "serious delinquencies" for student loans — defined as 90 days or more overdue — is about 11 percent, nearly double where it was in 2003.
Student loans that help pay for college can average out to be about $33,000. As a young graduate, this excessive amount of debt can leave you stagnant and enslaved to your debtor even over the age of 60. To avoid this Maggie McGrath, a staff writer for Forbes disagrees. In the article, "Money Isn't Everything: When It's Worth Taking On $50,000 Or More In Student Debt,” the general rule of thumb dictates that you shouldn’t borrow more in loans for your undergraduate degree than what you expect to make your first year out of (para
The sheer amount of debt that a college student acquires after they finish their schooling is an egregious sum. The average amount that a borrower owes after they graduate is $26,000 (Denhart). These now excessive amounts of debt are thrust upon graduates, both young and old, and could take several years to pay off. Additionally, the national student debt has increased from $80 billion to $500 billion from 1995 to 2011 ("Student debt"). A young adult, fresh out of school, potentially has few approaches to attempt to decrease a debt of such enormity with perhaps a limited income. While less than 1% of people have loans