Finishing My Education Debt Free

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

Finally, the most difficult challenge students face in college is a financial hardship. Many students come from various walks of life and sometimes determining one’s financial capability to offset college costs during the early stages of can be problematic. Some students come from well to do families who have a tremendous capacity to pay full tuition without external assistance. These particular students do not require financial aid or scholarships, as they can meet the institution’s financial requirement regardless of what level in college they may fall under as the source of wealth is derived from the family or families. Other students, however, come from impoverished families whom solely depend on financial aid and work full time or part time

College isn’t free unless you win a full ride scholarship, which is really hard to get. To get a full ride scholarship, you have to meet the requirements which include an 800 score on the SAT and/or 36 score on the ACT. Winning a full ride scholarship is one option to stay out of debt while you’re in college. Another way to stay debt free is to start saving up money every week or at least every now and then while you are still in high school. Saving up money, doesn’t have to be boring, get out, offer to help and start planning your future. If saving money is hard for you, try saving at least one dollar everyday, every dollar you’re saving will make a difference. If you ever receive a financial gift, make sure to save up every dollar of it. Most importantly, put all the money you receive in a savings account so that you won’t be tempted to spend it on unnecessary

College is known to be overly expensive. A year's worth of education at a basic university can range from ten to forty thousand dollars. For a high schooler, a job will pay the minimum wage of nine dollars and fifty cents an hour. To reach even remotely

Please describe any special circumstances or additional factors that affect your or your family’s ability to fund your college

Do you have money laying around? Would you like to have extra cash to make your dreams come true? Use student loans to pay for college and a college education will pay for its self, with knowledge. A college degree is worth gaining student debt because it will increase one’s potential income, make one successful in life, and make one happier by allowing one to chase one’s dream.

Nationwide the student debt is around $1.3 trillion (Chris Denhart) and in California the average student debt is roughly $21,382 (ticas.org). Recently UC regents approved an increase in tuition by 2.5 percent. The rising of tuition was to ensure that public universities could offer their students the same top-quality education even with the high enrollment demands and the reduction of state support. The students that will be most affected by this increase are students that don't receive much financial aid. But for two-thirds of the roughly 175,500 California student residents this increase will be covered (Teresa Watanabe). Some students are for this increase in tuition because they claim that classrooms have

Even though the expenses may cause temporary debt, it is manageable for many to overcome the demise of ones net worth. To make it more controllable there are many options as to what kinds of schools can be enrolled in. “Students who attend public community colleges, who are most likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds and parents without college degrees, receive an average of $8,000 a year in financial aid” (Davidson 6). Receiving an aid could potentially make college more affordable and appear to have more worth. All of college wouldn’t be worth it in the end if it were not taken seriously. To be dedicated to ones studies, it can benefit in more ways then just learning something new. “Obama recently proposed making community college free for anyone able to maintain a G.P.A. of 2.5 while in school and whose parents make less than $200,000 a year” (Davidson 5). College can be worth it as long as one has acknowledged the fact that there are many ways to tackle debt and reduce its quantities. In the end, there are many universities that provide scholarships or even lower prices. So, take chance of the countless opportunities to learn about a passion and to become more independent.

This assignment is part of the Final Portfolio for the class and is due November 19. You will be graded on completeness of work and honesty in your reflections of your college finances. You will not need to give me any personal income information, but merely reflect in general terms about the challenges you might face as a college student.

Figuring out how you are going to pay for college is the second most important thing and it makes a decision easier. I am still in high school working a full-time job at Belk. I give myself a budget for every two weeks and put the rest of my money in savings. I look up scholarships daily and am applying for as many as I can. $50-$10,000 scholarship is better than nothing and it keeps me out of debt at the end and that is what matters. Unfortunately, I do not have a rich family and no one will be handing me a lot of money for college, but that just means I need to work a little harder and there is nothing wrong with that. I will also be taking out student loans to help and my parents will be doing as much as they can. I ask myself questions like “Do I need to go to school because their football team is amazing” or “Do I need to focus on the long run” and “Is going to Kennesaw going to get me just as good of job as Alabama and save me a little bit more money”. So, even with all of these plans I know that I am still going to have debt, but the real picture to look at is how much debt do I want to have when I am already trying to find a job.

As my days start winding down in high school, I have made my choice to attend Fort Hays State University for the upcoming fall. It is only two hours away from home while also being the most affordable four-year college in Kansas. I have set high standards to graduate with no debt and I will accomplish this with the hard working attitude that my father has engraved in me. With the average cost being $14,000, It is very possible to graduate with no debt, but it will take hard work. The average student debt in 2016 came out to be $37,172( U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2018). Although most people say it is okay to be in debt after college, I want to be different.

One of the most difficult parts of college is paying it off. It is crucial to have the least amount of college debt as possible so one is able to live their life without worry of having to pay it off for years and years. Living in a house hold with a single mother can be difficult when it comes to expenses. With less money a key part of being able to pay off college is by saving money.

I have been working since I was 16 years old. I was that kid who paid for his own graduation invitations. Being the fourth child of six to a single mother, you had to work to get anything you wanted because she was barely able to give us what we needed. Like many students from lower middle class home financial aid pays for school but not enough to clothed and feed you. My first few years at NLU/ULM I worked in the summer and did a work study during the fall and spring. It was not until spring of 2001 when I my college career took the back seat. I had gotten a job as bus boy at Outback Steakhouse because I had moved off campus. Two months later I got promoted to server and then things changed.

There is no question that college is one of the most mentally and financial stressful times in a students' life. With the cost of education continuously rising year after year, it becomes a lot more important to have financial litteracy. The amount of students who do not know about the financial avenues and ways of saving they can use for college is astounding. I spent my last few months in high school helping students who knew nothing of financial aid or how to apply for scholarships and grants. Both of these financial avenues are extremely important, especially if a students' parents are not able to cover college expenses. It is important to have financal litteracy when companies, wether they are private or through the school, come to students

In my head student loans were not an options because I did not want to owe a bank just because I wanted to further my education. Thats when I decided that I would start out at a local college and would transfer. After fighting with the university I wanted to go to and working in a nursing home, I changed my major and ended up staying at the local college. Which made my tuition a whole lot less. Although my tuition is now taken care of I still have to worry about rent, and bills. My part time job barely covers everything, and if I were ever to get shorted on hours I would be tapping in to the weak saving I have. So here I am living pay check to pay check and not only trying to plan and gauge my future for the next 5, 10, 20 years but the big retirement. In my head I know how important it is because I have watched my grandparents suffer over the years. My grandfather is 73 and works 6 days a week so him and my grandmother can back pay everything they missed when she lost her job. I know I don’t want to be that old, and working that much. I will want to be taking care of grandkids and traveling everywhere I haven’t already seen.