Managing And Financing Student Debt

This report examines the increasing trends in the amount of debt students are graduating with. The purpose of this report is to prove why these trends need to be stopped, and how they can be stopped. After viewing the statistics from 1993 to the present it will be obvious that student debt is not rising at a steady pace, but that its growth is leading to large financial burdens by many students. Recommendations are given about the actions that can be taken by not only students, but everyone to help improve this dire situation. The changes that student loans have been through over the last couple of years will have a lasting effect on current students, prospective students, parents, and those who have graduated and

“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.

Student debt is a topic that generates a lot of debates. From politicians to lenders to students, everyone has an opinion on the topic. With a trillion dollar national debt, it’s not surprising why the topic is such a huge issue and the solutions are even greater. The student debt is a form of debt that is owed when a student has completed college or drop out. The average interest rates for the ungraduated and graduated are 4.45% to 6% (Quadlin). To pay off all the students’ debt, it will take 10-25 years to complete it. College students will have at least six months before they have to make the first payment. Student debts can be a real problem for those who aren’t preparing for them. Student loans debt should have a longer grace period, lower monthly payments and repayment programs that apply to all because students will be able to manage and repay their debts in a timely manner.

The overall amount of the student debt in the U.S. has tripled in 10 years, from $363 billion in 2005 to more than $1.2 trillion today (Nelson, 2014). It has increased for

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.

Thousands of American University students are drowning in debt, furthermore statistics indicate student debt currently tops 1.3 trillion dollars and rising. Grads1st consider the unsettled debt currently exceeds outstanding mortgage and credit card debt.

According to Forbes, the U.S. has 44.2 million borrowers that still have to repay their student loan debts, this is about 8% of the population of the country. Borrowers, as of 2017, have accumulated 1.31 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Student loan debt has increased by 31 billion dollars since 2016. On average, borrowers have $4,920 of student loans debt, and in Florida, the debt per person is $4,480. For some borrowers, this debt puts them into poverty. Student loans are a major problem for the students, but may become a problem for the taxpayers in the U.S. because of recent bill proposals.

In the article, “Student Loan Debt 101” by Indiana University, shows how many students are graduating college with a diploma, however they have a significant amount of student loan debt. Students, such as high schools seniors or even college freshman are not taking into consideration the importance of student load debt. People would think that these freshman in college would have thought about this concern thoroughly but when they indeed do not. Indiana University has created a few ways that this issue could be addressed.

As the demand for workers with college degrees increases the pile of debt students may graduate with gets bigger and bigger. This problem is America’s next sizeable financial crisis, but this crisis however is avoidable. Student loan debt is a financial bubble waiting to blow up just as the housing market collapse did in 2007, which the country is only just now starting to see signs of recovery from. The cost of a four-year degree has seen increases that surpass inflation and health care costs. Likewise, the amount of student loan debt is now greater than both auto loans and credit card debt. So, the question most frequently asked is, how has this happened?

“Aside from increased stress, such debt has numerous economic consequences. It can compromise students’ higher education decisions and their ability to complete their studies.” Clive R. Belfield,

With the 2016 presidential election looming in the near future, the subject of student loan debt has become a major issue on the campaign trail. The national amount of student loan debt is 1.08 trillion dollars, with 11.5% of that amount in default or in 90+ day delinquent. To put that in perspective, total consumer debt at the end of 2013 was 11.52 trillion .(Forbes, 2014) According to an in class poll, only 7 students out of 169 students were completely confident in their knowledge of student loans. However, if we had lower tuition and expenses students wouldn’t have to take a loan out in the first place.

While higher education continues to grow in popularity as an important investment in American society, the student loan debt that accompanies this education also continues to grow as a burden to the American economy. Although the plethora of debt most commonly applies to graduate students and college dropouts rather than undergraduate students, student loan debt has accumulated to $1.2 trillion and continues to grow. Student loan debt made up 13% of the debt accumulated for adults between the ages of 20 and 29 in 2005, and has grown to account for 37% of the age group’s debt in 2014. Even though the government made $66 billion in profit on federal student loans from 2007 to 2012, the American economy shows very little positive feedback if any at all. About ten million federal student loans are taken out annually with an average loan balance of $15,900 in 2005 and up to $25,500 in 2014. The debt accumulated from these loans has made a larger gap in economic inequality, has limited entrepreneurship, and has prevented future loans from being taken out because of damaged credit ratings. Student loan

Tuition and student debt at colleges and universities in America have been rising far more quickly than inflation for over four decades. This is a trend that will continue without intervention. Student debt drastically affects students’ lives and decisions from getting married, to buying home, or to starting a business. The amount of debt held by students after graduating not only negatively affects the individual, but the economy as well. Loads of economic activity is currently halted by students working to pay off their loans. This is a consequential problem and the increasing number of student debt in America must be addressed.

Student loans will always be with us, unfortunately, borrowing to achieve a higher education is the only way the majority of Americans will reach their goal of earning a college degree. Because we know that borrowing to attend college is not going away, steps to offset the bite of borrowing to attend college should be taken as far in advance as possible to

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